French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana
The French Quarter, also known as the Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. The district is more commonly called the French Quarter today, or simply "The Quarter", related to changes in the city with American immigration after the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Most of the extant historic buildings were constructed either in the late 18th century, during the city's period of Spanish rule, or were built during the first half of the 19th century, after U.S. purchase and statehood.
Like the Creole aristocrats lining the galleries of the Historic New Orleans Collection, the French Quarter is a timeless portrait – especially come dusk when swallows glide above the fortunetellers on Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral’s butter-crème-colored walls reflect the fiery sunset. Night falls. Horse hooves clop, music throbs, and gaslights flicker in a place full of long-told legends and those waiting to be born.