<GNOCDC> Uptown Neighborhood Snapshot

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Uptown Neighborhood Snapshot

Census 2000 Data Tables: People & Household Characteristics, Housing & Housing Costs, Income & Poverty, Transportation, Employment, Educational Attainment, Immigration & Language, Disabilities, Neighborhood Characteristics

Uptown is a specific neighborhood within what is commonly known as the “Uptown” area of New Orleans. Bounded by Napoleon and Jefferson, Magazine and Lasalle Sreets, the 3,000+ households in this neighborhood represent a diverse range of incomes (Census 2000), which is reflected in architecture as diverse as mansions and single shotguns.

Uptown is a neighborhood in the “Uptown” section of New Orleans

	(avacationrental.com)
	Louis Bouligny House built in 1883.

What New Orleans city planning calls the Uptown neighborhood is actually only a small part of what most people refer to as the “Uptown” area of New Orleans. Although everything from the Garden District to Carrollton is commonly referred to as “Uptown,” city planning breaks this large area into a number of neighborhoods such as Freret, Touro, West Riverside, Black Pearl and Uptown.

A bit about the Uptown neighborhood’s history

At one time the Uptown neighborhood was part of a series of wedge-shaped plantations fanning off the river. Specifically, the Uptown neighborhood was once Faubourg Bouligny, named for Louis Bouligny's plantation. Later this area became part of Jefferson City – bounded by Joseph Street and Toledano, Freret Street and the river – which was incorporated in 1850 as a part of Jefferson Parish. Around that time, the plantations were carved up and streets laid for residential development. The streets were all named for Napoleon's victories. New Orleans annexed Jefferson City in 1870 and further residential development took place.

What are some of the community’s assets?

Many restaurants and antique shops can be found on Magazine Street. The Society of St. Vincent DePaul sponsors a thrift store on this street providing clothing, furniture, and household items. Lawrence Square is a small park at the corner of Magazine and Napoleon. The Prytania movie theater, constructed in the early 1900s, offers neighbors current movies on a single large screen – one of the only such theaters remaining in the state.

The Sophie B. Wright Middle School on Napoleon Avenue, although now coed, was the first public girl's school in the city, and the first public building in New Orleans named for a woman. Sophie B. Wright was a great New Orleans educator who lived from 1886-1919. St. Elizabeth's Asylum, now a private residence on Napoleon Avenue was an orphan asylum circa 1871. It was purchased by Anne Rice, a famous New Orleans author, who frequently allowed nonprofits to use this grand residence for their fundraising events until she sold it in 2002. This large collection of buildings represents the largest block of Second Empire style in the city. The Watson Memorial Teaching Ministries, located near Napoleon and St. Charles, has a gospel choir that regularly performs at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

Image courtesy New Orleans Public Library (nutrias.org). Permission for reuse required.
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Latter, purchased the mansion above in 1948 in order to donate it to the City of New Orleans in memory of their son Milton, who was killed in Okinawa during the war. It is presently the Miltion H. Latter Memorial Public Library.Photo ca. 1930s.[Allison Collection]

On St. Charles Avenue we find the Academy of the Sacred Heart. This independent college preparatory school for girls founded in 1887 offers instruction from nursery school through high school. It is part of an international group of academic institutions directed by the Society of the Sacred Heart, a teaching order founded in France in 1800. The Milton H. Latter Memorial Public Library on St. Charles Avenue was formerly a stately mansion. The building, popularly known as the Williams mansion, was purchased in 1948 by Mr. and Mrs. Harry Latter and presented to the Public Library.

Another large institution on St. Charles Avenue is the Jewish Community Center whose mission is “to promote and ensure the well-being of our Jewish community and to instill an understanding of Judaism and its heritage by providing a Center where all can enjoy, learn, experience and share in quality activities in a Jewish environment.” Formerly the Jewish Home for Widows and Orphans, the Center has one of the premier nursery schools in the city. It also has a health club, and offers after-school activities, senior citizens programs, summer day camp, youth programs, and adult classes.

Lakeside of St. Charles Avenue in Uptown we find the Isidore Newman School, a college preparatory, non-sectarian, coeducational, independent school for students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, founded in 1903.