Faubourg Marigny - History

History

The Marigny was laid out in the first decade of the 19th century by eccentric Creole millionaire developer Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville on land that had been his family plantation just down river from the old city limits of New Orleans. The portion of Marigny closer to the river was built up first; the area on the side of St. Claude Avenue (formerly "Goodchildren Street") away from the river was sometimes called "New Marigny." In the early 19th century, New Marigny was where white Creole gentlemen set up households for their mistresses of color (and their offspring) in the tradition of "plaçage."

Wide Elysian Fields Avenue, named after the Champs-Élysées in Paris, was designed to be the main street of the Faubourg Marigny. It was the first street in New Orleans to extend all the way from the riverfront straight to Lake Pontchartrain 8 km (5.0 mi) away. In 1830-31 the Pontchartrain Railroad was built with tracks down the center of Elysian Fields. The area at the other end of the rail line developed into Milneburg. Marigny's town square, Washington Square, fronts Elysian Fields.

The neighborhood declined badly in the mid 20th century, and the area around Washington Square was nicknamed "Little Angola" (after the prison of that name) for the dangerous criminals there. It came back strongly in the late 20th century. Profiteering around the 1984 World's Fair drove many long-term residents from the French Quarter into Marigny. Frenchmen Street developed one of the city's premier collections of live music venues and restaurants, and is a popular destination with music lovers from other parts of the city and knowledgeable out-of-town visitors in the early 21st century.

Marigny is one of the centers for homegrown New Orleans Mardi Gras (see Faubourg Marigny Mardi Gras costumes). The neighborhood is also home to the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts Riverfront facility.

Notable people from The Marigny include jazz composer/musician Jelly Roll Morton and singer Lizzie Miles.

Hurricane Katrina, which had a disastrous effect on the majority of New Orleans (see Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans), had a less severe aftermath here than in much of the city. The section on the river side of Rampart experienced some wind damage, but was at a high enough elevation to escape the great flood. The lower lying areas of New Marigny flooded, but not as deeply as elsewhere. A good portion of the 19th century style raised houses were elevated enough so that the flood waters did not reach high enough to cause significant damage, even as far back as Claiborne Avenue. A free community kitchen and goods exchange camp was set up in Washington Square for a couple months after the storm. The official reopening of Marigny was delayed in September and early October by the fact that at first decisions were made to reopen areas by ZIP code, and Marigny shares a ZIP code with more badly damaged areas. However after reopening, the area rebounded quickly.