Canal Street, New Orleans
Canal Street is a major thoroughfare in the city of New Orleans. Forming the upriver boundary of the city's oldest neighborhood, the French Quarter or Vieux Carré, it served historically as the dividing line between the colonial-era (18th-century) city and the newer American Sector, today's Central Business District.
Canal Street, looking away from the river, 1920s
Aerial view of Canal Street, 1922
Canal Street in the 1950s
Canal Street in December 2005, a few months after Hurricane Katrina
The French Quarter, also known as the Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the Vieux Carré, a central square. The district is more commonly called the French Quarter today, or simply "The Quarter", related to changes in the city with American immigration after the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Most of the extant historic buildings were constructed either in the late 18th century, during the city's period of Spanish rule, or were built during the first half of the 19th century, after U.S. purchase and statehood.
The French Quarter, looking north with Mississippi River to the right
Elaborate ironwork galleries on the corner of Royal and Dumaine streets (featured are the Miltenberger Houses)
The 'galleries' introduced after 1851
The Rue Bourbon, or Bourbon Street, was named for the former ruling dynasty of France, now the ruling dynasty of Spain.