Garden District, New Orleans

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The Garden District is a residential area of New Orleans, Louisiana. It was developed between 1840 to 1900. Its borders are St. Charles Avenue and Magazine Street and from Louisiana Avenue to Jackson Avenue. It may be one of the best preserved collection of historic southern mansions in the United States.

This whole area was once a number of plantations. It was sold off in parcels to mainly wealthy Americans who did not want to live in the French Quarter with the Creoles. The district was laid out by New Orleans architect, planner and surveyor Barthelemy Lafon.

Originally the area was developed with only a couple of houses per block, each surrounded by a large garden, giving the district its name. In the late 19th century some of these large lots were subdivided as Uptown New Orleans became more concentratedly urban. This has produced a pattern for much of the neighborhood of any given block having a couple of early 19th century mansions surrounded by "gingerbread" decorated late Victorian houses. Even though people think the "Garden District" is known more for its architecture than for gardens, it really is known for both.

Famous inhabitants have included Anne Rice and Trent Reznor.

Although experiencing wind damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, this area on old high ground escaped the catastrophic flooding of the majority of the rest of the city (see: Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans).