Art & Identity in New Orleans

The book The Moviegoer follows the story of Binx who is unhappy and bored with his life. Binx is a young man who is going on a “search” to find some way to escape the feeling of “everydayness” of life. He doesn’t quite know how to start this search or what exactly he is searching for but it led to him learning about many philosophies and point of views about life. His Aunt Emely explaining that the purpose for human existence is to “do what little he can and do it as he can”. Binx’s search is not far fetched from what most humans experience in this world, boringness of the mundane life. The ending of this book was pretty dissapointing because I was hoping that in the end he would find the answer he looking for with the search but in the end he did exactly what he said he didn’t like a movies. He said he doesn’t like that the character starts off as an outcast on their own search for their purpose but they later fall in love and forget about his search, that’s exactly what Binx did which is ironic to me.

The Moviegoer has a narrator that is passive. He only observes the things going on around him and reflecting on those things. To me, I think this passivity and apathy towards the everyday shows that he only floats about the world never fully interacting or communicating with it. “Lonnie grins at me with the liveliest sense of our complicity: let them ski all they want to. We have something better. His expression is complex. He knows that I have entered the argument as a game played by his rules and he knows I know it, but he does not mind.” (163) 

For most of the book, observations like this one are common. For me, I found this style of writing to be non-engaging and quite frankly boring. I couldn’t quite seem to grasp on to the book and really examine it because all the observations the narrator makes are of the banal. 

I think that is the point of this book, something that I had missed when I first read it. Perry makes it seem boring because of the narrator’s point of view that everything is boring. Nothing makes sense to the narrator because the ordinary just doesn’t mean something to him. “Tonight is Kate’s supper with the queens and I shall not see her. I drank beer and watch television, but every minute or so thoughts of Sharon, my big beautiful majorette from Alabama come crowding upon my head.”(107) Not only is this an ordinary scene, we also get a sense of how he sees people. To him, I feel like people are just toys to him, something to keep him occupied until he finds something else to occupy him. The way in which he speaks about Sharon seems to me like how he would speak about a new object. Overall, I think the narrator is not only passive and apathetic, but also likes to objectify people.

While I think an opinion on a book or piece of art can change with time spent thinking on it, I definitely think that first impressions really have an effect on how people view something or someone for a long time. That being said, our discussion in class about the differences between The Awakening, A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Moviegoer really made me want to look back and compare the openings of these three pieces to see what about them may be so polarizing.

The Awakening begins with a parrot speaking in a different language, not only that, but it’s written in third-person and starts discussing the protagonist’s husband. That does a few things in retrospect, it sets up the society that Edna was living in, and it shows how (within the functioning of that society) Edna comes secondary to her husband. While she doesn’t ever really go on and on about the injustices women face, how she’s seen lesser than him, and so on- she does begin to do things for the sheer pleasure of it later on. So, from that perspective, seeing her as an outsider, speaking another language in a manner of speaking, and living pretty much solely in relation to her place as a wife and mother the beginning sets up a lot of the future conflicts and issues she’ll have to sit and mull on.

A Streetcar Named Desire begins mainly with a description of the set, but more specifically the first person to legitimately say anything ends up being Stanley. He’s calling out for Stella, and she mildly calls back telling him not to yell at her. It’s established very quickly that there’s this almost codependent relationship between the married couple, and at first it doesn’t seem like anything is amiss with them. Blanche isn’t even introduced until after the pair leave to go bowling either. Looking at this opening in relationship to the ending of the play is extremely interesting because it’s almost the exact reverse. Blanche leaves, taken away to a mental asylum, with Stella sitting inconsolably crying while Stanley tries to “calm her down”, and it ends up being that he even has the last words and actions in the play before it finishes. It’s almost an entire reversal of the order of events while Stanley still retains his agency and power as a character.

With The Moviegoer, it begins with Binx getting an invitation to have lunch with his aunt. He asserts that he knows what this means, that it’s going to be another predictable lunch, and it introduces one of the main characters, Kate. He then goes on to bluntly explain that his older brother died of pneumonia when he was eight, how his aunt told him that he had to act like a soldier, and how he wondered if that was all he was going to do. It’s interesting because, despite his analytical internal monologue about himself and his family, he never mentions once how it affects him emotionally. There’s even lack of mentioning how strange his apathy towards that situation itself is. So within two paragraphs he has outed himself as being emotionally inept, apathetic, and as someone who likely views themselves as an unapologetic pragmatist. It’s also in first-person which means we as the readers get a first-hand look into his thoughts, actions, and rationale behind it without any sort of outside perspective skewing it. (Yes, first-person is arguably the most biased perspective, but the issue is how removed from the internal thoughts The Awakening and A Streetcar Named Desire are.) The ending scene is dialogue heavy between Binx and Kate, with him sending her on a little errand, her asking for reassurance, and him watching her walk off. The main thing that I personally noticed was his lack of trying to analyze every little thought and action of hers, he just took her how she was, offered her some comfort, took care of the things she needed reassurance for, and waved her off. While he isn’t overly sappy, he doesn’t seem to be as caught up in his own mind, and I got the impression that he felt more settled by this point. Especially compared to the beginning he seemed more at ease.

So, while the Moviegoer wasn’t my personal favorite out of the three books, the first impression that it left with me was definitely a factor in why I wasn’t personally enthralled with him compared to the more general scene-setting openings of the first novel and play we read.

A comment often echoed around the subject of the Ursulines and their prominence in New Orleans is that they “have been there as long as the city has.” Arriving just seven years after the city was founded, this sentiment is nearly correct. For most of New Orleans’ history, the Ursuline Sisters have been there. When they arrived, their primary mission was to provide universal education for girls. They intended to educate not only white girls from a high class, but offered an opportunity for daughters of the working class, indigenous people, and enslaved workers to receive an education.

While they eventually were able to fulfill their mission, when the Ursulines arrive in New Orleans what the people really needed was healthcare. The Sisters met the need and began nursing in the city. Although this was not on par with their specific mission, The Ursulines maintained a commitment to service, social work, and justice through their work in healthcare.

Often appearing in the prereferral of accounts of New Orleans, it is clear that the Ursuline sisters are an institution in New Orleans. They maintain a presence through Ursuline Academy, a private school for girls in the city. It is maintained as the oldest, continuously operating school for girls in the United States.

Congo Square is a popular place of interest in New Orleans. Today, it is a part of Louis Armstrong Park, where it is often a venue for many events. However, the earth that the Square was built upon has witnessed centuries worth of history. From the joyful celebrations of life to the darkest tragedies and painful trauma, this two-acre piece on land tells a story that is so unique that it can only be found in New Orleans.

Congo Square’s story begins long before anyone from Europe or Africa set foot in what is modern-day New Orleans. The Houmas people would use this location for harvest festivals. When New Orleans became a French colony, colonists brought with them enslaved Africans to work. One thing that must be addressed is the stark difference in how the enslaved population in New Orleans was able to keep their culture compared to those in English colonies. The French and Spanish allowed them to gather on Sunday afternoons. Both the enslaved and free Creoles of Color were allowed to sing, dance, sell goods, and congregate freely without consequences. This allowed those who are enslaved to earn enough money to purchase their freedom. It is also said that the Spanish believed that once the enslaved were exhausted, they would have no energy to practice Vodun (Sidenote, they would perform rituals and ceremonies in Congo Square regardless). After the Louisiana Purchase, Protestant slave owners would migrate to New Orleans, bringing their enslaved workers with them. Once New Orleans became an American city, white lawmakers would restrict any and all gatherings. Harsher treatments of the enslaved populations began sweeping through the city. As of result, the number of outdoor meetups decreased sharply. In other states, anyone who was enslaved was not allowed to gather in large numbers regardless of the time of day. This is due to white people’s fear of slave revolts such as the German Coast Uprising in 1811 and Nat Turner’s Revolt in 1831, as well as to prevent the enslaved from plotting escape attempts.

Since enslaved African Americans could no longer gather, free people of color began establishing music halls and social clubs to continue playing music and socialize with one another indoors to avoid conflicts with the white ruling class. Since they lived near and around Congo Square, free people of color were able to maintain their musical connections as it was common for entire families to dedicate their lives to music. Before the Purchase, free people of color were able to enjoy the mobility that they had as they had wealth and education. They commanded respect as they were able to build a life for themselves where they answered to no one. They ran their own businesses and held both white and blue-collar jobs. However, everything changed when America came to town. They were quickly regarded as second-class citizens as laws and ordinances restricted them to the point where they cannot own businesses that sold alcohol.

For me, the most interesting thing about voodoo is now the misconceptions of the craft.  There were so many different aspects of voodoo that were completely different than what I had originally thought before starting my research, but at the same time, certain ideas stayed the same.  However, to an even further extent, I was somewhat surprised to read that many did not know the full extent of differences between voodoo and witchcraft.  So, in order to clear up some confusion, I did some research into both.

Voodoo, as we’ve learned throughout the course so far, comes from slaves that were being brought from Africa’s western coast.  It had a huge significance in the New Orleans area once it came to the colonies.  Slave owners were concerned about slave revolutions and wanted to prevent that as much as possible, so they allowed their slaves to gather, trade, sing and dance in Kongo Square, which was originally on the outskirts of New Orleans before the city grew.  They used this time to dance and be with each other, but also to practice voodoo in hopes of good health and protection from their gods and ancestors.

Witchcraft originates more from Europe and surrounding areas, though they often fell under different names depending on the country and locality.  Modern day witches tend to follow the Wicca (which is considered an official religion by the United States and Canada) and avoid evil and anything that could be perceived as evil at all costs, following their motto to “harm none.”  Both old and modern witchcraft practices focused around spell-work and potions, though modern-day are more likely to make a flu remedy than hex someone.

The main differences between these two practices is partly due to how members are brought in.  Voodoo is a very closed, secretive practice where new members have to be invited in – you can’t join on your own.  With witchcraft, you can learn the craft without being invited into a group or coven, mainly through books and, more recently, online sources.  In addition, the ways in which members practice their craft is very different.  Voodoo tends to focus on the physical aspects, using charms, alters, and occasionally temples to focus the energy they need, while witchcraft focuses on spell work, verbal magic, and potions.

However, these practices do have some similarities.  Both tend to have physical aspects of their worship, though the specifics vary.  For instance, both voodoo and witchcraft can use alters as a form of foci of magic, though it’s more so the case with voodoo.  In addition, each “religion” focuses on different groups.  Voodoo mainly talks to gods, deities, and ancestors, and while witchcraft does the same to some extent, witchcraft tends to focus a few sole gods (or goddesses) that determine what spells or rituals they use and when.  Both practices are typically done at night to prevent being caught by the wrong people, often forming groups with others in their practice.

The celebration of the Mardi Gras tradition has an interesting beginning as it originated from the French settlers of New Orleans.  African Americans were banned from partaking in the French settlers’ Mardi Gras Krewes to which they responded by making their own celebration for Fat Tuesday called “The Carnival”.  From the start of the celebration of the Carnival also came the mysterious subtradition of the Mardi Gras Indians who first appeared in 1895.  Nobody quite knows where the tradition originated from or what the original intentions were. Today; the tradition is seen as a way to commemorate and thank the Natives of New Orleans for helping African Americans escape enslavement.   However, the story of the Mardi Gras Indians started long before the first Carnival with a friendship between the Lousianna Native Americans and the African American slaves.

The forty Mardi Gras Indian Tribes with names such as the Congo Nation, Guardians of the Flame, Yellow Pocahontas and Wild Magnolias are a hard sight to miss when attending New Orleans celebrations like Mardi Gras, Super Sunday, and Saint Joseph Day.  Their costumes, often weighing up to 150 pounds, are covered in feathers, rhinestones, beads, and velvet that dedicated artists have put a year’s worth of work into.  Putting together one Mardi Gras Indian Costume is reported to cost around $5,000 in materials such as fabrics and countless beads.  The intricate beading made by master beaders depicts stories of resilience. Costumes picture inspiring stories such as the Natives helping escaping slaves, Native traditions, spirit animals, and people who fought for equality amongst races such as Mr. Luther King Junior.    

Although much of the traditions and even the parade routes that are taken are kept secret by most tribes there is a basic understanding of how these tribes are set up.  There are about five different positions that can be held.  The first to come into sight during a parade is the spy boys who wear lighter running suits that allow them to move freely in case they need to run.  This is due to the fact that Mardi Gras Indian “fights” used to be violent affairs.  Following behind them is the First Flag who carries the tribe flag.  Standing next to or close by the Big Chief is the Wildman who carries a symbolic weapon.  The Big Chief often is adorned with the heaviest and most detailed costume and is in charge of deciding the parade route and what other tribes they will meet up with.  One other position that can be held is the only position that is reserved for women, The Queen.  This is normally an ancestral position which means it is passed down from mother to daughter. 

At one point in the 1900s, Mardi Gras Indian Tribes became increasingly violent towards each other.   Today’s fights between tribes end with the drumbeat from each tribe joining together to make one sound and the two Big Chiefs exchange compliments on each other’s costumes. Before the 1960s these tribe fights were considered so dangerous that spectators would start leaving when Mardi Gras Indians would arrive and those belonging to the tribes would prey before masking up.  Larry Bannock, a master beader of Mardi Gras Indian Costumes, stated “After Mardi Gras, you thank GOD you made it”.  It wasn’t until Alsion Montana, also known as the Chief of Chiefs, came into the scene during the 1960s to encourage friendly relations amongst tribes did the “Indians” start “Fighting” through chants and dancing. Today the Mardi Gras Indians take on a form of entertainment during festivities but the relationship that sparked this tradition was one of a harrowing history. 

New Orleans from 1717 to 1808 was home to the largest slave trade market in the United States.  Over 135, 000 slaves were sold within the city.  A number so large that over ⅓ of the population was enslaved.  However, African Americans were not the only oppressed minority group in Louisiana.  Native American tribes such as the Chitmacha, Atakapa, Caddo, Choctaw, Houma, Natchez, and Tunica that called Louisiana home were often forced off of their ancestral land and killed during wars.  Many of the Native tribes in Lousianna were witnesses to the treatment of slaves and largely disagreed with slavery in general.  This led the natives in this area, especially the Natchez tribe, to put forth some of their best efforts to help enslaved peoples escape.  

On multiple occasions, Native Americans fought with African Americans and also helped those that were escaping slavery as these two oppressed groups had the same “enemies”, the French white settlers of New Orleans.  When slaves escaped from slave owners there was often help from the Natchez tribes which would either take in slaves or help them become marooned slaves.  Marooned slaves were slaves that would run away to the Cyprus swamps of Bas du Fleuve Region in Louisiana where they would live hiding in the wilderness.  Interestingly, a line from the modern Mardi Gras Indian chant, My Indian Red is, “ I am going into the wilderness”. It translates from “M’alle couri dans deser” which originates as part of an old Creole slave song.  Freed slaves sometimes would marry into tribes which lead to the two cultures merging in some aspects.  Native Americans even went as far as killing slave owners in revolts.  The 1811 Slave revolt was successful at its starting point due to some help by the Chitimacha as the tribe was responsible for killing Saint Cosme, a priest and slave owner on the German Coast of Louisiana.  From there the slave revolt made its way down River Road to New Orleans in hopes to free the slaves from America’s largest slave-trading site.  Despite their efforts, revolting slaves were imprisoned and eventually killed.  Their heads were placed on stakes in a display that stretched sixty miles down the river to deter remaining slaves from revolting against the settlers.  The way that these two groups intertwined in friendship inevitably resulted in blurred lines between two different peoples and cultures.

Even though the origin of the Mardi Gras Indians is shaky those studying in this field have claimed that the tradition seemed to spark up from two cultures combining to display appreciation for what the Natives had done for African Americans:

“Mardi Gras Indian culture represents a symbolic unity between Native Americans and African Americans. According to McCusker, that unity is in part the product of 19th-century racist census surveys. “A lot of Indians vanished into society,” he said, “because they were classified as black.”“Clearly, there are bloodline relations that are there,” he said. “The idea that black is black and Indian is Indian is a false assumption. One of the things we try to point out in the book is it’s not either-or.”– John McCusker in his book Jockomo 

Some people claim that Madri Gras Indians are just figures of cultural appropriation but from studies on the relations between Natives and Slaves, it seems that things are a little more complicated than that. The Mardi Gras Indians present themselves as a shared culture between two groups as John McCusker commented on above.  Natives and African Americans often intermarried and had kids which meant that the cultures and identities of their offspring were mixed just like how the Mardi Gras Indians are a tradition that takes from two cultures.  On the other hand, there are Mardi Gras Indians who are not related to one or the other of these two parties but make the claim that masking is a way for them to show their appreciation for the ways in which Natives helped African Americans escape their enslavement.  Despite modern-day opinion on Mardi Gras Indians, there is one thing that is known for sure about these two groups in relation.  Both Native Americans and African Americans had formed a relationship that blurred the lines between their differences to celebrate what they all had in common, a want for freedom.  It might be a lesson that the United States could learn from.   

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/04/27/475588107/the-mardi-gras-indian-of-lemonade 

https://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/history/mardi-gras-indians/

https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2019/08/mardi-gras-suits-demond-melancon/ 

https://www.whitneyplantation.org/history/slavery-in-louisiana/resistance/ 

https://www.neworleans.com/things-to-do/music/history-and-traditions/mardi-gras-indians/

https://www.louisianafolklife.org/LT/Articles_Essays/creole_art_mardi_indians.html

https://en.unesco.org/courier/2021-1/new-orleans-black-neighbourhoods-pay-homage-native-americans

https://www.npr.org/2019/03/31/705972111/in-new-orleans-indian-red-is-the-anthemic-sound-of-tradition

http://slaveryandremembrance.org/articles/article/?id=A0060 

http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/03/danny-barker-my-indian-red-mardi-gras.html 

https://www.houmatoday.com/news/20191116/why-are-there-mardi-gras-indians 

http://www.chitimacha.gov/history-culture/tribal-history 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/its-anniversary-1811-louisiana-slave-revolt-180957760/ 

I found this movie very intriguing. It explored jazz in the context of funerals and death in New Orleans. What I thought was one of the most interesting parts of the movie was when the older generations of jazz were commenting on the younger generations playing jazz. They lamented the loss of traditions and dirges in the young generation’s memory. It was interesting to see how the older generation was reacting to new traditions that the younger ones were implementing. Met with resistance, I can only wonder if the younger generation stuck to the set traditions or somehow blended the two?

Aside from this question, I also found it really interesting how the group “Guardian of the Flame,” not only empowered black people in New Orleans but also told the history of oppression against African Americans. I really admired the beadwork that was shown in their costumes, their costumes themselves told stories. Not only were their costumes a work of art, but also told important messages about oppression and triumph within them.

New Orleans is known for being a melting pot of cultures from all across the world. The group that this particular project focused on was the immigrants from Latin America.

Unlike a lot of cities and states where the Latinx demographic is dominated by a single group or two, New Orleans’s Latinx population is ENORMOUSLY diverse. The city is even nicknamed by some communities, ‘The Gateway to the Americas’ for being an entrance point for immigrants and goods from Central and South America.

Initially, Latin Americans began immigrating to New Orleans mainly for work, seeking out opportunities that were unavailable in their homelands. After Katrina in 2005, thousands of Latino workers immigrated to New Orleans to assist in the rebuilding process. The Gulf Coast Latin American Association calculated that roughly 30,000 people arrived in the week after the storm. The city’s Latinx population was already at 50,000 (from a 2000 census). It was such a gargantuan number because several laborers were bringing their families with them, versus previous years where it was normally single men or married men who sent their earnings home to their families. While newly immigrated laborers worked hard at restoration of the city after Katrina, there popped up ‘burrito wagons’ to keep them well-fed. It wasn’t reserved strictly for workers, either. Any passersby who were enticed could grab a bite. There was a decree passed by the city’s parish that banned street food vending, but it was unsuccessful (thank goodness).  Today, there are over ninety Latin restaurants in New Orleans.

Latin Americans arrived in the US when Jim Crow was still in place. In spite of being a mixture of races (namely European, African, and Indigenous, with differing ratios for regions and families), they were largely deemed to be ‘white,’ though keep in mind that this could be subjective due to the wide range of melanin in Latinx skin. American society struggled with what precisely defined ‘white’ when it came to Latin Americans. New Orleans was, for the most part, fairly relaxed when it came to treatment of Latinx immigrants. Intermarriage was not contested and immigrant children were allowed to attend private schools.

Latin Americans also had an enormous impact on the development of New Orleans rhythm and blues genre. A school of blues pianists witnessed a group of Cuban street musicians and decided to incorporate their sound into blues music, thus creating rhythm and blues. 

Latin Americans have contributed to the United States as a whole, but New Orleans remains one of the starring entry points for these immigrants and their gateway into a new life.

Sources:

Nicaraguan/Honduran initial immigration: https://jsri.loyno.edu/latino-immigration-new-orleans?q=latino-immigration-new-orleans

https://jsri.loyno.edu/sites/loyno.edu.jsri/files/LatinoImmigrationinNewOrleans-Spring2010jsq.pdf

Hurricane Katrina influx and demographics: https://stonecenter.tulane.edu/articles/detail/292/A-Latin-Americanists-Guide-to-New-Orleans 

https://www.vianolavie.org/2017/08/14/honduran-community/ 

Music history, Jim Crow era, and second/third wave immigration: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24396378?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents 

https://scholarworks.uno.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2158&context=td 

Food: https://www.louisianafolklife.org/LT/Articles_Essays/latinos.htm

If an individual wanted to indulge oneself with a countess in New Orleans they would reference the Blue Book. It was a circulated directory that advertised a diverse selection of madames and their workers. During the Storyville period in New Orleans, Louisiana, Lulu White, the self-proclaimed Queen of Demi-Monde, was described as:

“Nowhere in this country will you find a more popular personage than Madame White, who is noted as being the most handsome octoroon in America. Her mansion possesses some of the most costly oil paintings in the Southern century. Her mirror parlor is also a dream. There’s always something new at Lulu White’s that will interest you. ‘Good time’ is her motto.”

Lulu Hendley. real name

Because the Blue Book advertised beauty, photographs of the women would be included in the booklets. It’s rumored that the picture of Miss White in her biography wasn’t her at all but another woman named Victoria Hall, who was also an octoroon. Other women in her parlor were: Clara Miller, Estelle Russell, Sadie Reed, and Sadie Levy. White maintained an opulent ‘OctoroonParlour’ named Mahogany Hall at 235 Basin Street until it was forcibly closed in 1917. Her parlor housed biracial/ Creole women whose patrons were exclusively white men who liked to wallow in the antebellum fantasy. As sick as the need for them to have dominance over a light complexion black women, Lulu knew that their desires would pay off which caused her to invest what would now equate to one million dollars today. Her building would house at least 40 women and 5 parlors. The Mirrored Parlor was notorious because “it allowed the male gave and the black female body to be further objectified and hypersexualized with the many mirrors’ reflective qualities.” E.J. Bellocq, a popular photographer, could attest to the beauty of White’s parlor home and has captured beautiful images of the furniture, chandeliers, potted ferns, Tiffany stained glass windows, and various costly oil paintings that were still intact. The pianists that performed for the clients in Mahogany Hall were Kid Ross, Tony Jackson, and Jelly Roll Morton. After the closing of Storyville on November 12, 1917, White was no longer the belle of the ball as she once was. She was charged multiple times for selling alcohol without a license, prostituting, and attempted murder; however, never really did any jail time during her reign in Storyville. 

The time her charges stuck and she did time was when she was prostituting near a military base which was against the Draft Act. In the mid-1940s, Mahogany Hall was used as a House for the Unemployed before being destroyed in 1949. The edifice was one of the last serving brothel structures to be destroyed in the region.

Sources used:

https://awomantoknow.substack.com/p/a-woman-to-know-lulu-white

https://64parishes.org/entry/lulu-white

From Storyville to Electric Scooters: The Legacy of Race and Sex in New Orleans

https://maggiemcneill.com/2011/09/03/lulu-white/

https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/arts/article_55423f8a-6365-55d7-859a-2c4d62d61b3d.html

During the years of 1918 to 1919 the city of New Orleans was terrorized by a serial killer called the Axeman. The Axeman was known for breaking into houses late at night and attacking people while they slept often using weapons that were already in the house, this weapon was more often than not an axe. May 23,1918 the house of the Maggio’s was broken in into. Joseph and Catherine Maggio were both asleep when the Axeman killed them both with an axe and slit both of their throats. June 28,1918 the couple, Louis Besumer and Anna Lowe were asleep in their home when a man they described as “tall, white, and bulky” attacked both of them with an Axe ,Louis survived but Lowe passed after a few weeks due to injuries. August 5,1918 Mrs.Ed Schneider was brutally attacked by a man who had stolen her axe from the shed. Schnieder survived and even gave birth to a baby a few days later.After his third murder of Joseph Romano, the Axeman and no reported accidents occurred from August 10,1918- March 10,1919. That day in March a family three were assailed by a man with an axe, the parents survived but their daughter did not.

March 13,1919 a letter was sent into the local newspapers written by the Axeman. The letter explained that The Axeman loved Jazz and that on Tuesday night at 12:15 he wanted to hear every house in New Orleans to be blasting jazz and if they did they would be spared from getting the axe that night. Sure enough the whole city played jazz music and nobody was killed. This letter also led to Joseph John Davilla creating the song “The mysterious Axeman’s Jazz (Don’t scare me Papa)” August 10 through September 3 three separate axe attacks were reported but none of the victims were killed. His final attack was October 27,1919, that night the axeman broke into the Pepitone household late at night and struck Mike Pepitone in the head with an axe killing him instantly. After this night the killings stopped. The murderer was never caught and there was never any evidence that could even bring in a suspect. To this day the Axeman remains one of the most legendary killers ever known to New Orleans and still considered the city’s scariest boogyman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_iSLK74ZI4&ab_channel=RagtimeDorianHenry

The “Cities of the Dead” or otherwise known as, New Orleans Cemeteries. The cemeteries became nicknamed “The cities of the dead” because they resemble small villages of the dead. It is said that this keeps the dead alive. The cemeteries have mausoleums and tombs, but no actual graves. Part of what New Orleans is known for is respecting the dead. Due to this, some people assume that is why the dead are not buried there, but it is actually because you physically cannot bury the dead due to how wet and swampy the land is; the dead bodies and coffins will rise sooner or later. The people of New Orleans tried many different times using stones in and on the coffins or by boring holes in the coffins, but the water just makes them rise. Eventually they realized it was pointless to continue to try and bury the dead when they will simply rise every time. They adapted the Spanish custom of vaults to lay their dead to rest. 

Each family lineage gets their own vault and each family member shares that vault. How big and nice it is depends on how wealthy the family is. How it works is as long as it’s been two years since the time of death, their remains can be moved and the coffin can be destroyed for the newly dead family member. Their remains will be moved to a burial bag and placed at the back/side of the vault. But, if it has not been two years since the recently deceased has passed and someone else has passed, local cemeteries generally have a temporary hold vault and after the two years are up for the first dead person they will be moved to the burial bag and the recently deceased will be moved to the family vault.

The importance of New Orleans having these cemeteries are so families can still mourn the dead. There is still a place to go and talk to those who have passed. Since they are family tombs, families can even be buried together and to some that is important. New Orleans may not be able to bury their dead but they still put them to rest and honor them. They still take care of their dead. It is important for people to mourn those who have passed and New Orleans cemeteries are a beautiful place to remember and mourn. People leave notes and coins at the tombs. They can still visit their loved ones. Cremation is a fairly new addition to the Catholic church, so having somewhere to physically visit is really important.

The culture of these cemeteries starts off with them having Spanish customs. The cemeteries aren’t only family tombs though. The Cypress Grove Cemetery is dedicated to volunteer firemen. The Charity Hospital is for the thousands that died during the yellow fever epidemics and in 2007 it became the Charity Hospital and Katrina Memorial Cemetery, to remember more than 1,800 individuals who were unclaimed and unidentified after the storm. Some of the cemeteries even have things left at them from coins to handwritten notes, for loved ones or for strangers. Honoring the deceased is a big part of New Orleans culture and the people use these tombs to their advantage to honor them even more.

These cemeteries bring in tourists from all over the world to visit New Orleans. The cemeteries attract many different people. People find them beautiful and fascinating. There’s cemetery tours and some of the tours even incorporate voodoo. New Orleans most famous voodoo priestess Marie Laveau has her tomb for people to come see. In other parts of America, a cemetery is just a cemetery, but in New Orleans it is a part of a bigger culture and honor.

Also, on the brightside to not being able to bury people, you can’t bury people! So hypothetically speaking, you get murdered and the killer tries to bury you, you will pop back up and everyone will know you were murdered because your body will not stay buried!

I was asked about cemetery prices by Eiizjarae and I am still researching but so far I have found that the average cemetery price in New Orleans is $9,671. For St. Louis Cemetery No.  3 by the Serenity Garden Columbarium prices start at $1,900. I think it depends which cemetery and where exactly you want the vault in the cemetery! Some of the memorial cemeteries have discounts too.

St. Louis Cathedral, perhaps one of the most recognizable landmarks in the French Quarter and in New Orleans itself. One of the oldest churches in Louisiana, first established in 1727. Before that date, many other churches were built on the site. 1727 was the first time an official and semi-permanent building was built on the site. 

The building itself was designed in 1721 by Adrien De Pauger. De Pauger was a prominent French architect. Upon seeing New Orleans for the first time he found it an unorganized and disheveled place. He sought to provide order with his skills as an engineer. Putting his focus on the Cathedral, he centered the rest of the city around the church. Putting a grid system into place and mapping his creation, he successfully put New Orleans on the map. He named the streets after people in power at the time and made sure that the people there knew the French were in power.

Some background on the French, at the time they ruled much of North America. Controlling much of what is now the Midwest, Canada, the Northeast, and of course some of the Mississippi Basin. The Spanish ruled the west and much of South America at this time. Many of Spanish settlements were constructed at an earlier or similar time to French and English settlements. Santa Fe was established in 1610, around the same time as Jamestown. Literally dominating the West, they took the Indigenous Peoples as slaves and forcibly converted them.  They founded some of North America’s earliest European settlements. However, the French were the people who had conquered the most land in Early America and took up most of North America.

In 1788, a disaster happened. The Great Fire of St. Orleans not only destroyed the town, but also the Church. A new building was constructed in 1794; incidentally, the same year a second “Great” fire swept through the town. This fire demolished over two hundred buildings and displaced many families. “We had previously taken out of the artillery quarters every implement necessary to cut off the fire. We carried off from the treasury and deposited on the river banks all of your Majesty’s treasures, in currency and silver, over which a guard was kept, attended by that care against risk consequent on the confusion and disorder which necessarily occur at such a time” (Magee, Page, Thomas, Williams, Quote by Governor Esteban Rodriguez). 

The leaders of the church wanted to build an expansion in 1849, however part of the Church collapsed. It is thought that the builders overestimated the structural integrity of the building. Once again, the church had to be built from the rubble. For the next seventy years, there was relative peace and serenity. Nothing more happened to it, this would change in 1909 with a bomb. Though the church was relatively unharmed, it did have minor damage.

No one knows who targeted the church but it was widely speculated that it was an attack by Italian immigrant workers. (GoNola.com) There is no way to test this theory, I find this highly improbable. Anarchists and anarchy were a large concern for a good portion of the population at this time. It was thought that immigrants, especially Italians, would implement anarchy. It would be easy to blame such an attack on immigrant laborers. To understand more about the history and context of this age, these two events must be understood, the assassination of McKinley and the Immigrant Act of 1903.

In 1901, McKinley was shot while meeting people. I could go further but to make this short, McKinley was assassinated by an anarchist called Leon Czolgosz. This cast further suspicion upon immigrants and their possible “contamination” by anarchism. In little more than two years since McKinley’s assassination, the Immigrant Act of 1903 was put into law. This sought to exclude immigrants from coming to the U.S. “That the following classes of aliens shall be excluded from admission into the United States . . . anarchists, or persons who believe in or advocate the overthrow by force or violence of the Government of the United States or of all government or all forms of law, or the assassination of public officials” (“Immigration Act of 1903, Immigrationhistory.org). Due to this context, I believe that this claim was very unlikely but not impossible. There had been anarchist attacks in the U.S before the early 1900s, but I think it would have been an altogether easy, almost too easy, way to explain away an attack. 

Fast forward a hundred years, Hurricane Katrina was hitting New Orleans. Devastating hundreds of homes, businesses, and families. Washing away loved ones, homes, and dreams along with its surge, Katrina altogether ravaged New Orleans. Luckily, damage to St. Louis was minor. Only a couple of trees and outside gates were damaged during its landfall. 

Despite all this history and context, the reader may be asking themselves, “Why St Louis, why study this?” Well, the answer is simple, I wanted to study an influential building in New Orleans. The study of architecture and a building’s history is fascinating. I love researching buildings and discovering a little miniature world inside them. The stories of hopes and dreams, of darkness and nightmares. All can be contained in a world made of brick and stone. 

The story of St. Louis is certainly not over, as time passes more of its history will be sculpted and revealed. Only time will tell how its story ends. As more hurricanes and severe weather pass over New Orleans due to climate change, it is impossible to say how long it will survive. If the building itself gets destroyed, it will rise as so many reincarnations of the former buildings have done. New Orleans is resilient and the heart of the city will continue to beat. 

An informal bibliography:

The Assassination of William McKinley and the Development of Presidential Security | Ohio History Connection

Miro. “The New Orleans Fire of 1788” (latech.edu)

NOLA History: The St. Louis Cathedral – GoNOLA.com

Our History | St Louis Cathedral

Adrien De Pauger (unknown-1726) – Find A Grave Memorial

Meet the man who put the French Quarter on the map (literally) | 300 for 300 | nola.com

Immigration Act of 1903 – Immigration History

1. Spanish Exploration, Exploration, American Beginnings: 1492-1690, Primary Resources in U.S. History and Literature, Toolbox Library, National Humanities Center

The story went that Charlie and his brother Harry, originally named Abraham and Isadore Sapio, moved to New Orleans from New York and opened up the 101 Ranch Cabaret. They ended up selling 101 to a man named Billy Phillips who changed the name to 102 Ranch. The Parkers then proceeded to open up a mix of a saloon and a dance hall right across the street from their old cabaret that they named the Tuxedo. It was noted across many articles that, despite the Tuxedo having more finery, Phillip’s business was more popular and successful. The Parkers ended up hiring a Russian immigrant who also was from New York’s Lower East Side named Charles Harrison- the infamous “Gyp the Blood” to work as a waiter. (The nickname was ironic because Charles Harrison wasn’t the only “Gyp the Blood” ever, Harry Horowitz gunned down a gambler on 42nd street in New York City in 1912, it was an event that happened only a year before Charles would take on the moniker.) All of that wasn’t to say that the Tuxedo was something to turn someone’s nose at, they had the Tuxedo Brass Band which was highly regarded during its time, and they even had Louis Armstrong playing for them at one point.

Rivalry led to extremely high tensions because 102 Ranch was doing so much better than the Tuxedo; brawls were reported to have happened between Phillips and his waiters fighting the gangsters hired to work at the Tuxedo, but everything really blew up and out of proportion on Easter morning of 1913. Some people were said to have been lingering and drinking at the bar, but it was technically closed. Phillips barged into the bar, allegedly throwing insults about how the Parkers were Jewish, threatened them, and then left only to return a few minutes later with his waiters. He supposedly offered to “buy the house a drink”. Harrison then walked behind Phillips and shot him twice in the back. Phillips fell to the ground, but managed to pull himself up to run out on Franklin Street outside. This led to a shootout where Harry Parker was killed, one of the employees was injured, Gyp was shot in the spine but miraculously lived and even momentarily ran through the alley in an escape attempt. By the time people arrived to help, Phillips was dead. 

After everything happened, Harrison was deemed fit to stand trail, but there were two mistrials. Supposedly, after giving up on trying to conduct a third trial, Harrison moved back to New York where not much of anything was reported on him afterwards. It was difficult to find any information on the trials, what happened, any verdicts, or what specifically caused the mistrials themselves.

Despite their initial sucess, Jewish people faced social isolation throughout the time of New Orleans. However, despite their banning from social settings and general isolation, Many Jews focused on putting their funds back into the community. Multiple wealthy New Orleans Jews have founded many important things in the city.

Felix Dreyfous created City Park, Isaac Delgado built what is now the New Orleans Museum of Art. Isidore Newman formed the New Orleans Stock Exchange and the Isidore Newman Manual Training School. Lucile Jacoby Blum was the one who founded the Louisiana Council of Music and the Performing Arts and the Louisiana State Arts Council. Edgar and Edith Stern created the Stern foundation which still funds multiple charities in the city

Since 1901, the New Orleans Times Picayune has awarded “the Loving Cup” to those how have made a large difference in the city of New Orleans. Jews have been award a decent number of these awards despite making up less than 2% of the city’s population.

The Jewish community has undoubtedly had a massive impact on the city, arguably multiple foundations and public spaces might not be there without the Jewish community to fund or build them. New Orleans would be a massively different city if it wasn’t for the minorities who’ve lived there.

 City Park

 New Orleans Museum of Art

 Isidore Newman Manual Training School

Photos: https://www.neworleans.com/listing/new-orleans-city-park/10181/

https://noma.org/shop/flame-workshop-for-leaders-in-museum-education/

http://old-new-orleans.com/NO_Isidore_Newman.html

Next week — on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the 1948 Theater in the FAC — we’ll have the opportunity to watch the new documentary film City of A Million Dreams. After the film, the director Jason Berry and co-producer Simonette Berry, will discuss the film and answer our questions.

Take a look at the trailer: