As New Orleans braces for a vastly downsized Carnival 2021 because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, THNOC is looking back at each cancellation, focusing on what the city was like at that time, the activities of the krewes during the downtime, and the celebrations that did take place despite the shutdown of big parades.
The Historic New Orleans Collection joins Jessica B. Harris’s friends around the world in celebrating her most recent honor, the 2020 James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.
What do we mean when we talk about Cajun Country? The answers are tied up in race, class, language, and, of course, history.
For years, cinephiles have lamented a lack of originality coming out of Hollywood studios. However, there’s no shortage of stories waiting to be told onscreen, and that’s where we can be of use to studio bosses.
The 1951 film of Tennessee Williams’s New Orleans-set A Streetcar Named Desire won multiple Academy Awards and is considered a landmark of American cinema. To prepare for the August 24, 2020, #NolaMovieNight group re-watch of the film, First Draft returned to local dialect coach and acting teacher Francine Segal for insight into the film’s accents (always of interest to New Orleanians) and acting styles.
When she died in June 2019 at age 96, Leah Chase was celebrated as a New Orleans legend, icon, and inspiration. During research for 2009’s animated The Princess and Frog, directors Ron Clements and John Musker called on Chase’s life story and culinary renown—a journey from French Quarter waitress to James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award recipient—as inspiration for the character of Tiana, Disney’s first African American princess.
Casino Royale became Stormy’s Casino Royale in 1948, named for (but not owned by) its star act, Stacy “Stormy” Lawrence. The club became known for featuring some of the most outlandish acts on Bourbon Street.
Curator/Historian Eric Seiferth takes us through the music scene on Bourbon Street in the 1950s.
The city's second-oldest neighborhood is full of history. All it takes is a walk along the levee to see it. Join THNOC Head of Photography Keely Merrit as she gives us a tour of her neighborhood.
This 18th-century tool is an ancestor of the waffle iron, but it tells a much wider story—of religion, foodways, and female enterprise.
