Tricentennial

With the Tricentennial behind us, The Historic New Orleans Collection’s staff took a look back at the year and highlighted 14 moments and discoveries from 2018.

As we celebrate New Orleans’ Tricentennial, we would be remiss not to acknowledge the influential people who’ve shaped our city’s past and are working toward the development of its future. President and CEO of New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation Mark Romig was chosen as the recipient of the 2019 Ella Brennan Lifetime Achievement in Hospitality Award.

Presented by the Arts Council New Orleans, LUNA Fête is a visionary initiative featuring unusual art installations and a festival of lights employing the city’s iconic architecture as the canvas for large-scale and inspiring contemporary light and video mapping technology.

After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina 13 years ago, New Orleans took the opportunity to come together to restore, rethink and revitalize. Faced with the task of rebuilding historic structures, homes, hospitals, parks and roads, the Crescent City has become a model for 21st century redevelopment and infrastructure investment.

New Orleans has given the world some pretty notable inventions over the last 300 years. Check out these famous firsts:

To celebrate New Orleans’ Tricentennial and Commander’s Palace’s 125th anniversary, the Commander’s family of restaurants will host the American Cuisine and Hospitality Symposium on Sept. 17, 2018, at the Orpheum Theater.

Have you seen the NOLA 300 Tricentennial sculptures around town? If you haven’t and are looking to strike a pose next to the giant 300 letters, make your way to City Park’s Big Lake, Woldenberg Park’s Audubon Plaza or atop the steps of Washington Artillery Park.

Marianne Brion Dubreuil and her family made their mark on New Orleans’ 300-year history. Of African descent, Marianne Dubreuil was born in 1735 and emancipated in 1772. As a successful businesswoman, she accumulated valuable real estate over her lifetime.

Ever wondered the origin of the colloquial NOLA phrase, “makin’ groceries”? While this expression has long been a part of New Orleans’ 300-year history, Schwegmann’s grocery store capitalized on it in a 1980s commercial jingle, “Saving money, with a smile/Makin’ groceries, Schwegmann style.”

New Orleans Wine & Food Experience (NOWFE) is more than a food festival; it’s a unique event that allows people from around the world to experience and create culinary magic here in New Orleans.

The Ty Tracy Theater and Adkerson Auditorium in Gallier Hall have been completely renovated and updated to serve as a premier space for artists in New Orleans thanks to a generous gift from the Richard C. Adkerson Family Foundation. The 104-person theater provides state-of-the-art sound and lighting options for a variety of productions.

For New Orleans’ 300th birthday, our city will celebrate the four-legged friends that call New Orleans home. Presented by NOLA City Bark and Gambit, the New Orleans Tricentennial Dog Parade will take place on Sunday, April 22.

Did you know that the $200 New Orleans Bank note once bore the image of St. Louis Cathedral? If asked, could you answer, “What exactly is Creole?” What if we told you that some of the oldest parishes in the Archdiocese of New Orleans aren’t actually in New Orleans?

One of the most used and most popular rooms in Gallier Hall is the newly renovated IBERIABANK Ballroom. Thanks to a gift from IBERIABANK, the space was completely restored, from its beautiful floors to the chandelier.

Gallier Hall, one of New Orleans’ most iconic buildings, was rededicated on Friday, March 16, as part of the tricentennial celebration of the City of New Orleans.

The architect of New Orleans’ first city hall was born in Ireland as James Gallagher but changed his name to sound more “French” in 1834 when he arrived in NOLA. He, along with many other immigrants, sought to assimilate into the French culture.

New Orleans has always been known for its music, culture and food. But did you know that over the last 300 years we’ve turned our unforgettable city into a premier location for transportation and logistics?

I can’t believe the Tricentennial is finally here! I’m proud to call New Orleans home and am looking forward to the range of events and programs that celebrate our city’s past, present and future. From parties and parades to art exhibits and panel discussions, the Tricentennial celebrations will cover every facet of New Orleans life.

https://vimeo.com/251399080

We all love the story of the Battle of New Orleans and how we saved our city from the British … after the War of 1812 was already over. Jean Lafitte has become heroic here in NOLA because of his role in the battle, despite his business of piracy and smuggling before and after the war.

New Orleans has been inhabited for centuries. In 1718, it became French territory when Bienville founded New Orleans 100 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River.

New Orleans adopted its municipal flag in 1918, in celebration of our bicentennial. Like the U.S. and French flags, white represents government, blue represents liberty and red represents fraternity. These fleur-de-lis highlight the city’s French heritage, and the flag became the first to fly over Louisiana territory.

In the eighteenth century, New Orleans, then under French rule, began receiving young women known as filles à la cassette. Traveling from France by boat, these women were sent to help colonize the new land. They were housed in the Ursuline convent once they arrived in New Orleans.

For Halloween, I wanted to answer a question we hear in New Orleans: What’s the difference between voodoo and hoodoo?

“My needs are simple. I’m easily satisfied with the best.”

As the city and its residents prepare for NOLA’s 300th birthday, the stores that have become as iconic as the fleur de lis are doing the same.

When Louis Bouligny bought a plantation in 1829, he immediately made plans to develop it into a city neighborhood. Once his plans were made, Benjamin Buisson, the surveyor of Lafayette City (the Garden District) named each of the streets.

Before the Maple Leaf, the Dew Drop Café was the place for jazz and blues players to be. Allen Toussaint, Ray Charles and James Brown, among others, all visited the club while it was open from 1939-1970. People even say that Little Richard first performed “Tutti Fruiti” here in NOLA at the Dew Drop.

In New Orleans, we love our quirks. From our streets that follow the curve of the river to our food, New Orleans is one of a kind. Perhaps my favorite is our use of the term “neutral ground.”

Tremé is our country’s oldest African-American neighborhood, “back of town” from the French Quarter. This subdivision was created in the 18^th century and named after plantation owner Claude Tremé. It was the only area of New Orleans (and the South) where freed slaves could own property in the 19^th century.