A New Orleans Travel Experience

architecture creative culture history and traditions

The original settlement of New Orleans and the oldest neighborhood in the city is Vieux Carre, better known as the French Quarter. Established by the French in 1718, the location continues to be a valuable site for trade due to its strategic position along the Mississippi River. The district is a National Historic Landmark and is bordered by popular streets, such as Canal, Decatur and Rampart Streets and Esplanade Avenue. The French Quarter boasts cultural contributions from the French, Spanish, Italians, Africans, Irish and others – as demonstrated by the development of New Orleans as a global port.

Architecture is a dominant feature throughout the neighborhood; balconies adorned with intricate ironwork, courtyards filled with lush greenery and beautiful fountains showcase the French Quarter's European roots, mostly the handiwork of the Spanish who ruled and rebuilt the city after two large fires in 1788 and 1794. Many buildings have ceramic plaques with the street names during Spanish rule.

Landmarks Jackson Square, originally known as the Place d'Armes, was renamed to honor Andrew Jackson, the hero of the Battle of New Orleans. The square is flanked by historic structures such as the St. Louis Cathedral, the Presbytere and Cabildo, which house the Louisiana State Museums, and the Pontalba Apartments - the oldest apartment buildings in the United States.
 

The Creative Culture of the Quarter is embraced by the collection of fortune tellers, artists and musicians who surround Jackson Square. Just across the street is the famed Cafe’ du Monde, serving up beignets and café au lait 24 hours a day. Every street has something unique to offer from classic restaurants, music venues, boutiques and voodoo temples. The most popular streets are: Royal, Chartres and Bourbon, along with the historic French Market.

New Orleans Homes

Creole Cottage these signature single-story homes with steeply pitched roofs have front porches that practically touch the street; present in the French Quarter.

American Townhouse a narrow brick or stucco three-story structure, asymmetrical windows and an iron balcony on the second or third floor; present in the Central Business and Garden Districts.

Creole Townhouse with shops below and homes above, these buildings are the perfect arrangement for the thriving urban center. Arched windows distinguish Creole from American townhouses.

Raised Centerhall Cottage one-and-a-half-story homes raised slightly above street-level and a porch stretching all the way across the front with columns; present in Garden, Uptown and Carrollton.

Shotgun House easy to spot with long and narrow single-story homes with lacey Victorian embellishment beneath the large front eve; present throughout the city.

Double Gallery House stacked and covered front porches, stately box columns and a front door off to one side; present in the Garden District, Uptown and Esplanade Ridge.

Arts and Culture New Orleans' Old World roots have created a strong foundation and long-standing appreciation for the arts. Early residents of the city often traveled back to Europe for musical instruction or training in the visual arts, and operatic performances took place in the city as early as 1796. Today the city has countless galleries, performance spaces and museums.

Museums

The Historic New Orleans Collection located in the French Quarter, this collection is the best introduction to New Orleans history. Four exhibition spaces depict the multicultural stories of the region, from permanent displays on the evolution of Louisiana to rotating art and history exhibits.

The Cabildo the flagship building of The Louisiana State Museum is the site of the Louisiana Purchase. It served as the Louisiana State Supreme Court until 1908 and was the location of the landmark decision in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1892. Today it houses exhibitions on the Purchase and on Louisiana history. 

Madame John's Legacy an excellent example of Louisiana Creole residential design at the end of the 18^th century. The architectural complex consists of three buildings: the main house, kitchen with cook quarters and a two-story garconniere. It is part of The Louisiana State Museum. 

The 1850 House an example of antebellum architecture in New Orleans, it offers a glimpse of middle- and upper-class life during the most prosperous period in New Orleans' history. The house is a part of the Lower Pontalba Building, which was built by the Baroness Pontalba. 

The African American Museum of Art Culture and History located in the historic Faubourg Tremé, one of America's oldest black neighborhoods, and comprised of 7 historic buildings.  

The National World War II Museum features a 4D cinematic experience, interactive exhibits, soaring aircraft, personal histories and more. 

Delaware and Lehigh Valleys Coal Iron Steel and Canals

The Coal Iron Steel and Canals of the Delaware and Lehigh Valleys

The Delaware & Lehigh five county region of Northeastern Pennsylvania developed in the late 18^th Century as a result of the anthracite mines, the iron and steel industries, and the canals built to reach Philadelphia .

Land People and History the Lenape of the Delaware Valley hunted deer, grew grains and vegetables, and caught seafood along the coast.  The Lehigh Valley was of great importance because it was one of their main east-west pathways, intersecting with major north-south aboriginal trails in the Delaware Valley. Despite its prominence as a crossroads, the Great Valley was the site of few permanent villages, although they often camped at the confluence of the Lehigh and Delaware rivers in what is now Easton.

  

 

Delaware and Lehigh Valley Local Native Plant Gardens, Family fishing in New Hope and Bristol Amish Market 
The first Europeans in the Lehigh Valley were Scots-Irish who followed the Saucon and Indian creeks and established settlements in today’s Northampton County. Large numbers of Germans came into the Lehigh Valley in the 1730s.  Among them were the Schwenkfelders from Saxony and Mennonites, known for their skills as craftsmen and millers, and for establishing schools.  Most of the Germans became known as Pennsylvania Dutch and grew maize, squash, wheat and livestock. At least 50 different nations and ethnic groups have been identified among the immigrants of the 1800s; many arrived at Ellis Island and traveled straight to the Lehigh Valley. Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton thrived by the late 19^th Century.
The Delaware and Lehigh Valleys played a major role during the American Revolution. George Washington’s crossed the Delaware River in 1776, the second reading of Declaration of Independence was held in Easton and the Liberty Bell was hidden from the British here.

The Discovery of Anthracite in 1791, Carbon County set the stage for America’s Industrial Revolution, the founding of small towns, the birth of industrial powerhouses such as Bethlehem Steel and the development of the Lehigh and Delaware Canals. Also known as stone coal because of its rock-like hardness, it appeared atop hills and under valleys in seams or veins up to 12 feet thick. Industries involving iron, steel, Portland cement and zinc processing flourished, followed by tanneries, silk and textile mills. These raw materials led to commercial, transportation and cultural opportunities along a 165-mile route through the Wyoming, Lehigh and Delaware Valleys.

Planning Your Trip assumes uniquely local dimensions wherever you go; the activities that you, the visitor – local, or global –  select and irrespective of the length of your stay, are unique of the community you are visiting and rooted into the local economy, history and traditions.

TEMA develops personalized travel itineraries based on client interests by leveraging an in-depth knowledge of your destination, superior client service in the planning stages and throughout the trip or event as well as logistics expertise to reduce accommodations and transport costs and transfer times.

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Transportation and Communications the Lehigh River carved a trail that would eventually become the backbone of future transportation routes. Footpaths along the river banks gave way to canals, then to railroads, and finally to modern-day highways. Nowhere is this more apparent than at Lehigh Gap, a dramatic landscape where the Lehigh River breaks through Blue Mountain, also known as Kittatiny Ridge, the final ridge in the Appalachian chain. The Delaware Canal was built during the early 19^th Century from Easton to Bristol on the Delaware River fostering development of textile mills such as the Grundy complex, steel mills like the Fairless Works and planned suburban community like Levittown. Completion of the Lehigh Canal further accelerated development of the Valley.

The 1862 floods destroyed all the dams, locks and canal boats and coal shipping shifted to railroads.  The Lehigh Valley Railroad, which ran through Easton and on to New York City, was the first rail line to have a significant impact. The Lehigh & Susquehanna Railroad and Reading & Pennsylvania Railroad created competition for shipping coal and other goods. The Delaware Canal was a transport link with limited industrial impact on the rural, farm region it flowed through.

Culture and The Environment in more recent times, the region has been in the forefront of land conservation, historic preservation and an arts movement that celebrates land and landscapes. The local culture draws from the Moravian settlements experience in which all men were equal, hence a unique and broad cultural environment in which music, art, education and religious tolerance flourished, as shown in the communal dwellings, churches and industrial structures in Bethlehem and Nazareth.

                                                 

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