First Draft
Stories from the Historic New Orleans Collection
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East Meets West
Over the course of a century, two iterations of Chinatown in New Orleans shaped the city’s landscape and culture.
Explore the Blog
Browse our latest posts or search by topic.
Grass Roots
The native plants of Louisiana’s coast form a vital part of the region’s ecosystem and cultures.
Six Things I Learned the Last Time I Evacuated
When it comes to hurricanes, Louisiana folks know how to balance humor and gravity, as shown in this award-winning essay from HNOC’s 2025 Student Writing Contest.
From the Sky, There’s No Denying Louisiana’s Disappearing Coastline
Photographer Ben Depp uses a paraglider to capture wetland views that are as beautiful as they are alarming.
Julia Brown’s Curse and the Storm That Swamped Ruddock
A Category 4 hurricane drowned the town in 1915, but legend has it there was hoodoo at work.
Coming to New Orleans, Part V
Two disasters, the fall of Saigon and Hurricane Katrina, spurred the two largest waves of immigrants to New Orleans in recent history.
Coming to New Orleans, Part III
In the decades after the Civil War, New Orleans expanded its Asian populations, while turmoil in Sicily eventually led to the French Quarter becoming known as Little Palermo.
How the Fires of 1788 and 1794 Changed New Orleans
Two great fires destroyed large portions of New Orleans during the city’s Spanish colonial era, spurring changes that can still be seen today.
“The Downtown Club with Uptown Ideas”
In 1950s New Orleans, Club Desire drew national acts, nurtured young talents, and was a pillar of the Black community during segregation.
Fleeing, Flooding, and Fun
Summer in New Orleans is like winter in the North—long and difficult but not without its pleasures. For centuries, residents have been finding a way to live or leave during the hottest months.
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Cajuns & Creoles
Sally Miller or Salomé Müller?
An enslaved woman named Sally Miller went to the Louisiana Supreme Court to sue for her freedom. She won, then she was forgotten.
Identity Theft
Nearly 35 years ago, a heedless conservator altered a rare portrait of a free woman of color. Now, it has been restored and is on view again—and this time, HNOC is telling the story.
What’s the Difference Between Cajun and Creole—Or Is There One?
The answers are tied up in race, class, language, and, of course, history.
New Orleans Icons
Richard Simmons, New Orleans’s Hometown Hero
How a native son who grew up in the French Quarter sweated his way into the spotlight
Shades of Blanche
An experimental theater production sheds new light on one of Tennessee Williams’s most beloved characters.
Danny Barker’s Folk Heroes
The jazzman was also a gifted writer and storyteller who put his own spin on the archetypes of African American folklore, from badmen and blues mamas to “day people and night people.”
Carnival Chronicles
DJ Soul Sister’s Personal Mardi Gras Playlist
In liner notes to a playlist curated for HNOC, the “Queen of Rare Groove” leads a tour through Mardi Gras music history, drawing on her memories as a New Orleans native.
The Renaissance Man Who Changed Mardi Gras
Before he became the father of the Carnival doubloon, H. Alvin Sharpe was a sailor, maker, prospector, and poet.
Carnival Couture
Eight Mardi Gras fashion designs inspired by history, pop culture, and even architecture
North Side Skull and Bone Gang: “You Next!”
Bruce Sunpie Barnes, big chief of the North Side Skull and Bone Gang, describes a Mardi Gras Black masking tradition.
The Defiance of New Orleans’s Black Debutante Tradition
The debutante circuit was once the province of whites only, until Black New Orleanians found their own way to hold court.
The Breadth of Carnival Artistry in Nine Photographs
Snapshots of Carnival through photographic history, from Mardi Gras Indian big chiefs to ‘Tit Rex
How to Catch Beads during Mardi Gras (No, Not That Way)
In a charming DIY pamphlet from 1969, one Carnivalgoer gives humorous tips for how to survive and thrive during Mardi Gras.
HNOC Quarterly
Our members-only magazine, full of pretty pictures, interesting articles, and inside info
New Orleans Stories,
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