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Artists along the fence at Jackson Square around 1960.

On the Origin of Jackson Square Artists: “They were a Rowdy Bunch”

A move to establish a French Quarter Bohemian colony in 1920 eventually led to the Jackson Square fence becoming one of the world’s most beloved art galleries. – by J. Michael Warner ⚜️ Originally published in the French Quarter Journal, August 2023.  Back in 1851, the stately cast iron fence surrounding Jackson Square park was built with utility in mind – and for more than 180 years, it has performed that duty admirably, protecting the green-space gardens at night. But...

How Emilie Rhys Found Her Father – and Her Groove

Seeking a relationship with her estranged father – the noted New Orleans painter Noel Rockmore – a young woman travels to the Quarter in 1977 for a year of discovery. by J. Michael Warner Originally published in the French Quarter Journal, January, 2025. It’s hard to know where you’re headed if you don’t know where you’re from. So in September 1976, 20-year-old Emily Davis left her West Coast home seeking missing parts of her background. She first headed to New...

Up From the Ashes: Rebuilding the Cabildo

Fire is the mortal enemy of the city’s oldest neighborhood, but in the case of the 1988 Cabildo inferno, dedicated preservationists prevailed in the end. Originally published October 2019 in The French Quarter Journal. “I thought it was a joke when they called me.” Robert Cangelosi was in his office at the architectural firm Koch & Wilson when he received a phone call. It was May 12, 1988. And the Cabildo was engulfed in flames. “They called me, and I...

A newly installed plaque in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 marks the area where Suzanne Douvillier was reputedly buried. (Photo courtesy French Quarter Journal)

Danseuse du Roi: The Life of Suzanne Vaillandé Douvillier

Originally published in the French Quarter Journal, February 7, 2020. A mysterious dancer in the early 1800s mesmerized crowds and caused consternation by cross-dressing and challenging social norms. She led a life both romantic and tragic, the stuff of which epics are written. Yet, little is known about her birth and upbringing. In the ballet halls of 18th-century Paris, she was declared a child prodigy. Later, she became America’s first female choreographer, and among the first to perform a full...

The Last Forgeron

Originally published by Cultured Oak Press, June 17, 2018. Who created the wonderfully detailed iron balconies in New Orleans? In 1920, the last in a line of French Quarter forgerons put down his hammer. M. Charles Antoine Mangin, Jr., a Creole and fifth-generation iron monger, decided to retire because he could no longer find workers interested in learning this art. Each piece that came from his shop was unique and original. On June 6 that year, Times Picayune reporter Marguerite...

That Heathen Crowd at the Green Shutter

Originally published in the French Quarter Journal, July 30, 2019. In the Roaring 20s, feisty Uptown socialite Martha Westfeldt opens a French Quarter bookstore that becomes Bohemia Central. From time to time, a shop opens in the French Quarter that becomes a nexus for creative minds. The shop is sometimes a restaurant or a gallery or book store that brings together New Orleanians of diverse talent. But it is always driven by an original and congenial personality. During Prohibition, one...