New Orleans has in fact the most picturesquely named streets of any city in the Union, and there are character and thought in all. For instance, all through the French Quarter the streets suggest the citys royal descent and ancient faith and customs. We have Bourbon and Orleans, Dauphine and Burgundy, St. Louis, St. Peter, St. Ann. Bayou Road, now a well paved street, bespeaks the once fashionable drive of old New Orleans, and Rampart Street, in which there are no fortifications to-day, the citys ancient fortified line. We have memories of Dukes and Princes galore, such as Chartres, Conde, DuMaine--Marquises and Generals, as Casa Calvo, Marigny, Moreau, Lafayette. We now cross Canal Street on dry land, and find that Americans pitched tents in Union Street, within sight of the old Spanish Government Magazine, that gave to the street its name. Camp Street was once the Campo de Negros, or Negro Camp, the space allotted to the free negroes who came to New Orleans after the San Domingo revolution; and this land opened upon the Terre Commune, or Common ground. Indian herb doctors once lived in Tchoupitoulas Street and sold the millet seed, for which the street is named and which grew in abundance there. Farther on we find the Nine Muses all in a row, leading gracefully into Felicity Street. All the Generals of the Mexican War are drawn up in soldierly array, and Napoleon is commemorated not only by the avenue which bears his name, but by a half dozen streets, christened after his most famous battles, such as Jena, Austerlitz, etc. Calhoun, Henry Clay and Webster march along side by side; Cato and Brutus confer in close proximity to Socrates, who looks with calm philosophy over at the passionate Byron in the curious vicinity of Vienna and Dublin. Passing through the Vieux Carre, into the Faubourg Marigny, Love leads you gently on into Elysian Fields, while just beyond Science and Art clasp hands. Agriculture and Industry yield Abundance and Independence, and Congress stands near ready to enact any Law necessary for the good of the Union, and to back it up with Liberal Force. And what is there lacking in poetry and romance when you are told that a beautiful prima donna once lived in Music Street, that a French King in exile occupied a mansion in Victory Street, that Greatmen passed in review while bad boys played Craps and gave the name of the game to the adjoining street; that the band of children trooping gaily on are going to play on the campus in Good Children Street, and that the sweet-faced, black-veiled nun leading the little orphan by the hand dwells in an old convent in Piety Street. All through the city you will find that history, romance, religion, [and] the times have been exhausted for characteristic street names. From The Picayunes Guide to New Orleans, published in 1903.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 16:16:38 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015