New Orleans Then and Now®: A photographic guide to the history, culture and architecture of NOLA

by Sharon Keating

Pairing archive photos of the 'Big Easy' with their modern counterparts, New Orleans Then and Now shows how the city has preserved its rich architectural heritage to become a must-see tourist destination. While New York has Dutch and English forebears, New Orleans has the French and Spanish to thank for creating a unique blend of eighteenth and nineteenth century architecture that has made it one of the most photographed cities in the world. Then there is the madness of Mardi Gras and the lure of its international jazz festival that has helped give it the nicknames; “the City that Care Forgot” and “the Big Easy.” Before the rise of the railroads it was the most prosperous city in the South.The city fell early in the Civil War, in 1862, but the dwindling importance of cotton and the Mississippi that led to the city’s real demise in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Today, tourism is an important industry and despite the inundation of floodwater from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, visitors have flocked back to the city. New Orleans Then and Now features the must-see sites of the French Quarter; Bourbon Street, once frequented by a streetcar named Desire, the Old Absinthe House, the Napoleon House, the haunted LaLaurie Mansion and the beautiful ironwork of the LaBranche buildings. It also shows the St.Louis Cathedral and the Higgins boatyard which played a crucial role in winning World War II.

144 pages, Hardcover

Published March 1, 2017

Reviews

[Lea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting to see the photos compiled like this but there’s a weird fixation confederate statues and sights (at least one of which has been removed and one barely in New Orleans) and no focus at all on landmarks related to people of color. She refers to Marie Laveau as a “voodoo priestess” instead of by name, only mentions Louis Armstrong and the Treme neighborhood in passing, and briefly and all-too-generally describes a past custom involving mixed races by repeatedly using a term I think most would consider offensive. She also refers to Mardi Gras Indians as “Native American tribes”, Super Sunday as “St. Joseph’s day” when referring to the parade custom and leaves out all of the cultural significance of it. A very white washed view of New Orleans, both then and now.

[Emily Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, I LOVE New Orleans.

I love the city's architecture, its fascinating history and its culture.

In offering comparative photos (then and now) of well-known sites and buildings, this book has captured many truly special places that give this city its flavor.