FAUBOURG MARIGNY

 

After 1805, New Orleans residents felt a need to expand the boundaries of the city and many settled in the Faubourg Marigny, considered the first suburb of New Orleans. This new area included the plantation of Bernard de Marigny who inherited this property in 1800 from his father, Pierre Phillipe de Marigny de Mandeville. In 1808, this twenty-year-old petitioned the city to subdivide his property closest to the city into lots. This section of New Orleans, known as the Marigny, currently runs from Esplanade Avenue to Franklin Avenue.  

The Faubourg Marigny, the maze of New Orleans, comprises of angular streets that form triangles, pentagons, and squares set at 45 degree angles. Numbers jump their sequence mid-block and so do street names. For example, Bourbon becomes Pauger in the middle of the block.  

Creole cottages abound this area and so do buildings dating back from this influx into this section. 1810 dates back to the earliest year that a building contract can be found for the Marigny. Spanish, French, Free People of Color, Italians, Germans, and Irish were among the first ethnic inhabitants to live in this section of the city.

Many Free Women of Color owned property in the Marigny. Many of these women were involved in relationships with white men, known as placage.

Eugenie Glesseau's life and relationship with Jean Baptiste Azerto indicates the pervasiveness of these relationships in New Orleans. In 1844, Glesseau received a cottage as a gift from Francisco Cheti located at 1308 Esplanade. In the title Cheti states, "not to alienate the property until the youngest of the children which she had with Jean Baptiste Azereto during their co-habitation attains twenty-one years...or the donation will be null and void." The couple never married although Azereto recognized their offspring as his own.  

The Marigny has seen a rejuvenation in activity in recent years. Neighborhood bars dot the streets in regular intervals. Tattoo parlors, jazz clubs, and various cafes and restaurants make their mark in this section, also. The beauty of this section lies in its proximity to the French Quarter but without the tourist activity that the Quarter offers. Walking through the Marigny, a person can feel one with the history and the beauty of this area. The latter is alive everywhere.