Rampart Street
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Rampart Street is a historic avenue located in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The upper (up river) end of the street is in the New Orleans Central Business District. After crossing Canal Street, it forms the inland or northern border of the French Quarter (Vieux Carre).
The street gets its name from the wall, or "Rampart" ("Rempart" in French), that was built on the north side of the street in the city's early years to fortify the early French colonial city. Today, Rampart St. has four lanes separated by a tree-lined median. Like Canal Street, Carondelet Street, and other streets in New Orleans, Rampart features classic lightposts reminiscent of the past.
Across Elysian Fields Avenue, the street continues into the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood, then splits off from St. Claude Avenue to become a single lane one way street through residential neighborhoods. It continues into the Bywater neighborhood. With a break from the Industrial Canal, Rampart street resumes in the Lower 9th Ward.
In the early and mid 20th century Rampart Street was the center of an important African-American commercial and entertainment district.
Famous landmarks on Rampart include:
- Louis Armstrong Park -- the site of Congo Square and home of the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park
- Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel (The Old Mortuary Chapel) -- Built in 1826, the oldest surviving church building in New Orleans.
- The Center of Jesus the Lord (Old Carmelite Convent) -- Built in 1895.
- St. Mark's United Methodist Church -- Built in 1924.
- Eagle Saloon & Oddfellows Hall -- 19th century lodge building is perhaps the most important surviving building from the early days of jazz, having been the base for the famous "Eagle Band" and where Buddy Bolden, Freddie Keppard, Buddie Petit, Louis Armstrong, and many other early jazz greats played.
- Iroquois Theater, an African-American cinema and Vaudeville house managed by Clarence Williams in the early 20th century
- The State Palace Theater (formerly Lowe's State)
- The Sanger Theater
- The J & M Music Store building, where many important recordings were made by Cosimo Matassa
Rampart Street has been commemorated in such tunes and songs as "South Rampart Street Parade" and "I've Got the Blues for Rampart Street".
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