Cultural Influences On New Orleans

New Orleans is a melting pot of culture or as the people from New Orleans probably refer to it: a gumbo. Many of their cultural influences come from their deep-rooted history. New Orleans, founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, became a cultural gumbo from the fact that the Louisiana Territory swapped hands many times before it came to rest in the hands of the Americans. The French sent most of their undesirables like prostitutes, thieves, and an assortment of other criminals to inhabit this territory. With them, they brought several French customs like certain architectural themes, food, and even city design. Eventually the territory swapped over to Spanish rule where many buildings in the French Quarter were rebuilt due to a fire leaving more of a Spanish influence than a French one. The Spanish also built or began the building processes on several well-known buildings in New Orleans like the Cabildo (a Spanish headquarters at the time) and Presbytere. Cultural influences even came from the African American slave trade. Slaves brought okra with them (a main component in gumbo), dancing, and music. The …show more content…
Bourbon Street can be seen in many different lights. While at night all interviewees agreed, Bourbon Street is the cat’s meow where people come to party and drink the night away. It is a completely “beautiful place underneath the night lights” but during the day it can be a complete one eighty flip. The nuance about this street is that during the day “it is almost the same as any other street in town.” The architecture definitely reflects their origins with French and Spanish influences. This tiny detail could only be noticed during the daylight hours for the fact that during the night all the flashing neon signs and the intense alcohol can act as blinders from the streets structural