United States historic place
Jackson Square
, formerly the
Place d'Armes
(French) or
Plaza de Armas
(Spanish), is a historic park in the
French Quarter
of
New Orleans
,
Louisiana
. It was declared a
National Historic Landmark
in 1960, for its central role in the city's history, and as the site where in 1803 Louisiana was made United States territory pursuant to the
Louisiana Purchase
.
[2]
[3]
In 2012 the American Planning Association designated Jackson Square as one of the Great Public Spaces in the United States.
[4]
Design and development
[
edit
]
Jackson Square was designed after the famous 17th-century
Place des Vosges
in
Paris
,
France
, by the
architect
and
landscape architect
Louis H. Pilie
.
[
citation needed
]
Jackson Square is roughly the size of a city block (GPS +29.9575 -90.0630).
Sculptor
Clark Mills'
equestrian statue
of
Andrew Jackson
(a recasting of
the Washington, D.C., statue
), hero of the
Battle of New Orleans
and seventh U.S. president for whom the former
military parade
ground was named, was erected in 1856.
[
citation needed
]
Iron fences, walkways, benches, and Parisian-style landscaping remain intact from the original design by
Micaela Almonester, Baroness de Pontalba
, in 1851. She also built the
Pontalba Buildings
, which flank the
old square
.
The flagpole, symbolizing
the 1803 ceremonial transfers
from
Spain
to
France
and then from France to the
United States
, reflects Louisiana's rich colonial history. During the 1930s, the
Works Progress Administration
(WPA) repainted facades, renovated buildings, and improved landscaping in and around the park.
[5]
In 1971, the
pedestrian zone
in the vicinity of Jackson Square was created, when three surrounding streets were closed to vehicular traffic?Chartres, St. Peter, and St. Ann.
History
[
edit
]
Place des Armes, 1815
Chartres Street side of the square, 1842, before the cathedral's remodeling and before the
Pontalba Buildings
.
Jackson Square, 1885
Early French colonial New Orleans was centered on what was then called the
Place d'Armes
(
lit.
'
weapons’ square
'
). Under Spanish colonial administration in the second half of the 18th century, the name was
Plaza de Armas
, which also means a
place d'armes
. Following the
Great New Orleans Fire
of 1788, the Spanish officials rebuilt the
St. Louis Church
(elevated to cathedral in 1793) in 1789 and the town hall (known as the
Cabildo
) in 1795.
Following the 1815
Battle of New Orleans
, during the first half of the 19th century, the former
military plaza
was renamed Jackson Square, for the battle's victorious General
Jackson
. In the center of the park stands an
equestrian statue
of Andrew Jackson erected in 1856, one of four identical statues in the U.S. by the sculptor
Clark Mills
. The statue was dedicated in a grand ceremony on Saturday, February 9, 1856. The square also has four slightly older statues, neoclassical representations of personifications of the four seasons, one near each corner of the square.
The square originally overlooked the
Mississippi River
across
Decatur Street
, but the view was blocked in the 19th century by the construction of higher
levees
. The riverfront was long devoted to shipping docks. The 20th-century administration of Mayor
Moon Landrieu
installed a scenic
boardwalk
on top of the levee to reconnect the city to the river; it is known as the "Moon Walk" in his honor, and has since been expanded and paved. The space between Decatur Street and the "Moon Walk" is designated as "
Washington Artillery
Park".
On the north side of the square are three 18th-century historic buildings, which were the city's heart in the colonial era. The center of the three is
St. Louis Cathedral
. The cathedral was designated as a
minor basilica
by
Pope Paul VI
. To its left is the
Cabildo
, the old city hall, now a museum, where the final version of the
Louisiana Purchase
was signed. To the cathedral's right is the
Presbytere
, built to match the Cabildo. The Presbytere was initially planned for housing the city's
Roman Catholic
priests and other church officials. At the start of the 19th century, it was adapted as a courthouse, and in the 20th century it became a museum.
The Place d'Armes was the site for public execution of criminals and rebellious slaves during the 18th and early 19th centuries. After the
1811 German Coast Uprising
, three slaves were hanged here. The heads of some of the executed rebels were put on the city's gates.
[6]
(The same thing happened in
St. Charles Parish
, and a third slave-trial tribunal was held in
St. John the Baptist Parish
.)
In the
Reconstruction Era
, Jackson Square served as an arsenal. During the insurrection following the disputed
1872 gubernatorial election
, in March 1873, it was the site of the Battle of Jackson Square. A several-thousand-man militia under
John McEnery
, the
Democratic
claimant to the office of the
Governor
, defeated the New Orleans militia, seizing control of the state's buildings and armory for a few days. They retreated before the arrival of Federal forces, which temporarily re-established order.
Artists, musicians, and New Age
[
edit
]
Portrait photograph of a local resident, taken in Jackson Square by
Ben Shahn
in 1935.
From the 1920s through the 1980s the square was famous as a gathering place of
painters
of widely varying talents, including proficient professionals, talented young art students, amateurs, and
caricaturists
.
The 1960s and 1970s saw the beginnings of the square as a place of business for New Age and pagan devotees telling fortunes and reading palms and tarot cards. They sit on St. Ann or St. Peter street, alongside of the park.
[
citation needed
]
The section of Chartres St. which comprises the parvis of Saint Louis Cathedral, the Presbytere, and the Cabildo is shared by visitors and artists, musicians, and varied street performers, such as jugglers and magicians. The performers generally work for
tips
.
Points of interest and events
[
edit
]
Aerial photograph of Jackson Square
Mardi Gras revelers in Jackson Square, 1989
On the other two sides of the square are the
Pontalba Buildings
, matching red-brick, block-long, four?story buildings built in the 1840s. The ground floors house shops and restaurants; the upper floors are apartments, the oldest continuously rented apartments in North America.
Diagonally across
Decatur Street
upriver from Jackson Square is the
Jax Brewery
building, the original home of a favorite local beer. After the company ceased to operate independently, the building was converted into several businesses, including restaurants and specialty shops. In recent years, some retail space has been converted into luxury condominiums.
Diagonally across Decatur Street downriver from the square is
Cafe du Monde
, open 24 hours a day. Part of the historic
French Market
, it is known for its
cafe au lait
, prepared with
chicory
, and for its
beignets
, served there continuously since the
Civil War
days.
Jackson Square has been the site of hundreds of live music events.
Every year, the square hosts the French Quarter Festival and Caroling in Jackson Square.
[7]
Occasionally, formal concerts are given in the park.
Representation in media
[
edit
]
The square in 2012
Jackson Square has been filmed in numerous television shows and movies. Among these are the films
Angel Heart
,
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
, King Creole, and television series
K-Ville
,
Treme
,
Memphis Beat
and
The Originals
.
It is the setting of an early scene in the graphic novel
Polly and the Pirates
by
Ted Naifeh
. In the
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
episode "
Image in the Sand
",
Joseph Sisko
(
Brock Peters
) reveals that he met his first wife Sarah (
Deborah Lacey
) in Jackson Square. Jackson Square is one of the most important locations that can be visited in the
computer game
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers
. The park is a crucial site, with much of the game's action focusing on it and a number of characters making their appearance there.
In the 2017 novel
Poisoned Tears
, by Honduran author J. H. Bogran, one of the victims of the novel's serial killer is found in Jackson Square.
On
Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve '17 with Ryan Seacrest
, Jackson Square rings in the new year for the first time during the broadcast with the
Fleur-de-lis
drop at midnight Central Time (1:00 a.m. ET in New York's Times Square).
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"National Register Information System"
.
National Register of Historic Places
.
National Park Service
. January 23, 2007.
- ^
a
b
"Jackson Square"
.
National Historic Landmark summary listing
. National Park Service. Archived from
the original
on October 4, 2009
. Retrieved
February 1,
2008
.
- ^
"NHL nomination for Jackson Square"
. National Park Service
. Retrieved
January 8,
2016
.
- ^
"Characteristics and Guidelines of Great Public Spaces"
.
www.planning.org
. Archived from
the original
on September 10, 2017
. Retrieved
February 13,
2013
.
- ^
"2012 Great Public Spaces"
.
www.planning.org
.
- ^
See
http://louisdl.louislibraries.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/lapur&CISOPTR=712&REC=16
Archived
February 12, 2012, at the
Wayback Machine
,
http://louisdl.louislibraries.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/lapur&CISOPTR=6008&REC=15
Archived
February 12, 2012, at the
Wayback Machine
, and
http://louisdl.louislibraries.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/lapur&CISOPTR=720&REC=4
Archived
June 16, 2011, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"Jackson Square in the French Quarter - Experience New Orleans!"
.
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