Decatur Street (New Orleans)

Decatur Street is a street in New Orleans, Louisiana. Named after Stephen Decatur, this street near the Mississippi River in the French Quarter was formerly known as "Levee Street" or "Rue de la Levée."

Looking up Decatur Street from the Joan of Arc monument

The street starts at Canal Street (across Canal Street, the equivalent street is Magazine Street) running across the French Quarter roughly paralleling the Mississippi River, and comes to its terminus at St. Ferdinand Street in the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood.

The most famous sights on Decatur Street are Jackson Square and nearby Café du Monde.

For about a century, upper Decatur Street (the portion closer to Canal Street) had many businesses catering to sailors visiting the port of New Orleans. In the late 20th century, it was redeveloped and became more upscale with commercial business such as the House of Blues.

In the late 20th century, lower Decatur Street became a center of local punk and goth subculture. The Street contains various bars and music venues and is not far from the Frenchmen Street venues, across Esplanade Avenue in Faubourg Marigny. The Palm Court Cafe is a famous traditional jazz venue.

Decatur Street (New Orleans)

See also