The Garden District

Carlyn and I took our second and final tour today. We spent three hours this afternoon on a driving and walking tour of the New Orleans Garden District. The Garden District was established by the Americans who came to live in New Orleans following the Louisiana Purchase. They didn’t receive a particularly warm welcome from the Creoles that lived in the old city (today’s French Quarter) so they decided to build their own city with its own grand street (today’s St. Charles Ave). At one time, the two cities were completely separate, but combined to form New Orleans in the middle of the 19th century.

Land is scarce in New Orleans and so there isn’t a lot of room for gardens even in the Garden District. The ground is very fertile since the land here was built from all the topsoil that has washed down from upstream. Everything is very green. Here are a few shots from the first house we visited.

Most of the architecture in the Garden District is Greek revival. Many homes have columns with beautiful wrought or cast iron fences. Here are a couple photos from one of the home we walked by.

The last home we visited was simply amazing. I can’t remember the name of the family that built it, but let’s just say that they spared no expense. This home actually had a large yard and this bit of statuary.