On my first morning I headed into the French Quarter to check out Jackson Square. Dallas was driving to Baton Rouge for work and called me to say that it was pouring rain and I should take cover. In New Orleans we had partial sun and temperatures up to 80 degrees. Hot and muggy, but a nice change from the weather at home. It did end up raining, but not til later at night.

Jackson Square is a big park, the size of a city block, located in the middle of the neighborhood, facing the Mississippi River. It was originally laid out by Audrien de Pauger in 1721 as a grounds for military parades and public hangings. On all sides of the park are historic landmarked buildings. In the back, from left to right, Cabildo (circa 1799), St. Louis Cathedral (circa 1794), and Presbytere (circa 1797). Cabildo was once city hall but is now a museum. It’s where the finalization of the Louisiana Purchase was signed. Presbytere originally housed the city’s Roman Catholic priests, then it was a courthouse, now it’s a museum. On the other 2 sides of the park are the Pontalba buildings, matching red-brick, block long, 4-story buildings constructed in the 1840s. On the ground floors are shops and restaurants, with apartments above. I bought a book in one of the stores. These apartment are the oldest continuously rented apartments in North America.

In the 1850s the Baroness Micaela Pontalba transformed the military grounds to a park. The square was renamed Jackson Square in 1856 to honor Andrew Jackson, the hero of the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812. In the center of the square is a statue of Jackson and the rest of the park is landscaped with pathways in a sun pattern.