Irish Channel |
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"A neighborhood in the truest sense, where everybody knows everybody."
"Wonderful old houses and churches." "Great stores on Magazine Street." "Affordable, charming... and it's on high ground!"
Description
History Although the area's earliest residents weren't all Irish, they were overwhelmingly Catholic. St. Mary's Assumption Church (German Catholic), St. Alphonsus' and St. Patrick's Churches (Irish), and Notre Dame de Bon Secours Church (French) drew many devout emigrants to make this area their home. Sometime after the Civil War, the name Irish Channel was given to describe a vague section of the city (all along the river), and was used less as a geographical designation than a pejorative term. New Orleans' Irish residents, who endured hardship and persecution, did however live to have their revenge. Anne Rice, among the city's most famous Irish-Americans, was born in this area, and used its landmarks in a number of her books. The Irish Channel is a term still used today to infer a unique New Orleans Irish heritage and as a mark or pride in the area's unique character.
Landmarks
Public Transportation All of the major boundaries of the Irish Channel offer public transportation on city buses. The St. Charles streetcar, about 9 blocks walking distance to the north of the Irish Channel provides transportation to the downtown area and to the University section near Audubon Park. New Orleans Regional Transit Authority
City Council Representative
Stacey S. Head - District B
Police District New Orleans Police Department - 6th District Neighborhood Associations
Neighborhood Contact
Schools Live Oak Middle School and Laurel Elementary School
Read more about the Irish Channel |
The "Irish Channel" was originally home to many of the Irish workers who came here in the 1830s to dig the New Basin Canal, completed in 1840. This area of small cottages and "shotgun" houses, located on narrow lots, continued to be inhabited throughout the 19th and 20th centuries primarily by blue-collar workers, who could afford the more modest prices. The houses here are smaller than those in the Garden District and Uptown, but what they lack in square footage, they more than make up for in fine decoration and charm. Their close proximity creates a feeling of community and coziness, where neighbors can still share a cup of coffee or a moment of gossip over a backyard fence.
