Lower Garden District |
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"Wonderful old houses, and they're affordable!"
"I can get on the Interstate, cross the bridge, get to the French Quarter, or drive Uptown "There's a huge range of property values here for such a small area." "The shops and small businesses are wonderful."
Description The Lower Garden District is often confused with its more famous neighbor, the Upper Garden District, but it has a unique, eclectic flavor all its own. Centered around Coliseum Square, the area is one of graceful vistas and curving streets, replete with classical names like Dryades, Melpomene, and Terpsichore. Indeed Lee Circle, originally Tivoli Circle, was envisioned as an anchor for the nine streets which extending up from it, all named after the nine muses. The houses here actually predate those of the Garden District proper, since they were built in the early years of the 19th century as the city expanded upriver from the French Quarter. Since the area is still in the process of being revitalized, many magnificent homes can be purchased here at reasonable prices, especially for those willing to invest a little "sweat equity." Since the Lower Garden District was already in the process of revival before Hurricane Katrina, anticipation is strong that trend will continue, since the area remained dry and relatively undamaged. Today, as in the past, the Lower Garden District is a neighborhood ripe for discovery, filled with architectural gems, magnificent old streets, interesting residents, and a rich cultural heritage that only keeps getting better and better with time.
History: The Lower Garden District was the creation of Bartheleme Lafon, one of the great urban planners of the 19th century. In 1806 and 1807 he laid out a new suburb here complete with public green spaces, fountains and canals, and special walkways connecting every area with the park. The street names, in fact, reflect many planned structures that were never actually built: a Prytaneum, or school, and a Colosseum were both anticipated, but never in fact realized. As the city expended upriver, the fashionable residents of the Lower Garden District were supplanted by boarding-house owners, and many of the great mansions were turned into apartment buildings. Today, individual homeowners and condominium residents alike are discovering this exquisite Greek-revival gem in the heart of the city, a neighborhood where all the muses conspire to make life beautiful.
Landmarks
Coliseum Square
Public Transportation Our neighborhood is the most convenient in town, with easy access to buses on Magazine, Jackson, etc., street cars on St. Charles, the Pontchartrain Expressway, the Crescent City Connection, and the Jackson/Gretna ferry. New Orleans Regional Transit Authority
City Council Representative
Stacey S. Head - District B
Police District New Orleans Police Department - 6th District
Demographics Variety of small families, retirees, older couples and singles
Architecture Early to mid-nineteenth century with some later additions
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