[Dixielandjazz] Uptown/Downtown - was Rampart Street

[Anton Crouch]

Hello all

In the informative discussion of Rampart Street, New Orleans, a passing 
reference was made to the present CBD as "downtown".

This differs from the traditional use at the time of the emergence of 
jazz. The French/Spanish area to the NE of Canal Street was "downtown" 
and the African American/English area to the SW was "uptown". A musical 
distinction between the two areas was stressed by people such as Jelly 
Roll Morton.

The downtown/uptown terminology came from the direction of flow of the 
Mississippi River - "down" was with the river flow towards the delta.

While it's true that a canal along the route of the present Canal 
Street, from the Basin to the river, was never built, there were at 
least two canals from Lake Pontchartrain to the Basin.

All the best,
Anton