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Danseuse du Roi - The Life of Suzanne Vaillandé Douvillier
A mysterious dancer in the early 1800s mesmerized crowds and caused consternation by cross-dressing and challenging social norms.
The Gay Lens: Frances Benjamin Johnston and Pops Whitesell
One the world's early photojournalists chose to close out her extraordinary 70-year career in the French Quarter, in the company of bohemian artists like local photographer Joseph Woodson “Pops” Whitesell.
In Memoriam: Lost Lands
As the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches, a look back at the unnamed 1856 storm that erased the Island of Derniere off Louisiana’s coast, taking the lives of more than 400 people, including thirteen ancestors of the writer.
- by Bethany Ewald Bultman
Franco Alessandrini: Italian Master Sculptor and His New Orleans Studio
We follow Alessandrini's significant public works along the river and through the Quarter, then visit with the artist in his Howard Avenue studio.
Keeping Their COOL(inary)
There's one thing New Orleanians look forward to during the depths of the summer doldrums: the incredible special menus at some of the city's best restaurants.
Lion in Winter: A Tribute to Stewart Butler
Stewart Butler's biographer marks the March 2020 passing of this legendary New Orleans LGBT+ activist.
Day in the Life of the COVID Quarter, Part 9
Books, bookstores, writing and reading: historian Frank Perez contemplates the literary life in a neighborhood that's "a world of dreams and letters."
- by Frank Perez
Palm & Pine Pivots and Perseveres
Palm & Pine Pivots and Perseveres: Flexibility learned as pop-up chefs proves invaluable to restaurant owners Amarys and Jordan Herndon in Palm and Pine's first year.
-Kim Ranjbar
Plywood Pop: Josh Wingerter
Plywood Plop: Josh Wingerter: Philosophy and philanthropy drive the creative process of local artist and "universe kind of cat," Josh Wingerter.
-Reda Wigle
New Salon Series Continues Literary Legacy
New Salon Series Continues Literary Legacy: The literary salon tradition continues with an online twist, thanks to an innovative partnership between the Tennessee Williams Festival and the Beauregard-Keyes House.
-Christy Lorio
The 2020 Up Stairs Lounge Fire Memorial Service
On the 47th anniversary of an arson fire that killed 32 LGBT+ people in the French Quarter, the weather reflected the mood of the mourners.
– photography by Andrew Simoneaux
The Queer Quarter: A Moveable Feast
The Queer Quarter: A Moveable Feast: In the 1900s, LGBT+ people from around the country were drawn to the French Quarter's shifting centers of queer gravity, which offered both a spicy nightlife scene and an evolving culture.
-Frank Perez
The Up Stairs Lounge Fire Memorial Service
The Up Stairs Lounge Fire Memorial Service: On the 47th anniversary of an arson fire that killed 32 LGBT+ people in the French Quarter, the weather reflected the mood of the mourners.
-Andrew Simoneaux
Day in the Life of the COVID Quarter, Part 8
On the summer solstice, historian and writer Frank Perez reflects on the passage of time as his French Quarter neighborhood slowly reopens.
- by Frank Perez
Jackson Square Protest - June 5
Jackson Square Protest - June 5: Friday evening, much of New Orleans waited with bated breath in hopes the protest in the French Quarter would be peaceful. The rest of the city attended. Thousands rallied in front of Jackson Square in a remarkable show of solidarity against racism.
-Ellis Anderson
Day in the Life of the COVID Quarter, Part 7: Reopening
As the nation writhes in turmoil, historian and writer Frank Perez looks through the lens of the past to ponder the French Quarter's future.
- by Frank Perez
- photos by Frank Perez and Ellis Anderson
A Conversation with Jericho Brown
A Conversation with Jericho Brown: The Louisiana writer opens up about his Pulitzer Prize win, the power of transformation and the moment he realized he was a poet.
-Skye Jackson
Day in the Life of the COVID Quarter - Part 6
Leaving the French Quarter for the first time since the COVID shutdown, the writer's destination of choice? The family tomb in Galliano.
- by Frank Perez
Day in the Life of the COVID Quarter - Part 5
Fifth in the series of diary entries by writer/historian Frank Perez, this day finds him in his French Quarter home, dreaming of Paris.
- by Frank Perez
The $50 Loan With 30 Year Terms
The rise of homelessness during the pandemic reminds a French Quarter writer of a luckless time in youth, when a spontaneous act of generosity turned the tide.
– by Ellis Anderson