[Dixielandjazz] Notes on South (& North) Rampart Steet

[philwilking]

What no one would ever guess from the street names, and there are several 
streets which cross Canal Street and change their names from "North" to 
"South" this or that, is that North Rampart Street runs east from Canal 
Street and South Rampart Street runs west from it. These streets are north 
of the downtown area (French Quarter to the east of Canal Street and 
"American" sector to the west of it).

Canal Street itself runs north and south with about a 10 degree lean to the 
east of true North.

No native of New Orleans ever refers to a compass direction in giving 
directions. Reference is always to "up" and "down," which refers to 
"upstream" and "downstream" of the river. And since the river bends around 
New Orleans in a large crescent, "up" or "down" can mean any direction 
EXCEPT north or south, depending upon the neighborhood you mean.

Phil Wilking - K5MZF
www.nolabanjo.com

Unless each one is covered in its own
plastic shroud, two or more wire coat
hangers in a dark closet will breed.

-----Original Message----- 
From: Charles Suhor

Some notes on Rampart Street. “Rampart” means “wall” in French. In colonial 
days a rampart was built parallel to the Mississippi River at the edge of 
the French Quarter as a defense against possible invaders. When a wall was 
no longer needed, the name stuck--North Rampart Street from Canal Street all 
the way down through the Lower Ninth Ward, and South Rampart from Canal 
Street several blocks into the-uptown area. It was largely prided as a black 
business district, now acknowledged as a historical area.