New Orleans vs. New Orleans Square, Pt. 4

What to do in New Orleans, Louisiana? So many choices, but how about something sedate like City Park? Hop on a Streetcar named Desire, oops, I mean St. Charles, and venture out to the Museum of Art:




Or perhaps you’d prefer something a little more kitschy like Storyland:



The New Orleans version of the Three Little Pigs:



For those that enjoy cemeteries (yes, there are a few of us), Saint Louis Cemetery is one of the most famous:



The future eternal home of Nicolas Cage is located here:



Back in the Garden District you can find the less famous Lafayette Cemetery:



If you love Mardi Gras, you’ll want to see where most of the parade floats are created and stored:



To get yourself prepared for that annual celebration, how about a beverage at the famous rotating Carousel Bar inside the Hotel Monteleone? HIGHLY recommended (but get there early!).



With all the rich food and booziness of New Orleans, seeking out the Athletic Club might be a nice change of pace. For me, it’s probably the best/coolest gym I've ever gone to.



Got a thing for Vampires? Visit Oak Alley, used for the exteriors of “Interview with the Vampire”:



For a home tour closer to the French Quarter, the 1850 house is located on Jackson Square:



Need to pray away those French Quarter sins? Also on Jackson Square is St. Louis Cathedral:



This is not the piano that killed the Wicked Witch (or was that a house?), but rather the grand piano of Fats Domino on display at the Presbytere Museum (also on Jackson Square). This is what Hurricane Katrina did to it:



Well readers, now you have four posts worth of information on both New Orleans in Louisiana and New Orleans Square at Disneyland. Which one would you rather visit?

See more New Orleans, Louisiana photos at my main website.

New Orleans vs. New Orleans Square

One of my favorite cities in the U.S. is New Orleans; my favorite section of Disneyland is New Orleans Square. Although I love both of them due to some similarities, they are definitely different beasts.

The first thing I like about both is the architecture. Walt himself loved the real city, and his designers did a wonderful job of capturing the look of the buildings, the balconies, and to some extent, the atmosphere. One is kept clean; the other not so much. Interestingly enough, New Orleans is designed (for the most part) on a grid with squares, including its most famous, Jackson Square.

At Disneyland, there is no square in New Orleans Square. Instead, the pathways curve around and make you think the area is larger than it actually is. Brilliant design!

The nooks and crannies of both places draw me in as well. At Disneyland, the now inaccessible Court of Angels was a favorite haunt of mine.

New Orleans is full of these little courtyards; they’re just not maintained quite as well, which is probably preferable to me. Something about that Great Expectations decay really gets me!

Both places are full of life, people, and creative activity.

New Orleans is just a lot more edgy and unexpected. I like that, too.

Lots of great music to be enjoyed; Disneyland’s is scheduled:

…and New Orleans’ is typically random and not quite as polished. Again…totally fine by me.

More on this topic tomorrow! See more REAL New Orleans photos at my main website and New Orleans Square.

Harry goes to New Orleans, 1957

In 1957 a man named Harry Pollack traveled west from Delaware. I love this image he shot to begin his series of slides that he would shoot along the way. Today's post shows the photos he took in New Orleans. This one sure makes me hungry for some pralines!



Something about the architecture here and the wrought iron grillwork that really speaks to me.



A detailed view of the shops. Interesting how both book and print shops have had to change quite a bit in the last decade to stay viable.





On the left side of this detailed view, it would appear that there are boxes of beignet mix perhaps? The design you see today is very much the same.





The Old Absinthe House:



Looks like this guy might be selling postcards or photos:















Grab a beignet and see more New Orleans photos at my main website.

Watercolor in Jackson Square

This vintage October 1958 image just screamed at me when I saw it…in a good way. The dapper watercolor artist in New Orleans' Jackson Square is painting a dignified lady in a navy blue dress and pearls. She was snapped mid-conversation; I am sure the artist was charming her with his Van Dyke-esque beard.

A closeup of his work:



I wonder if the sketch at right is a self-portrait?



Today, you can still find street artists in Jackson Square, although they do not seem to have the appeal of our 1958 subject.



More Jackson Square in New Orleans photos on my main website