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Everyday Life in an Extraordinary Neighborhood

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Everyday life in ​an extraordinary neighborhood.

Scroll down for our latest in-depth stories by our FQJ team of writers and photographers.   

Our digital journal publishes new stories and features 46 weeks a year.  Subscribe to our newsletter for periodic alerts about new pieces.  
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Like to become a sponsor?  Contact us. Have a story idea?  We'd love to hear it.  Email our editor, Reda Wigle.  

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Hunkering Down: a blog 
​life in the French Quarter just became more unusual
In Hunkering Down, French Quarter Journal writers and photographers explore life in the country's quirkiest neighborhood during the COVID crisis. 

Barstool Astrology
Monthly Horoscope
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March 2021

Fish in a barrel and feelings by the bucket, it’s Pisces season. As whimsical as it is destructive Piscean energy draws from intuition, liminal spaces, salt lamps, bathtubs and the ghost of George Harrison.
​

- by Reda Wigle

The Eyes Have It
photo essays
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All on a Mardi Gras Day


COVID shutdowns and frigid temperatures kept all but the die-hards out of the French Quarter and Marigny neighborhoods on Mardi Gras day.  Those who came strutted with style, keeping the torch of Carnival Spirit lit for the future.

- photography by Andrew Simoneaux 

Quarter Notes
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Mardi Gras afternoon in Jackson Square, 2021

On Mardi Gras, 2021


A young writer roaming the French Quarter during this historic Carnival discovers different doesn't mean dead.  

- story and photos by Kirsten Reneau

Neighborhood Civics
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Saying Goodbye – or Good Riddance – to Gov. Nicholls Street


One of the loveliest streets in the French Quarter and Tremé neighborhoods is about to get a name change.  Find out why and learn about the New Orleans legends whose names have been put forward as replacements. 

- by Frank Perez


Lit Life
Writers & Books
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Photo by Denny Culbert, excerpted from Mosquito Supper Club by Melissa Martin, courtesy Artisan Books.

Braided with Taste


Food, culture and memories are woven together into this extraordinary cookbook, revealing the heart of chef Melissa Martin. 

- by Scott Naugle

Around the Block 
French Quarter fixtures
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Biagio Todaro at Vieux Carré Wine & Spirits

Extended Family: Vieux Carré Wine & Spirits


Immigrating from Sicily in 1957, Biagio “Blaise” Todaro worked in a neighborhood grocery before opening his own shop - one that's become a French Quarter institution. 

- by Jeremy Trager

Quarter Notes
guest columnists
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Haunted Streets


A tour guide well-versed in the ghoulish tales of the French Quarter's history finds the present day offers its own spooky circumstances. 

- by Glennis Waterman

Lit Life
Writers & Books
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The cover of the book features this Gálvez portrait created by two friars in 1796. Read more about this "sgraffito" portrait below.


New Gálvez Biography Charts a Remarkable Life


The general and governor of Spanish Louisiana who's been "grossly overlooked by mainstream history in the United States" is the subject of a new book, Bernardo de Gálvez: Spanish Hero of the American Revolution by Gonzalo M. Quintero Saravia.  

- by John Sledge 

Full Plate
Quarter eateries
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A Change in Perspective at Stanley


Facing the aftermath of the city's shutdown, Stanley Restaurant's owners Scott and Tanya Boswell discover a surprising sense of purpose and pleasure in the little things - while keeping their eyes on the horizon.

- by Kim Ranjbar

Storyboard
photo essays
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Revel on Royal Street


In one of the first official French Quarter events since the shutdown, 50+ shops, galleries and restaurants  welcomed guests on Friday, October 16.   

- photography by Ellis Anderson  

What's in Store
neighborhood entrepreneurs
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Dark Matter:  Where the Strange Reigns Beautiful


​Opening a new shop during a pandemic shutdown is a bold move, but this couple has found a lively audience for the macabre as the French Quarter reopening unfolds.

- by Reda Wigle

Boho Back Pages
offbeat history
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The newly installed plaque at St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, commemorating Douvillier's life and the area where she is thought to be buried.

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. 
​

by Michael Warner

Boho Back Pages is sponsored by Hines Hall 

Quarter Notes
guest writers​
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This hotel expansion was slated to be built after the 1856 summer season on Isle Dernier. Rendering by Jim Blanchard

In Memoriam: Lost Lands

Hurricane Laura was the worst storm to hit Louisiana since the one that erased the Island of Derniere in 1856, when thirteen ancestors of the writer perished. 

- by Bethany Ewald Bultman

- illustrations courtesy Bethany Ewald Bultman

Rainbow History
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Frances Benjamin Johnson and "Pops" Whitesell in the courtyard of her Bourbon Street house. Photo by FB Johnston, Library of Congress

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. 
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 ​- by Frank Perez

Sketchbook
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Monument to the Immigrant by Franco Alessandrini

Franco Alessandrini: Italian Master Sculptor and His New Orleans Studio

Take a tour of Alessandrini's significant public works along the river and through the Quarter, then visit with the artist in his Howard Avenue studio. 

- by Saskia Ozols


Reprise
Reader favorites from the past


​Personalities
​captivating conversations 
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Plywood Pop: Josh Wingerter


Philosophy and philanthropy drive the creative process of local artist and "universe kind of cat," Josh Wingerter.
​

- story by Reda Wigle

Full Plate
Quarter eateries
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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. 

- story by Kim Ranjbar 

Storyboard
photo essays
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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.  

photography by Andrew Simoneaux  

The Eyes Have It
Photo Essays
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The French Quarter Reopening:  Phase Two


Saturday marked the beginning of Phase Two of the COVID reopening, in which bars not serving food could reopen at 25% capacity.  Stroll with us down Bourbon Street.


- by Ellis Anderson 


Rainbow History
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Legendary lesbian photographer Frances Benjamin Johnson and photographer Pops Whitesell.

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.  ​
​

 ​- by Frank Perez

The Eyes Have It
Photo Essays
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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. 

- by Ellis Anderson 


Rainbow History
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Stewart Butler, photo by Vince Santiago

Lion in Winter:  A Tribute to Stewart Butler

Stewart Butler's biographer marks the March 2020 passing of this legendary New Orleans LGBT+ activist.​
​

 ​- by Frank Perez

Stanzas
Poetry Scene
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A Conversation with Jericho Brown


The writer opens up about his Pulitzer Prize win, the power of transformation and the moment he realized he was a poet.

- by Skye Jackson

Bywater Notes
Guest writers
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The View from my Porch


A writer and French Quarter tour guide discovers a time-tested culture where small pleasures bring great satisfaction.

-  by Glennis Waterman

The Eyes Have It
Photo Essays
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French Quarter Reopening - First Weekend


May 16 & 17:  A sprinkling of restaurants and shops opened their doors for the first time in two months, welcoming a cautious vanguard of locals.  

- by Ellis Anderson 


Passing a Good Time
with Nan Parati
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French Quarter Festival entertainment director, Greg Schatz

Fancy Footwork at the FQF


The traditional opening day for French Quarter Fest finds entertainment director Greg Schatz dancing with a very fickle future. 

- by Nan Parati

Balcony View
publisher's notes
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Minnie the dog

A Small and Single Kindness


New and newly-noticed homeless people spark memories of desperation and generosity in a former French Quarter street musician.  
 
- by Ellis Anderson

Acknowledgments
tributes
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Richard Sobol and Gary Duncan. Sobol represented Duncan in a significant 1968 U.S. Supreme Court case.

On Richard Sobol & Quarter Culture


Darlene Fife, co-founder and editor of the 1960s French Quarter underground newspaper NOLA Express, looks back at the late Richard Sobol's defense of civil rights and Quarterites.

- by Darlene Fife


Lit Life
Writers & Books
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"Lafitte the Pirate" Turns 90

Part of our virtual Tennessee Williams Fest celebration series: 
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In 1930, French Quarter resident Lyle Saxon cooked up a savory gumbo of fact and fiction that's become a New Orleans classic. 

- by John Sledge


Lit Life
Writers & Books
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Minrose Gwin

Minrose Gwin: The Flight of Time

Part of our virtual Tennessee Williams Fest celebration series: 
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The author shares her thoughts about her new award-winning novel, The Accidentals, her creative process, and her life as a Southern writer.

- by Harry Philpott

Stanzas
Poetry Scene
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John Warner Smith

Interview: John Warner Smith, Poet Laureate of Louisiana

Part of our virtual Tennessee Williams Fest celebration series: 
​

The state's former Secretary of Labor is now its Poet Laurate.  In lieu of hearing Smith speak at the Tennessee Williams Fest this year, we offer this profound and insightful interview.  

- by Skye Jackson

Libations
​cocktail culture
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Served Straight Up: The Sazerac


With the right amount of respect, humility and luck, Lady New Orleans will embrace a visitor as one of her own.

- by Kim Ranjbar


​Personalities
​captivating conversations 
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Harriette's Hourglass


As she's closing her gallery and packing to move, Harriette Prevatte reflects on four decades spent as a working artist in the French Quarter. 

- story and photos by Ellis Anderson 


Storyboard
photo essays
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The 50th Annual Greasing of the Poles


 For fifty years, a ceremony involving Vaseline and champagne has served as the official opening to the Mardi Gras weekend. 

- by Ellis Anderson

Around the Block
​Quarter fixtures
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Center, Jeff Semmerling, mask-maker and one of the original artists at the 38-year-old annual Mask Market.

To Live in a Masquerade:  Inside the Mask Market

On the weekend before Mardi Gras for the past 38 years, the French Market has hosted one of the most unusual art markets in the country. Meet a few of the makers behind it. 

-  by Kirsten Reneau 

Storyboard
photo essays
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Mystic Krewe of Barkus 2020


This quirky canine parade that began in a French Quarter bar in 1993 has become a favorite Mardi Gras fixture that benefits animal rescue groups. 

​- by Kerry Maloney


Behind the Scenes
insider's POV
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The Colors of Kate McNee


Visit with this creator of distinctive Carnival headdresses in her Bywater home and studio, where both colors and ideas are given free reign. 

- story by Harry Philpott



Storyboard
photo essays
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titRəx Parade 2020


This miniature take-off on the city's mega-parades, titRəx, may be diminutive in size but participants go for satire in a very big way. 

- photos by Kerry Maloney 

Storyboard
photo essays
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Krewe du Vieux Parade 2020


​The renowned and raucous punsters of Krewe du Vieux marched this year with "Erection 2020" as their general theme, which gave the sub-krewes infinite opportunities for fun.  Followed seamlessly by krewedelusion, FQJ caught the grand show from a balcony at the corner of Royal and St. Ann.  

​- by Kerry Maloney


Full Plate
Quarter eateries
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Recreating an Icon: Irene's


This restaurant beloved by locals moved from a cozy St. Philip Street setting to spacious new quarters on Bienville, bringing along all the original ambiance. 

- by Kim Ranjbar

Storyboard
photo essays
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Krewe of Boheme Parade 2020


Krewe of Boheme, whose presiding regent is a green fairy representing absinthe, was made up of 18 sub-krewes in 2020.  Marching on February 7, it exuberantly wound its way through the Marigny and French Quarter neighborhoods with the theme of "The Soaring Twenties." 

- photos by Ellis Anderson

Storyboard
photo essays
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Chewbacchus Parade 2020


Chewbacchus rolled for the tenth year, celebrating with a parade that glowed brighter than any birthday candles.  

​- by Ellis Anderson 


Rainbow History
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Dixie's, Yuga and Gay Carnival


The first gay Mardi Gras pioneers powered through many challenges - including a police raid on the fifth annual Krewe of Yuga ball, where nearly 100 men were arrested.  
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 ​- by Frank Perez

Quarter Notes
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Bourbon Street and the Baptist Preacher


Tag along with this sharp-eyed Southern writer, her widowed aunt and a very unlikely guide on a 1960s trip to Bourbon Street.

-by Rheta Grimsley Johnson

Transformations
restorations in progress
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The Beauregard-Keyes House restoration: the tip of the iceberg phase


For years, unseen structural issues have been addressed at the popular house museum, but now work's progressed to the Chartres Street facade, where delightful hidden details are coming to light. 

- by Ellis Anderson

Lit Life
Writers & Books
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Faulkner House Books: The Next Chapter – A Conversation with Joe DeSalvo


The carefully considered passing of the torch at this legendary French Quarter bookstore insures the literary light will continue to burn.
 

by Scott Naugle

Passing a Good Time
with Nan Parati
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Clint Maedgen at the 2019 Newport Folk Festival, photo by Douglas Mason

Preserving Preservation at the Hall


Even beloved traditions can benefit from an evolutionary kick in the pants - at least according to one long time Preservation Hall fan.

- by Nan Parati

French Quarter Events
curated roster
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Neighborhood Happenings

Ever dream of having all French Quarter events listed in one place?  Neighborhood denizens, here's your answer! You'll find art openings, lectures, parades, galas and lots, lots more!

Plus, you'll find Margarita's Top Shelf - pics from her favorite events from past weeks and upcoming "don't miss" happenings.


- by Margarita Bergen

Storyboard
photo essays
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Krewe Joan of Arc 2020 Parade


Self-described as a "short, family-friendly parade — quirky, whimsical and spiritual," Joan of Arc's parade exemplifies all those qualities. 

​- by Ellis Anderson 


Game Day
A Fan's Notes
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Dear Science at the Backspace Bar


A low-stakes Saints game on an unseasonably hot December day leads to thoughts of the future in this Chartres Street bar. 

- by Layth Sihan 

Domicile
​
neighborhood living
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From Victorian Pair to Spare


If you're expecting Aunt Beulah's decor when you walk inside this French Quarter cottage built in 1895, you'll be in for a big surprise. 

- by Rheta Grimsley Johnson

It's a Living
​unconventional entrepreneurs 
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Going to Pots in New Orleans


Floyd McLamb:  a sharecropper's child from North Carolina turned high-powered French Quarter businessman reflects on the "high cotton" days in the neighborhood. 

-by Andrew Cominelli ​

Game Day
A Fan's Notes
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Harry's on Sunny Chartres Street


A bright December afternoon, a nail-biting match-up, and a tile on the barroom floor marking a marking more than a mere memory.

- by Layth Sihan 

Behind the Scenes
​
people who make it all work
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Three generations of the Natchez calliope.

The Music Woman on the Steamboat Natchez


Few get to meet the woman who plays the most unusual - and loudest - instrument in New Orleans.  French Quarter Journal goes behind the scenes and up top of the Natchez  to watch Debbie Fagnano in action. 

- story by Rheta Grimsley Johnson

Quarter Beat
music scene
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photo courtesy estate of Leigh Harris


She Had a Song to Sing


​Beloved by her "Dawlin' New Orleans," Leigh Harris was renown for both her powerhouse talent and her life affirming spirit.  

- by Dar Wolnik



Quarter Beats
​
music scene
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Something About Gina Forsyth


With a wicked sense of humor, stellar instrumental skills and a voice that stirs listeners, this singer-songwriter hits all the heart notes. 

- by Rheta Grimsley Johnson

Game Day
A Fan's Notes
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Cosimo's Champions

Catching the Saints' game at a classic neighborhood bar in the French Quarter with new friends, mystery shots and a dog named Sweet Potato. 

- by Layth Sihan 

Boho Back Pages
offbeat history
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The mansard roof of the Cabildo burned in the 1988 fire. Photo courtesy Louisiana State Museum

Up From the Ashes:  Rebuilding the Cabildo


Fire is the mortal enemy of the city's oldest neighborhood, but in the case of the 1988 Cabildo inferno, dedicated preservationists prevailed in the end. 

by Michael Warner

Boho Back Pages is sponsored by Hines Hall 

Quarter Notes
guest columnists
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Harry Connick Jr. and James Carroll Booker III at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Photograph by Michael P. Smith ©The Historic New Orleans Collection, 2007.0103.4.714.

The Bay St. Louis Booker


​On November 8, 1983 - 36 years ago this week - legendary New Orleans pianist James Booker passed on.  While his legacy grows even stronger in the city, recent interviews with Bay St. Louis family members give details about Booker's early life on the Mississippi coast - and explain why "the Bay" became one of his touchstones. 

- by Edward Gibson 

St. Peter Street Sketchbook
​
creators to know
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Craig Tracy's Body of Work


The French Quarter artist ushered body painting into the realm of fine art while maintaining his artistic freedom, but there's more to come. 
​
- by Grace Wilson

Storyboard
photo essays
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This Time They Won


​The brainchild of performance artist Dread Scott, a two-day reenactment of the 1811 slave rebellion culminates in a march through the French Quarter - and a contemporary victory in Armstrong Park.

- by Rheta Grimsley Johnson
​- photos by Ellis Anderson 




The Eyes Have It
photographers loose in the Quarter
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Kerry Maloney's French Quarter


Kerry Maloney: 
I really want people to know the Quarter is a place where real people live. It's a place where misfits from all over come and find each other. We take care of each other, we are family. I wanted to show folks a very typical day in the quarter. Here's what I saw outside my door Monday, September 30.

Storyboard
photo essays
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King Toffa IX Visits the Vieux Carré


​West African monarch, His Majesty King Toffa IX, visits the French Quarter as part of a United States tour.

​
- by Ellis Anderson

Around the Block
​longtime Quarterites
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It's All Good for Hotel Al


After working fifty years at the French Quarter's famed Hotel Monteleone, Al Barras has become an institution  - and the subject of an award-winning documentary.

- story by Kirsten Reneau


Storyboard
photo essays
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The 67th Annual Red Mass


​Photographer Kerry Maloney captures the pageantry of the 67th annual Red Mass on Monday, October 7.  The centuries old tradition offers up prayers at opening of the judicial year for all those in the legal profession .   

Full Plate
Quarter eateries
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Café Cour:  A Taste For History


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

- by Reda Wigle

Quarter Beats
​
music scene
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Arséne DeLay: Engaged with Home and Adding a Verse


A member of the musical Boutté family, Arséne DeLay uses her true voice as a performer, a songwriter - and  a community activist. 

- by Christopher Romaguera

What's in Store
neighborhood entrepreneurs
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Alquimie New Orleans:  More Studio Than Boutique


For 23 years, textile artist Kate Beck has shown her extraordinary clothing designs at Jazz Fest.  Now she has a year-round showcase on Royal Street where she's conjuring up more luscious wearable art.  

- by Grace Wilson

Quarter Notes
guest columnists
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Author Richard Goodman, photo by William Widmer

Blood Type FQ


A New York writer finds that a year of French Quarter living has left him with an undiminished devotion for the neighborhood. 

- by Richard Goodman

Rainbow History
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Go Your Own Way:  the Life of Barbara Scott


Barbara Scott blazed her own trail as a politician, restaurateur, hôtelier, artist, preservationist, gerontologist, feminist - and social justice warrior.

​- by Frank Perez


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