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Uptown Information
Uptown is a large area of New Orleans, Louisiana. Uptown encompasses a number
of neighborhoods on the East Bank of the Mississippi River between the French
Quarter and the Jefferson Parish line which were developed in the 19th century.
Uptown has one of Greater New Orleans' most diverse populations in terms of
economics, race, and ethnic groups. It remains an area of mixed residential and
small commercial properties, with a wealth of 19th century architecture.
Historically, "Uptown" was a direction, meaning in the direction against the
flow of the Mississippi. After the Louisiana Purchase, many settlers from other
parts of the United States developed their homes and businesses in the area up
river from the older Creole city. In the 19th century Canal Street was known as
the dividing line between "Uptown" and "Downtown New Orleans", the boundary
between the predominantly Francophone area down river and the predominantly
Anglophone area up river.
The very broadest definition of "Uptown", coming from this historic definition
of being everything upriver from Canal, encompasses about 1/3rd of the city. The
narrowest, as a New Orleans City Planning neighborhood, refers to an area of
only some dozen blocks centering around the intersection of Jefferson and St.
Charles. Neither of these is what most New Orleanians of recent generations
usually mean by "Uptown". While some may quibble about some exact boundaries,
"Uptown" generally refers to the areas of the city closer to the River up from
the Central Business District.
The boundaries of "Uptown National Historic District" designated by the US
Federal Government are the river to Claiborne Avenue, Jackson Avenue to
Broadway. Adjacent areas which are often colloquially referred to as parts of
Uptown are other National Historical Districts, Carrollton, The Garden District,
Irish Channel, and Lower Garden District.
Uptown was developed during the 19th century, mostly from land that had been
plantations in the Colonial era. Several sections were originally developed as
separate towns, like Lafayette, Jefferson City, Greenville, and Carrollton, but
were annexed by New Orleans as the city expanded upriver.
People from other parts of the United States settled Uptown in the 19th century,
joined by immigrants, notably from Italy, Ireland, and Germany. Uptown has
always had a sizable African American population. Census data shows that
ethnically and racially mixed blocks were common Uptown in the 19th and early
20th century, which continues to be the case today.
Uptown was built along the higher ground along an old natural river levee of a
wide gradual bend of the Mississippi. Streets were laid out either roughly
paralleling the River's curve or perpendicular to it, resulting in what has been
called a "wheel with spokes" street pattern (with the hub inland from Uptown, in
the Broadmoor and Mid City areas).
Major roadways echoing the river's crescent include Tchoupitoulas Street closest
to the river. Formerly heavily devoted to river shipping commerce, as shipping
became more containerized in the later 20th century more of Tchoupitoulas became
devoted to residential and other commercial uses. The next major street back is
Magazine. While Magazine Street has only one lane of traffic in both directions,
it is a major commercial district, known for its many locally owned shops,
restaurants, and art galleries. Prytania Street is the next major street inland,
although it extends only up to Jefferson Avenue as a major thoroughfare. Next is
famous St. Charles Avenue, home to the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar line. St.
Charles was the city's "millionaire's row" in the 19th century, and a good
number of the architecturally significant old mansions still stand along St.
Charles, but much of it has more recently built apartment buildings and
commercial establishments as well. Further back, the streets Simon Bolivar, La
Salle, and Freret form another parallel with the river. Furthest back is wide
Claiborne Avenue, which until the early 20th century had a canal running down
its neutral ground, and in much of Uptown was the back boundary of developed
area until the drainage pumps designed by A. Baldwin Wood were installed (see:
Drainage in New Orleans).
Major "spokes" perpendicular to the river include Melpomene/Martin Luther King
Jr. Boulevard, Jackson, Washington, Louisiana, Napoleon, Jefferson, Nashville
Avenues, Broadway, Carrollton Avenue, and Leonidas Street. Many of these were
formerly the main streets of or boundary lines between the various early 19th
century towns which were absorbed into the city.
Near the upper end of Uptown, on and around the land used for the 1884 World's
Fair "World Cotton Centennial", are Uptown landmarks Audubon Park, Tulane
University, and Loyola University New Orleans.