We'll start with the "Heart of New Orleans," Jackson Square; then expand out to the whole French Quarter, look at houses there and in Treme, and finally get a little chill for Halloween.
Jackson Square
 |
It's late in the day, and the light is more-or-less in the west, affecting this and the following
few shots. But here is St. Louis Cathedral, with the statue of Andrew Jackson (thus "Jackson
Square," get it?) in front. on our left is The Cabildo, a state museum and end-of-the-
18th-century Spanish government building; on the right the matching Presbytere serves
the same function and was built around the same time. (Photo by Lila) |
 |
| Same view from farther back |
 |
| Closer on the statue of Andrew Jackson |
 |
Extreme close-up of Colonel Jackson
("In 1814 we took a little trip...") |
 |
As a former trombonist myself, I thrill to see the promotion of brass playing.
These musicians are seated on a bench facing The Cabildo. |
 |
| Interior of the Cathedral, facing the pipes of the organ |
 |
| This little guy made me think of home. (Photo by Lila) |
The French Quarter
 |
| Relaxing courtyard of the Visitor Center |
 |
| The French Market lies just over the levee from the river. |
 |
At the south end of the French Market, they serve beignets, of which I
had too many. (Seriously?! Can one ever have too many beignets?) |
 |
| Two women I love. And not just for the pralines. (Note: My mom's name is Sally.) |
 |
| Some NSFW hot sauce. (Sorry.) This leads us to... |
Some Random Buildings
 |
| There was always a bottle of this in the house when I was a kid. (Photo by Lila) |
 |
| A very "French Quarter-y" look (Photo by Lila) |
 |
| Nice plantage |
 |
| Escheresque |
 |
| Linear (Photo by Lila) |
 |
| Psycho? (Photo by Lila) |
 |
| More plantage (Photo by Lila) |
 |
| Small, sweet houses (Photo by Lila) |
The following buildings (like the one above) are notable mainly for their colors. Paint can be very effective, whether masking or emphasizing architectural details.
 |
| (Photo by Lila) |
 |
| (Photo by Lila) |
 |
| (Photo by Lila) |
As much as I love the colors (and I do), I also have a thing for plain, unadorned red brick. The door-and-window shutters add just the right touch.
 |
| (Photo by Lila) |
 |
| Note the left end of this building's second floor. Close-up in three, two, one... |
Halloween is Coming...
 |
| Here's what was on that building's second floor. |
 |
| The banner promises "Haunted Houses on the French Quarter Tour." Uh-huh. |
In researching this post, I ran across the story of Marie Delphine Macarty, who is most spookily known as Madame LaLaurie. Her torture of her slaves was discovered after a fire in this very house (below) in 1834. (It was set by the cook in a suicide attempt; she was chained to the iron stove.) As I read, I realized that we had this picture--perfectly framed by Lila without realizing the house's significance. To make things more interesting, we had shot the Halloween display in the house's foyer.
Wikipedia says "the vestibule is floored in black and white marble" (as in our photo) and the shot of the ceiling is a dead match for the one in an image from the article. That cinches it--if there were any doubt. This is the house in question:
 |
| (Photo by Lila) |
The "decorations," now even more macabre than before I knew the story:
 |
| What's in the box? (Photo by Lila) |
 |
| Oh, THAT! |
And comparisons of the "vestibule" ceiling:
The house was ransacked and partially destroyed by an angry mob after the atrocities were discovered; the perpetrator escaped, probably to France. The
Wikipedia article goes on to say, "Subsequent to LaLaurie's departure from America, the house remained ruined at least until 1836, but at some point prior to 1888 it was 'unrecognizably restored,' and over the following decades was used as a public high school, a conservatory of music, a tenement, a refuge for young delinquents, a bar, a furniture store, and a luxury apartment building.
"In April 2007, Nicolas Cage bought the LaLaurie House... for a sum of $3.45 million. The mortgage documents were arranged in such a way that Cage's name did not appear on them. On November 13, 2009, the property, then valued at $3.5 million, was listed for auction as a result of bank foreclosure and purchased by Regions Financial Corporation for $2.3 million."
No comments:
Post a Comment
We'd love to hear what you think! Please be aware that all comments will be moderated.