While the French Quarter garners most of the public attention, she isn't the only game on the river. Just down stream (across Esplanade) lies her little sister, Faubourg Marigny, also known simply as The Marigny (pronounced Marin-ee).
In the 19th century, Marigny was the old Third
Municipality of New Orleans. The triangular area between Esplanade and
Elysian Fields Avenue is sometimes called "The Marigny Triangle", and is part of the
7th Ward of New Orleans. The remainder is in the
8th Ward of New Orleans.
Fom Wikipedia...
The Marigny was laid out in the first decade of the 19th century by eccentric
Creole millionaire developer
Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville on land that had been his family
plantation just down river from the old city limits of New Orleans. In the early 19th century, Marigny was where white Creole gentlemen set up households for their colored mistresses (and their offspring) in the tradition of "
plaçage."
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The neighborhood declined badly in the mid 20th century, and the area around Washington Square was nicknamed "Little Angola" (after the
prison of that name) for the dangerous
criminals there. It came back strongly in the late 20th century. Profiteering around the
1984 World's Fair drove many long-term residents from the French Quarter into Marigny. Frenchmen Street developed one of the city's premier collections of live
music venues and
restaurants, and is a popular destination with music lovers from other parts of the city and knowledgeable out-of-town visitors in the early 21st century.
Marigny is one of the centers for homegrown
New Orleans Mardi Gras (see
Faubourg Marigny Mardi Gras costumes). The neighborhood is also home to the
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts Riverfront facility.
Notable people from The Marigny include jazz composer/musician
Jelly Roll Morton and singer
Lizzie Miles.
Live Jazz at Maison in the Marigny
