New
Orleans Jazz Neighborhood History Map
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Jazz music was nurtured throughout the city, in a
variety of neighborhoods. From the riverboats of Lake Ponchitrain
to the 'cutting contests' of Gerttown, This 'History of Jazz Neighborhood
Map' will show you where imortant neighborhoods were located, and
why they were important.
Click on a neighborhood below to find out why it
was important.
Historic Commercial Areas
The retail, financial, and transportation hub of New Orleans grew
up along the twin axes of Canal and Rampart streets. The thriving
commercial activity there supported an assortment of entertainment
establishments, both genteel and illicit. Plentiful employment opportunities
meant that more working musicians were concentrated in this section
than in any other part of the city. Although not as intensive, there
were also plenty of music jobs at Lake Pontchartrain resorts where
the atmosphere was relaxed and festive.
Storyville
Storyville, also known as the "District," was the
legendary tenderloin district in New Orleans, which operated legally
between 1897 and 1917. Prostitution was the primary business in
Storyville, but music and entertainment were prominent sidelines.
While jazz was not born in Storyville, as legend has it, the district
helped expose the new music to a wider audience. Several brothels
had a piano "professor," but most jazz musicians in the district
were employed in dance bands in clubs and restaurants such as Pete
Lala's, the 101 Ranch, the Fewclothes Cabaret, the Tuxedo Dance
Hall, and the Big 25. Virtually all Storyville structures were removed
for the Iberville public housing project in the 1940s, and only
six original structures and remnants remain. One of them, Frank
Early's Saloon (described later in this document), directly relates
to the development of jazz.
Tango
Belt
The Tango Belt (further described later in this document)
was in the French Quarter just across Basin and North Rampart streets
from Storyville, and there was a symbiotic relationship between
the two entertainment areas. The Tango Belt had numerous saloons,
cabarets, nightclubs, and three large theaters that employed jazz
musicians, including the Oasis Cabaret, the Elite, Butzie Fernandez,
the Haymarket and Ringside cafes, and the Black Orchid. The name
Tango Belt derived from a 1915 newspaper article that used that
name to describe this district. At its peak, the area had one of
the highest concentrations of commercial jazz venues in the city.
Many buildings in the Tango Belt have been removed or significantly
altered, and more research is needed to determine the status of
many of the structures related to early jazz.
The
Back o' Town/South Rampart Street
Back o Town, also known at the time as the Battlefield
or the "colored red light district," was a tough area; Louis Armstrong
grew up in this area. Back o' Town included illicit gambling and
prostitution houses as well as residences. The adjacent South Rampart
Street corridor contained more respectable AfricanAmerican businesses
and legitimate places of entertainment. From the turn of the century
through the 1920s, Back o' Town had a concentration. of saloons,
social halls, dance clubs, and vaudeville theaters where early jazz
was played. These ranged from low-down dives, such as the Red Onion,
to a middle-class ballroom like the Parisian Garden room in the
Pythian Temple building. Most of the area has been redeveloped for
government offices, parking areas, high-rise office buildings, and
the Superdome. The Red Onion, the Pythian Temple Building, the Odd
Fellows and Masonic dance hall, and the Iroquois Theater remain.
Louis Armstrong's birthplace, Union Sons hall, the Astoria Hotel
and Ballroom, Spano's, and several other important early structures
have been torn down.
The
Central Business District
The central business district contained theaters,
music companies, and publishing houses that were part of a mainstream
entertainment district in the early 20th century. Theaters featuring
minstrel shows, ragtime, vaudeville, and, eventually, jazz included
the Crescent, Lyric, Strand (all no longer extant), No Name, Alamo,
Plaza, and Trianon. Publishers included Piron-Williams Publishing
(no longer extant), Hackenjos Music Company, Junius Hart Piano House,
L. Grunwald and Company, and others who documented the floating
folk strains and popular rags that contributed to early jazz. These
businesses reflected how early jazz was affected by popular music
and how that process was eventually reversed when jazz received
national acclaim.
The Lakefront
The Lake Pontchartrain shore includes Bucktown, West
End, Spanish Fort, Milneburg, and Little Woods. Historically, the
lakefront was a resort area where brass bands played at amusement
parks, dance pavilions, saloons, picnics, and family "camps" (i.e.,
cabins on piers for weekend retreats). Early jazz musicians of all
races and economic classes performed in groups at the lakefront,
which was important as a place where musical ideas and techniques
were shared and mixed. Joseph Sharkey Bonano was born in Milneburg.
Most of the lakefront relating to jazz history was irreversibly
altered in the late 1920s when the shoreline from West End to the
east of Milneburg (more than 5 1/2 miles) was extended about 2,000
feet into Lake Pontchartrain. Important sites that were obliterated
by the reclamation project and other efforts included Tranchina's
and the Tokyo Gardens at Spanish Fort, the boardwalk and stilt camps
at Milneburg, and the West End Roof Garden. Only a few isolated
and altered structures related to early jazz remain today.
Historic Downtown Neighborhoods
Treme
Treme started as an early (about 1830) French-speaking
Creole of color community and later became a culturally mixed neighborhood
typical of New Orleans. The residents of Treme take great pride
in their history and musical traditions. Many downtown marching
clubs parade through the streets; in fact the area has one of the
highest concentrations of jazz parading in the city. The neighborhood
includes Armstrong Park and Congo Square. Historically, the Treme
neighborhood was home to several early musicians including George
Lewis, Chris Kelly, Jimmie Noone, and Henry Ragas; it had a number
of important social halls and commercial venues. Today much of Treme
looks as it did at the turn of the century when jazz was evolving.
Nonetheless, demolitions for a cultural center (later incorporated
into Armstrong Park) and other urban renewal projects removed several
important jazz sites including Economy Hall and the Gypsy Tea Room.
Equity Hall, later known as Jeune Amis Hall, remains.
Sixth
Ward
Contiguous with Treme, the Sixth Ward neighborhood
on the lake side of Claiborne Avenue is a residential area that
was home to Sidney and Leonard Bechet, Freddie and Louis Keppard,
Alphonse Picou, Kid Rena, and other predominantly Creole of color
jazz musicians. Claiborne Avenue, which divides Treme from the rest
of the Sixth Ward, was formerly a tree-lined promenade that was
frequently used for marching club parades, Mardi Gras, and other
community activities. However, construction of the Interstate 10
viaduct down Claiborne in the 1960s dramatically altered the community
landscape. In spite of the 1-10 intrusion and poor economic conditions,
social and pleasure c]ubs and mutual aid societies continue the
jazz parade tradition in the Sixth Ward.
Seventh Ward
The Seventh Ward is opposite Esplanade Avenue from the Sixth Ward
and, like those neighborhoods, was a predominantly Creole of color
residential area. The list of former residents from the Seventh
Ward is impressive and includes Paul Barbarin, Barney Bigard, Lizzie
Miles, Jelly Roll Morton, Manuel Perez, Buddy Petit, Omer Simeon,
and Lorenzo Tio, Jr. Today, the Seventh Ward retains much of its
historic appearance. Several historic social halls, such as Perseverance
Hall on Villere Street and Francs Amis Hall, are still standing
but now serves community churches. Jazz parading is still strong
in the ward.
Eighth and Ninth
Wards
The Eighth and Ninth wards begin east of Elysian Fields Avenue.
This was a racially mixed workingclass neighborhood at the turn
of the century. Woodmen of the World Hall, where early jazz was
played, still stands. Famous residents of the area included Papa
Jack Laine, Manuel Mello, Manuel Perez, and John Robichaux.
Historic Uptown Neighborhoods
Central City
Central City was an Englishspeaking, racially mixed community.
Jazz and prejazz greats from this neighborhood include Buddy Bolden,
King Oliver, Kid Ory, Papa Celestin, Pops Foster, the Dodds and
Shields brothers, and Tom Zimmerman. Social halls in Central City
important in the early days of jazz included Providence and Jackson
halls, both now gone. Although much of the neighborhood has been
affected by urban renewal and economic hardships, some of Central
City retains its historic appearance. The area has many social and
pleasure clubs and benevolent aid societies, and the neighborhood
supports a high concentration of jazz parading.
Irish Channel
The Irish Channel was mostly a white working-class community during
the early days of jazz. Musicians from the channel included Tom
Brown, the five Brunies brothers, Nick LaRocca, and Tony Sbarbaro.
Social halls here included the Cherry Pickers Hall (extant), the
Corner Club, and the Jesters Club. Much of the residential area
looks as it did during the jazz age.
Jefferson City
This culturally mixed neighborhood was home to Tony Jackson, Bunk
Johnson, and Leon Roppolo. Much of the neighborhood retains its
historic appearance.
Gerttown
Gerttown was on the edge of the city and still being reclaimed
from swamplands in the early 1900s when jazz was young. However,
the suburb contained at least two important jazz sites, Johnson
and Lincoln parks, best known for the cutting contests (i.e., informal
musical matches between bands to win over an audience) around 1905
between Buddy Bolden's hot, uptown band and John Robichaux's smooth,
downtown orchestra. Both park sites have been redeveloped. There
is some parade activity in the neighborhood today.
Carrollton
and Black Pearl
There is a tradition of blues and gospel music in the black community
in these neighborhoods that may have contributed to early jazz.
Some parade activity occurs in these neighborhoods.
Historic West Bank Neighborhoods
Algiers
Algiers was home to jazz pioneers Red Allen, Peter Bocage, Norm
Brownlee, Emmett Hardy, Manuel Manetta, and Kid "Thomas" Valentine
among others. Algiers has a long history of brass band music, and
there were a number of social halls including Perseverance Hall,
the Elks hall, and the Masons hall where early jazz was played.
There is some jazz parading in the neighborhood today.
Gretna
and Westwego
These communities are in Jefferson Parish and outside the city
of New Orleans proper. Gretna was a short ferry ride across the
river from the Jackson Avenue landing in the Irish Channel. Near
the Gretna landing was a raucous honky tonk called the Brick House,
where Louis Armstrong met his first wife. There were also a number
of social halls including Come Clean Hall. Westwego, a relatively
young community during the early days of jazz, was home to Sidney
Arodin, and Author "Monk" Hazel was from nearby Harvey.
Jazz on the Waters
In addition the districts and neighborhoods in and around New Orleans,
early jazz also developed aboard steamboats sailing out of the city.
On the Mississippi River, the S.S. Capitol and the Sidney were among
the best-known riverboats to feature jazz, and the S.S. Mandeville
and the Susquehanna used jazz to entertain passengers on excursions
on Lake Pontchartrain. None of the vessels associated with early
jazz still exist.
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