First Draft - Local Life

December 12, 2022
Story by Joanna Robinson, Visitor Services interpreter; video by Xiomara Blanco, media producer

Inspired by the Enlightenment, Spanish king Carlos III enacted broad-ranging reforms across the Spanish empire, leading to major improvements in Spanish New Orleans.




December 5, 2022
By Nina Bozak, curator of rare books

A new collection at THNOC documents the career of a “little” woman who made a big impact on New Orleans music.




November 29, 2022
Story by Dylan Jordan, Visitor Services interpreter; video by Xiomara Blanco, media producer

Untangling the web of war, family ties, and secret pacts that brought Louisiana under Spanish control.




November 10, 2022
Story by Kurt Owens, Visitor Services interpreter; video by Xiomara Blanco, media producer

Two great fires destroyed large portions of New Orleans during the city’s Spanish colonial era. The disasters spurred major changes to the cityscape that can still be observed today.




September 16, 2022
Loren C. Brown, decorative arts intern, summer 2022

A THNOC internship leads to the creation of an important tool for preserving and displaying Black Masking Indian suits.




September 2, 2022
By Nick Weldon, editor

Club Desire drew some of the biggest local and national musical acts, nurtured young talents like Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew, and operated as a hub of the New Orleans Black community during segregation. 




September 1, 2022
By Molly Reid Cleaver, senior editor

Summer 1969 brought New Orleans fully into the counterculture movement happening across the country, starting with a series of weekly love-ins at Mardi Gras Fountain.




August 5, 2022
By Molly Reid Cleaver, senior editor

Summer in New Orleans is like winter in the North—not for the faint of heart. But for centuries, residents have been finding a way to live—or leave—through the hottest months.




July 15, 2022
Terri Simon, associate editor

New Orleans has been home to countless musicians who have helped shape American music. Louis Moreau Gottschalk and Juvenile are two of them, and you might be surprised by what their music has in common.




July 7, 2022
By Katherine Jolliff Dunn, curatorial cataloger

THNOC houses hundreds of designs from the archives of Larry Youngblood and Carroll Pio Burtanog, two designers who outfitted Carnival kings, queens, and courtiers for decades. Here’s a look at some of their most outrageous creations. 






 

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