Barri Bronston - Walking New Orleans

Walking New Orleans: 33 Historic Neighborhoods, Waterfront Districts, and Recreational Wonderlands

Copyright 2015 and 2021 by Barri Bronston

Cover design: Scott McGrew

Interior design: Lora Westberg

Cover photo: Inge Johnsson/Alamy Stock Photo

Interior photos: by Barri Bronston, except where noted on page

Cartography: Steve Jones

Indexing: Rich Carlson

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Bronston, Barri, 1958 author.

Title: Walking New Orleans : 33 historic neighborhoods, waterfront districts, and recreational wonderlands / Barri Bronston.

Other titles: 33 historic neighborhoods, waterfront districts, and recreational wonderlands

Description: Second edition. | Birmingham, AL : Wilderness Press, [2021]

Identifiers: LCCN 2020056694 (print) | LCCN 2020056695 (ebook) | ISBN 9781643590356 (paperback) | ISBN 9781643590363 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: New Orleans (La.)Guidebooks. | New Orleans (La.)Tours. | WalkingLouisianaNew OrleansGuidebooks.

Classification: LCC F379.N53 B76 2021 (print) | LCC F379.N53 (ebook) | DDC 917.63/3504dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020056694

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020056695

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An imprint of AdventureKEEN

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Distributed by Publishers Group West

Manufactured in the United States of America

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any means electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations used in reviews.

SAFETY NOTICE Although Wilderness Press and the author have made every attempt to ensure that the information in this book is accurate at press time, they are not responsible for any loss, damage, injury, or inconvenience that may occur to anyone while using this book. You are responsible for your own safety and health while following the walking trips described here. Always check local conditions, know your own limitations, and consult a map.

For the latest information about destinations in this book that have been affected by the coronavirus, please check the Points of Interest listings following the walks. For updates about the coronavirus in New Orleans and Louisiana, see ready.nola.gov/incident/coronavirus and ldh.la.gov/coronavirus.

Acknowledgments

Writing this book was a challenging endeavor that I could not have fulfilled without the help of many individuals and organizations.

First of all, I would like to thank Wilderness Press for recognizing the importance of New Orleans as a walking city and former acquisitions editor Susan Haynes for giving me this amazing opportunity. I would also like to thank Molly Merkle, chief operating officer, for giving me the green light to write a second edition five years later. In addition, Id like to thank managing editor Holly Cross, along with the production team of cartographer Steve Jones, typesetter Annie Long, proofreader Rebecca Henderson, and indexer Rich Carlson for putting all the pieces together and adding the finishing touches.

I also want to thank my sister Donna Goldenberg for her wonderful photography, along with her husband, Eric, and son, Trevor, who accompanied Donna and me on a walk through the breathtaking Jean Lafitte Barataria Preserve. Thanks to Janet Pesses, DeeGee Liniado, and Laura Fuhrman for joining me on some of the walks. And thank you to my good friend Kathy Anderson, of Kathy Anderson Photography, for my beautiful new portrait.

Thanks go out to Kathryn Hobgood Ray for her help with the Algiers Point neighborhood, to Beth Donze for her expertise on Faubourg St. John, and to Lisanne Brown for steering me to Crescent Park and other funky spots in Bywater. A big thank-you to Eddie Bronston, my former husband but still good friend, for lending his musical expertise for the walk covering Faubourg Marigny and Frenchmen Street. Id also like to acknowledge Mike Strecker, my boss at Tulane University, for reviewing the University section and making sure that I included some of Tulanes most important landmarks.

For the Lafitte Greenway and Jean Lafitte Barataria Preserve walks, I relied on their materials and maps, and for those I would like to thank both of them. I also want to thank the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation and the St. Tammany Parish Tourist & Convention Commission for providing me with some terrific images.

Although she no longer lives in New Orleansbut knows it almost as well as I domy daughter and best friend, Sally Bronston, served as a great sounding board as I pondered various aspects of the book, especially what bars and restaurants to include. Thanks, Sally! You may live in Washington, D.C., but NOLA will always be home.

Barri Bronston

Authors Note

I was born in New Orleans in the late 1950s, and except for four years attending college in Missouri and another year living in Arkansas, Ive spent pretty much my entire life in what is often referred to as one of the worlds most fascinating cities.

For most of that time, I was a journalist, an experience that gave me an up-close encounter with the people and places that have made New Orleans one of the coolest, craziest, and most captivating destinations on the map.

Still, as a native, I tended to take my city for granted. Not until I took on this book in the summer of 2013 did I really start to get itthat it being the heap of honors that have been bestowed on New Orleans in recent years, among them being named one of the worlds top 10 cities by Travel & Leisure, a best American city for foodies by Cond Nast Traveler, and one of six trips that will change your life by Coastal Living. When I was tasked with writing this second edition in the summer of 2019, it came as no surprise to see even more accoladesthe Souths Best Food City ( Southern Living, March 2020); 25 Best Places to Visit in 2020 ( Forbes, 2019); and Most Excellent City Overall (TripAdvisor, 2019).

New Orleans has certainly overcome more than its fair share of challengesand continues to do sobut Im prouder than ever to be a native and resident of New Orleans.

The legendary Galatoires restaurant on Bourbon Street dates back to 1905.

Table of Contents

Numbers on this locator map correspond to walk numbers.

Introduction

When the first edition of Walking New Orleans came out in the spring of 2015, New Orleanians were just a few months away from commemorating the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The powerful, life-altering storm was one of our countrys most horrific disasters, destroying approximately 80 percent of New Orleans, killing more than 1,800 people, and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee the city, some forever. Even worse, it had some politicians arguing against spending federal dollars to rebuild a city that lies 7 feet below sea level.