Bywater |
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"The people...there's a great diversity of people, but all with a true neighborhood feeling. Many artists, craftspeople and musicians"
"Close to the French Quarter and the Marigny neighborhoods, but with a character all its own." "I didn't think I could afford such a beautiful old home. It's like a dream come true."
Description
The area is home to young professionals, musicians, painters and photographers who find inspiration in its closely-packed houses and unexpected gardens. Bywater isn't just an area where history is preserved: it's an area where the 19th and 20th centuries live in cheerful cross-pollination with the 21st, and tomorrow's creations are nurtured in the warm glow of an intact and colorful past. History Originally Bywater was sugar plantation land, which was then subdivided and settled by Germans, Irishmen and Slavs many of whose descendants still live there today. Later with the boom in the cotton trade, the neighborhood was developed along the river to accommodate the big cotton presses. Press Street still carries the history of those times in its name, and the wonderful cottages which still fill the area were built to house the accompanying workers. During the Great Depression, this area became a run-down slum, but as the French Quarter and the adjoining Marigny gradually gentrified, the lower rents and sale prices of Bywater made it attractive to artists being pushed out of these higher-priced environs. Today Bywater remains an affordable option for residents looking for history, charm, an eclectic mix of professions and races, and a welcoming community devoted to aesthetics, innovation and fun.
Landmarks
St. Roch market
Schools
Dr. Martin Luther King Charter School for Science & Technology
City Council Representative
James Carter - District C
Police Districts
New Orleans Police Department Eighth District (uptown of Elysian Fields);
Demographics Young to middle-aged singles and couples, most without children. Some retirees. Many generations living in close proximity.
Architecture One-story shotgun houses, vintage 1870 - 1890, packed closely together. Whole neighborhoods of late 19th century housing exist, punctuated at intervals by churches and bell towers. Bywater is one of the best preserved nineteenth century neighborhoods in the city.
Read More About Bywater
The Preservation Resource Center |
Nestled into the curve of the Mississippi as it winds its way down river from the French Quarter and the Marigny, Bywater is a relaxed neighborhood of shotgun houses and Creole cottages which is home to the most thriving bohemia in the city. Although the area endured moderate Katrina flooding, this vibrant, creative and eclectic place has barely missed a beat in digging out and transforming its trash into treasure. Here corner groceries and neighborhood bars coexist with artists' studios and late-night cafes in a way that truly says New Orleans...funky, cutting-edge, embracing and fiercely protective of its own unique energy. Whether you're looking for a home with lacy woodwork and heart-of-pine floors or a gallery selling fine jewelry and outsider art, Bywater has it all in a way that will charm, delight and astonish you.
