Washington Square Park and Frenchmen Street Portal
Why is it significant?
Begin your journey through New Orleans' bohemian soul at Washington Square Park, situated at the vibrant junction where the French Quarter meets Faubourg Marigny.
Key Facts
| Place | Washington Square Park and Frenchmen Street Portal |
|---|---|
| Address | 700 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70116, United States |
| Geo Coordinates | 29.96550, -90.05920 |
| Part of Walk | Faubourg Marigny and Bywater Bohemian Arts Corridor: The Creative Pulse of New Orleans |
| Generated | Generated |
Begin your journey through New Orleans' bohemian soul at Washington Square Park, situated at the vibrant junction where the French Quarter meets Faubourg Marigny. Laid out in 1807 by eccentric French Creole nobleman Bernard de Marigny, this four-acre public commons was designed as the grand civic centerpiece of his suburban plantation development, providing a leafy recreational sanctuary for the new neighborhood's diverse residents.
Bernard de Marigny was an infamous Creole aristocrat, gambler, and politician who inherited immense sugarcane acreage along the river in 1800 at age fifteen. He famously introduced the English dice game of Hazard to New Orleans, which locals adapted into the quintessential American gambling game of craps, naming Craps Street in this very neighborhood in its honor.
Stroll beneath the majestic canopy of two-hundred-year-old southern live oaks, sweet magnolias, and crape myrtles enclosed by an authentic 1850s decorative cast-iron perimeter fence. Washington Square served as a rallying ground for General Andrew Jackson's troops in December 1814 prior to the Battle of New Orleans, and later became a prominent municipal park hosting neighborhood brass band concerts, union rallies, and political assemblies. Today, the park is bordered by Frenchmen Street to the west and Royal Street to the south, where colorful nineteenth-century Creole townhouses and corner cottages showcase ornate wooden cornices and deep overhanging eaves. Looking south along Frenchmen Street, neon music signs begin to glow as evening approaches, signaling the transition into the live music capital of the city.
Sitting on a park bench as a neighborhood brass ensemble warms up under the oaks, you feel the easygoing artistic pulse that defines the Marigny. It is a living green threshold connecting centuries of Creole aristocratic heritage with modern grassroots music.
Walk south along Frenchmen Street toward the legendary stage of The Spotted Cat Music Club.