Barbara Scott has worn the many hats of her life with both style and grace:  politician, restaurateur, hôtelier, artist, preservationist, gerontologist, feminist - and social justice warrior. 

​- by Frank Perez

Photographer Andrew Simoneaux found himself visiting the French Quarter almost every day to seek out shots.  Last year, he made life easier by moving into the neighborhood.  

The images he selected to include in this photo essay were taken  from the end of August into the first week of September, during the Southern Decadence festivities.  

Digging into the history of the French Quarter's indie newspapers, magazines and journals reveals an intriguing past - and a few surprises. 

- by Ellis Anderson 

​Note: This homage doesn't include publications associated with different organizations - and there have been many, like The Historic New Orleans Collection's "Quarterly."  We'll be covering them in future stories. 

Was the matronly New Orleans stenographer who founded a French Quarter temple the guru everyone in the 1960s was seeking?  At least one follower still believes. 

by Michael Warner

Before she'd turned twelve, a young girl in a small Kenyan village made an ambitious list of life goals. Becoming a fashion designer was only number two.

- story and photos by Ellis Anderson

New Orleans socialite and long-time French Quarter denizen Margarita Bergen doesn’t miss a beat  - or a party - when it comes to the Quarter’s jazzy social scene.

There are three sections to each column: Social Swirl (where Margarita's been), The Fabulous Future (what's ahead) and Quarter Buzz (things knows about that we mere mortals aren't privy to).  

​Providing "the neighborhood’s only explicitly political street entertainment," a former liberal named Michael DeBari draws both fans and fire at his outpost near the French Market. 
​
-by Andrew Cominelli 
-photography by Ellis Anderson

The daughter of noted New Orleans painter Noel Rockmore has blazed her own creative trail, yet there's a similar and mysterious depth in the work of both artists. 

- by Grace Wilson
photos by Sophie Germer

This North Rampart Street bar offers all the elements needed for a great neighborhood hangout according to this month's guest columnist, Konrad Kantor. 

Why did we choose this date and time to launch?  Even hard-bitten skeptics find it difficult to ignore astrological advice when it includes the word “auspicious."

-by Ellis Anderson 

​The man who made the Quarter's literary legacy come alive with his walking tours and Tennessee Williams lore:  a visit with Kenneth Holditch.

by Rheta Grimsley Johnson
photos by Ellis Anderson

Rooted in Cuban traditions, the fledgling neighborhood bar has garnered national recognition and won a loyal local following.  

-story by Reda Wigle
photos by Ellis Anderson 

A summer afternoon quest for caffeine in the Quarter nets an old book, a new friend, and a gander at 300 naked people riding bicycles.

- by Nan Parati
photos by Ellis Anderson

This jazz duo and their musical guests filled a hidden upstairs bar on Decatur Street with laughter and jazz - and an excellent vibe, even in the thick of summer. 

- by Christopher Louis Romaguera

Meet a few of the far-sighted men who blocked the wrecking ball's path through the Quarter in the early 1900s.  
​
- by Frank Perez

Long before first light, this eradicator of property defacement begins his hunt through the Quarter, determined to scour graffiti and stickers from public property. 

- by Dar Wolnik 
photos by Ellis Anderson

Ride along with this award-winning writer to learn a few of the everyday challenges - and unexpected rewards - of making a living as a French Quarter pedicabber. 

-by Andrew Cominelli
photos by Ellis Anderson and Andrew Cominelli ​

In the Roaring 20s, feisty Uptown socialite Martha Westfeldt opens a French Quarter bookstore that becomes Bohemia Central. 

- by Michael Warner 

One of the first Flea Market and Jazz Fest vendors, Cruz Sanchez still works in the Decatur Street store he founded fifty years ago - an island of calm in the midst of the French Quarter's whirl. 

- story by Kirsten Reneau
photos by Kirsten Reneau and Ellis Anderson and courtesy of Cruz Sanchez