Explore the Crescent City's extraordinary history on an interactive map. From the birthplace of jazz at Congo Square to Ruby Bridges' courageous walk into William Frantz Elementary, discover the locations that shaped American music, cuisine, and the fight for equality.
No American city can claim a deeper musical legacy than New Orleans. At Congo Square, enslaved Africans gathered every Sunday to play drums, dance, and preserve the West African musical traditions that would eventually become jazz. By the 1890s, those rhythms had fused with brass band marches, blues, and ragtime into something entirely new.
The music erupted in halls across the city. At Funky Butt Hall on Perdido Street, a four-year-old Louis Armstrong first heard Buddy Bolden's legendary cornet. At Economy Hall in Treme, King Oliver refined his sound for the free Black brotherhood that built it. When Storyville shut down in 1917, New Orleans musicians carried jazz north to Chicago and New York, but the city never stopped playing.
In 1945, Cosimo Matassa opened J&M Recording Studio, a tiny 15-by-16-foot room on North Rampart Street. There, Fats Domino recorded "The Fat Man" (1949), widely considered the first rock and roll record. Little Richard cut "Tutti Frutti" in the same room. Today, Preservation Hall and Snug Harbor keep traditional New Orleans jazz alive, while Tipitina's - founded by 14 Tulane students to give the aging Professor Longhair a stage - carries the torch uptown.
New Orleans invented American dining out. Antoine's (1840) is the oldest continuously family-owned restaurant in the nation and the birthplace of Oysters Rockefeller. During Prohibition, waiters smuggled cocktails through the ladies' restroom into the secret Mystery Room. Across town, Commander's Palace (1893) launched the careers of Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse, while Galatoire's (1905) won the James Beard Outstanding Restaurant Award and still requires jackets at Friday lunch.
Dooky Chase's (1941) was more than a restaurant - it was a civil rights headquarters where Thurgood Marshall strategized and Martin Luther King Jr. ate gumbo z'herbes. Leah Chase, the "Queen of Creole Cuisine," cooked there until she was 96.
New Orleans was a crucible of the American civil rights movement. In 1892, Homer Plessy was arrested for sitting in a whites-only train car at Press and Royal Streets, a planned act of resistance that led to the devastating Plessy v. Ferguson decision legalizing "separate but equal." Nearly seven decades later, on November 14, 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges walked past screaming mobs to integrate William Frantz Elementary School, escorted by four federal marshals. The same day, the McDonogh Three integrated another school across town.
Canal Street's five-and-dime stores became battlegrounds: the CORE Four staged sit-ins at McCrory's, and Woolworth's saw the city's first lunch counter protests in 1960. In Treme, Freedom House sheltered Freedom Riders and served as the planning headquarters for the movement.
The sacred ground where enslaved Africans gathered on Sundays to play music and dance - the birthplace of American jazz. Now part of Louis Armstrong Park.
JazzHistoricWhen fire broke out in 1834, rescuers found enslaved people chained in the attic, evidence of torture that horrified even a slaveholding city. Featured on American Horror Story.
HauntedThe oldest continuously family-owned restaurant in America and birthplace of Oysters Rockefeller. The secret Mystery Room hid Prohibition-era cocktails.
FoodHistoricThe "Carnegie Hall of Jazz" where King Oliver and young Louis Armstrong cut their chops for the free Black brotherhood that built it.
JazzThe legendary turquoise landmark in the Garden District that launched Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse into celebrity chef stardom.
FoodWhere Homer Plessy was arrested for sitting in a whites-only train car, sparking Plessy v. Ferguson - the case that legalized segregation for 58 years.
Civil RightsThe raucous hall where a four-year-old Louis Armstrong first heard Buddy Bolden blow - just steps from Armstrong's childhood home.
JazzThe tiny 15x16-foot room where rock and roll was born. Fats Domino, Little Richard, and the birth of a genre, all on North Rampart Street.
JazzHistoricThe civil rights landmark where Thurgood Marshall strategized and MLK ate gumbo. Leah Chase, the "Queen of Creole Cuisine," cooked here until age 96.
FoodCivil RightsWhere six-year-old Ruby Bridges walked past screaming mobs to desegregate the Deep South on November 14, 1960.
Civil RightsThe intimate French Quarter venue where traditional New Orleans jazz never stopped playing. No reservations, no cocktails, just pure jazz.
JazzThe only hotel besides the Plaza and Algonquin designated a National Literary Landmark. Hemingway, Faulkner, and Tennessee Williams all stayed here.
HistoricHauntedThe atmospheric movie palace where 150 ceiling lights replicate the night sky. Closed by Katrina, magnificently restored in 2013.
HistoricThe haunting ruins of this flooded amusement park became Katrina's most iconic symbol - abandoned longer than it ever operated.
HistoricFounded by 14 Tulane students to give the aging Professor Longhair a stage. Now New Orleans' most beloved live music venue.
JazzBefore the Hurricane cocktail, this was Club Tipperary with a speakeasy password: "storm's brewin'." Now the French Quarter's most famous bar.
FoodHistoricJazz was born in several key New Orleans locations. Congo Square (now part of Louis Armstrong Park) is where enslaved Africans gathered on Sundays to play music and dance, creating the rhythmic foundation of jazz. Nearby, Funky Butt Hall on Perdido Street is where a 4-year-old Louis Armstrong first heard Buddy Bolden play. The Eagle Saloon on South Rampart Street is where Bolden is credited with inventing jazz. By the early 1900s, the music spread through venues like Economy Hall, Perseverance Hall, and Pete Lala's Cafe in the Storyville district.
New Orleans has some of America's oldest restaurants. Antoine's (1840) is the oldest continuously family-owned restaurant in America and birthplace of Oysters Rockefeller. Tujague's (1856) is the second oldest in the city and claims to have invented brunch. Commander's Palace (1893) launched the careers of Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse. Galatoire's (1905) won the James Beard Outstanding Restaurant award. Arnaud's (1918), Casamento's (1919), and Dooky Chase's (1941) round out the legendary lineup.
New Orleans was a major civil rights battleground. In 1892, Homer Plessy was arrested at Press and Royal Streets for sitting in a whites-only train car, leading to the infamous Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision. On November 14, 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges walked past screaming mobs to desegregate William Frantz Elementary School. That same day, the McDonogh Three integrated McDonogh 19 school. The CORE Four staged sit-ins at McCrory's on Canal Street. Dooky Chase's Restaurant served as a secret meeting place for civil rights leaders including Thurgood Marshall.
New Orleans is one of America's most haunted cities. The LaLaurie Mansion on Royal Street, where socialite Delphine LaLaurie tortured enslaved people, is considered the most haunted house in the city. The Bourbon Orleans Hotel was built on the site of Quadroon Balls and a convent. The Andrew Jackson Hotel is built where five orphan boys died in a fire. The Gardette-LePretre House (Sultan's Palace) is linked to a legendary mass murder. Muriel's Restaurant sets a place every night for a ghost who lost the building in a poker game.