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New Orleans is a consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the most populous city in Louisiana. Serving as a major port, New Orleans is considered an economic and commercial hub for the broader Gulf Coast region of the United States.
New Orleans is world-renowned for its distinctive music, Creole cuisine, unique dialects, and its annual celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras. The historic heart of the city is the French Quarter, known for its French and Spanish Creole architecture and vibrant nightlife along Bourbon Street. The city has been described as the "most unique" in the United States, owing in large part to its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. Additionally, New Orleans has increasingly been known as "Hollywood South" due to its prominent role in the film industry and in pop culture.
Founded in 1718 by French colonists, New Orleans was once the territorial capital of French Louisiana before becoming part of the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. New Orleans in 1840 was the third-most populous city in the United States, and it was the largest city in the American South from the Antebellum era until after World War II. The city has historically been very vulnerable to flooding, due to its high rainfall, low lying elevation, poor natural drainage, and proximity to multiple bodies of water. State and federal authorities have installed a complex system of levees and drainage pumps in an effort to protect the city.
New Orleans was severely affected by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, which flooded more than 80% of the city, killed more than 1,800 people, and displaced thousands of residents, causing a population decline of over 50%. Since Katrina, major redevelopment efforts have led to a rebound in the city's population. Concerns about gentrification, new residents buying property in formerly closely knit communities, and displacement of longtime residents have been expressed.
The city is named after the Duke of Orleans, who reigned as Regent for Louis XV from 1715 to 1723. It has several nicknames:
- Crescent City, alluding to the course of the Lower Mississippi River around and through the city.
- The Big Easy, possibly a reference by musicians in the early 20th century to the relative ease of finding work there.
- The City that Care Forgot, used since at least 1938, referring to the outwardly easygoing, carefree nature of the residents.
Please see Cemeteries of Louisiana for cemeteries in New Orleans or Orleans County.
Historical Timeline of New Orleans
18th Century
1718 – La Nouvelle-Orléans founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville of the Mississippi Company
1722 – Capital of La Louisiane is relocated to New Orleans, from Biloxi
1734 – Ursuline Convent built
1752 – Modern-day Ursuline Convent building is finished, today the oldest and finest French Colonial building in the U.S
1762 – French colony ceded to Spain 1769 - New Orleans City Archives established
1770s – Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop was built, one of the oldest extant buildings in New Orleans
1779–1781 – Governor-general Bernardo de Gálvez successfully wages the Gulf Coast campaign against British West Florida, as part of the Anglo-Spanish War (1779–83) and in support of the American Revolutionary War.
1788 - Great New Orleans Fire; Lafayette Square laid out; Madame John's Legacy was built in the French Quarter
1789 – Saint Louis Cemetery established
1792 – Theatre de la Rue Saint Pierre opened
1794 - 2nd Great New Orleans Fire; St. Louis Cathedral built on the site of an earlier Catholic church; Carondelet Canal constructed
1799 – The rebuilt Cabildo was finished
19th Century
1801 – France regains power, on paper.
1803 - Napoleon sells a huge swath of North America to the U.S. via the Louisiana Purchase. Formalities of the Spanish transfer to France and the French cession to the United States do not take place until November and December, at the Cabildo; with Upper Louisiana (St. Louis)'s ceremony occurring in the spring of 1804; Etienne de Boré becomes the first mayor, under territorial Governor William C. C. Claiborne.
1804 - Orleans Gazette newspaper begins publication; The Territory of Orleans is established, with the seat of government in New Orleans
1805 – New Orleans incorporated as a city
1806 – New Orleans Mechanics Society instituted
1811 – Largest slave revolt in American history occurs nearby, with Orleans Parish involved in its aftermath
1812 - April – Louisiana becomes a state, with New Orleans as its first capital; August – 1812 Louisiana hurricane
1813 – The Presbytere built
1815 - January – Battle of New Orleans; Charity Hospital built; Théâtre d'Orléans opens
1816 – First licensed pharmacist in the United States, Louis J. Dufilho, Jr.
1817 – First Congregational Church built
1818 – Fort Pike built
1822 – Fort Macomb built
1824 - American Theatre built; Pontchartrain Hotel built at Spanish Fort; Camp Street Theatre becomes the first English language theater constructed in New Orleans.
1827 - L’Abeille de la Nouvelle-Orléans newspaper begins publication; Algiers ferry in operation, which has run continuously to the present day.
1830 – Introduction of natural gas
1831 – Pontchartrain Railroad begins operating
1832 – First steam-powered cotton press
1833 – Lafayette Cemetery is founded
1834 – Medical College of Louisiana and U.S. Mint established
1835 - New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad begins operating, which became today's streetcar lines; U.S. military barracks and First Presbyterian Church built; St. Charles Theatre in operation
1836 - City is divided into three municipalities; St. Louis Hotel in business; Female Orphan Asylum in operation
1837 - The Picayune newspaper begins publication; U.S. economic recession begins with the Panic of 1837; Christ Church built
1838 - St. Charles Hotel in business; New Basin Canal opens, connecting uptown and the lakefront; St. Vincent De Paul Church built
1840 - New Orleans is the wealthiest city in the nation, the third-most populous city, and the largest city in the South; Beginning of the city's public school system; 25th anniversary celebration of the Battle of New Orleans victory, with former President Andrew Jackson in attendance; Antoine's restaurant in business; St. Patrick's Church built; Cypress Grove Cemetery and First German Lutheran Congregation established
1841 – The Boston Club formed
1842 - St. Augustine Church dedicated; Holy Family Sisters founded
1844 - 824 Canal Street built by James Gallier for Dr William Newton Mercer
1845 – City Hall built
1846 - Public School Library, 1st District, established; Jackson monument erected; De Bow's Commercial Review begins publication.
1847 – University of Louisiana Law School opens
1849 – State capital is relocated to the then-small-town of Baton Rouge
1852 - Lafayette becomes part of city; Union Race Course opens; Touro Infirmary founded
1853 - City Park established; Major yellow fever epidemic
1855 – Swiss Benevolent Society founded
1856 - Mistick Krewe of Comus founded; Last Island hurricane dumps 13 inches of rainfall on the city
1857 - Saint Alphonsus Church built; The Pickwick Club formed
1859 - French Opera House opens; Locust Grove Cemetery established
1860 - Louisiana Historical Society incorporated; St. Mary's Assumption Church built
1861 – January – Louisiana votes to secede from the Union
1862 - Capture of New Orleans by Union forces; Café du Monde in business; Harmony Club formed
1863 – New-Orleans Times newspaper begins publication
1866 – New Orleans riot
1867 – Another in the long series of yellow fever epidemics
1868 - Louisiana readmitted to the Union; Straight University founded
1869 – New Orleans University founded
1870 - Algiers and Jefferson City annexed; Leland College established
1874 - Carrollton annexed; Battle of Liberty Place, white insurrection against the Reconstruction government
1876 - St. Roch Cemetery chapel dedicated; New Orleans Lawn Tennis Club and Athénée Louisianais founded
1879 – Unsightly beggar ordinance effected
1881 – Southern University opens
1883 – Theatre built at Spanish Fort
1884 – World Cotton Centennial
1886 – New Orleans Camera Club organized
1887 – Howard Memorial Library built
1889 – Louisiana Historical Association founded
1890 - Confederate Memorial Hall built; Commander's Palace restaurant opens; Jefferson City Buzzards Mardi Gras Marching Club formed
1891 - Jackson Brewery building constructed; Liberty Monument erected
1892 - New Orleans Union Station opens; Street Railway Union established; June – Homer Plessy arrested; New Orleans general strike
1893 - Electric streetcars begin operating; The Roosevelt New Orleans Hotel opens as Hotel Grunewald
1894 – U.S. Naval Station built 1895 –
1895 New Orleans dockworkers riot; Hennen Building completed
1896 – Fisk Free and Public Library in operation
1897 – Storyville district established
1898 - City Board of Health created
1900 - Robert Charles Riots; Art Association of New Orleans founded
20th Century
1901 – Louisiana hurricane causes much flooding in the city, due partly to the overflowing Carondelet Canal
1904 – Loyola College established 1905 – Galatoire's restaurant in business
1906 - Louisiana State Museum founded; Beth Israel synagogue opens
1907 - Dixie Brewing Company in business; New Orleans Library Club formed; White City amusement park in business
1908 – New Orleans Public Library main branch building opens
1909 – The Grand Isle hurricane causes much New Orleans flooding
1911 – Delgado Museum of Art and Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of New Orleans established
1914 – Audubon Zoo established
1915 - Xavier College established
1915 - New Orleans hurricane inflicts great wind damage, destroying churches and the Presbytere's cupola
1916 – Our Lady of Holy Cross College and Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club established
1917 - Livery Stable Blues recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band; Storyville closed
1918 - 1918 influenza epidemic; Arnaud's restaurant in business
1919 – The French Opera House is destroyed by fire
1920 - Broussard's restaurant in business
1921 - Delgado Central Trades School opens; Orpheum Theater in operation; Hibernia Bank Building constructed
1922 - WWL radio begins broadcasting
1923 - WDSU radio begins broadcasting; Notre Dame Seminary founded; Roosevelt Hotel in business; Industrial Canal Lock built
1924 - New Orleans Item-Tribune newspaper begins publication; Women's "Petit Salon" organized
1925 - WSMB radio begins broadcasting; Lakeview Presbyterian Church built
1926 - WBNO and WJBW radio begin broadcasting; State Palace Theatre built; Tulane Stadium opens
1927 - Saenger Theatre opens; First National Bank of Commerce Building constructed; Pontchartrain Hotel in business
1928 – Pontchartrain Beach amusement park opens
1929 – National American Bank Building constructed
1930 - Dillard University chartered; Municipal Auditorium opens; Broadmoor Improvement Association formed
1932 – Bureau of Governmental Research established
1933 – O'Brien's in business
1935 – Sugar Bowl begins
1936 – New Orleans Botanical Garden opens
1937 – New Orleans Roosevelt Review begins publication
1938 - Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament begins; Vieux Carré Property Owners, Residents, and Associates preservation group incorporated 1939 - Charity Hospital built; Lincoln Beach amusement park in business
1943 - New Orleans Opera Association formed
1946 - Moisant International Airport opens; Foreign trade zone established in the Port of New Orleans; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary formed 1947 - Joy Theater opens; New Orleans Emergency Medical Services established; September hurricane creates tremendous flooding
1948 - WDSU-TV (television) begins broadcasting
1949 – Middle South Utilities in business
1950 – New Orleans Pharmacy Museum opens
1951 - St. Augustine High School opens to educate black young men preparing for college
1953 - WJMR-TV (television) begins broadcasting
1954 - McDonogh Day Boycott; New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal opens
1956 - Louisiana State University in New Orleans and Southern University at New Orleans established; Lake Pontchartrain Causeway opens
1957 - Pontchartrain Expressway opens; Harvey Tunnel built
1958 – Greater New Orleans Bridge opens
1959 - WVUE-TV (television) begins broadcasting
1960 – November: Desegregation of New Orleans Public Schools begins, with Ruby Bridges attending William Frantz Elementary.
1965 - Annual Marathon race begins; I-10 Twin Span Bridge opens; Hurricane Betsy causes great damage to the city
1966 – Historic New Orleans Collection and Amistad Research Center established
1967 - New Orleans Saints football team formed; International Trade Mart building constructed
1969 - Plaza Tower built; Hurricane Camille inflicts $320 million damage in Louisiana
1970 – Jazz Fest begins
1972 – One Shell Square built
1973 - UpStairs Lounge arson attack; Sniper Mark Essex attacks police in a shooting spree at a Howard Johnsons hotel
1974 - New Orleans Jazz basketball team formed; Preservation Resource Center founded
1975 - Superdome opens; WYLD-FM begins airing in an R&B format
1978 - Ernest N. Morial is elected as city's first black mayor; New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts established
1979 - K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen in business; Annual Crescent City Classic running race begins; New Orleans Regional Transit Authority established; New Orleans Jazz basketball team relocates to Utah and becomes the Utah Jazz
1980 - Longue Vue House and Gardens opens; Radio WWOZ begins broadcasting
1981 – New Orleans Mint museum active
1983 - Lakefront Arena opens; Luling Bridge opens; Pontchartrain Beach amusement park closes
1984 - French Quarter Festival begins; Convention Center opens; 1984 Louisiana World Exposition; Place St. Charles built
1986 – Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival begins and ends a few months later
1988 – 1988 Republican National Convention
1989 – New Orleans Film Society founded
1990 - Emeril’s restaurant in business; Aquarium of the Americas opens; Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge established
1991 – Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra formed
1994 – New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park created
1995 - Essence Music Festival begins; May 1995 Louisiana flood
1998 – City website online
1999 – Voodoo Fest of music begins
2000 - National World War II Museum opens; Six Flags New Orleans theme park opened - initially called Jazzland.
21st Century
2001 – New Orleans Bowl begins
2002 - Charlotte Hornets basketball team relocates to New Orleans and becomes the New Orleans Hornets; New Orleans VooDoo football team formed 2003 - Iron Rail Book Collective founded; Ogden Museum of Southern Art established; John McDonogh High School shooting
2004 – Christmas Eve snowstorm
2005 - August – Hurricane Katrina; levee failures; September – Hurricane Rita; Bring New Orleans Back Commission formed; Big Easy Rollergirls established
2006 - World Cultural Economic Forum begins; January – Chocolate City speech
2008 - Hurricane Gustav; Prospect New Orleans art exhibit begins; Audubon Insectarium opens
2010 - The New Orleans Saints win Super Bowl XLIV on February 7, 2010, bringing home the city's first ever major professional league sports title; Deepwater Horizon oil disaster
2012 - Hurricane Isaac creates widespread power outages
2013 - New Orleans Hornets basketball team renames themselves the New Orleans Pelicans in an effort to localize its name and identity
2014 - Former mayor Nagin sentenced to prison; Fictional program NCIS New Orleans debuts
2015 - 200th anniversary commemoration of the Battle of New Orleans
2017 - Removal of Robert E. Lee Statue and other prominent monuments to the Confederacy
2019 - A new Hard Rock Hotel and Casino being constructed in the city partially collapses, causing a large search effort
2021 - Hurricane Ida makes landfall in Louisiana, passing through New Orleans on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina
Links
Audubon Aquarium of the Americas
New Orleans Jazz National Park
Confederate Memorial Hall Museum
