NEW ORLEANS (Faubourg Marigny) -
One New Orleans neighborhood has been awarded a top honor. ABC26's Janella Newsome shows us how and why the Marigny is grabbing national attention.
"It is so deserved," New Orleans City Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson said during a special celebration in the historical Faubourg Marigny neighborhood.
The American Planning Association lists this cultural hot spot established in 1805 as one of the top 10 great American neighborhoods in 2009. According to the association's president, it is the only Louisiana neighborhood to ever make the list.
"The one thing that's unique about the Marigny is, when you walk into our neighborhood we have coffee shops and restaurants and wonderful little shops and services that people need," suggests Chris Costello, the president of the Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association. "So it's unique in that sense."
Over the weekend, preservationists gave tours and folks leisurely strolled through Washington Square along Frenchmen Street, passing famous jazz clubs and restaurants while admiring New Orleans architectural types and styles from Creole cottages to slave quarters to Victorian shotguns.
"This neighborhood is 200 years old," Costello explains, "and so we take it very seriously that we're in some ways the keepers of this neighborhood for future generations."
Homeowners like Eugene Cizek take pride in their living spaces, and the neighborhood as a whole: "We sort of feel like there's no other neighborhood quite like this in the world. It's very resilient. You know, everybody is welcome here. Within a two or three block radius, I could bring you to friends' houses that don't have much money at all to people that have tons of money."
Residents and business owners say their neighborhood is unique and hope there will be more awards recognizing this place they feel is like no other.
The American Planning Association says the Marigny has grand views and singled out the oaks in Washington Square as the neighborhood's heart and soul. It also praised the Marigny's nightlife as having a "bohemian vibe."
"It is so deserved," New Orleans City Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson said during a special celebration in the historical Faubourg Marigny neighborhood.
The American Planning Association lists this cultural hot spot established in 1805 as one of the top 10 great American neighborhoods in 2009. According to the association's president, it is the only Louisiana neighborhood to ever make the list.
"The one thing that's unique about the Marigny is, when you walk into our neighborhood we have coffee shops and restaurants and wonderful little shops and services that people need," suggests Chris Costello, the president of the Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association. "So it's unique in that sense."
Over the weekend, preservationists gave tours and folks leisurely strolled through Washington Square along Frenchmen Street, passing famous jazz clubs and restaurants while admiring New Orleans architectural types and styles from Creole cottages to slave quarters to Victorian shotguns.
"This neighborhood is 200 years old," Costello explains, "and so we take it very seriously that we're in some ways the keepers of this neighborhood for future generations."
Homeowners like Eugene Cizek take pride in their living spaces, and the neighborhood as a whole: "We sort of feel like there's no other neighborhood quite like this in the world. It's very resilient. You know, everybody is welcome here. Within a two or three block radius, I could bring you to friends' houses that don't have much money at all to people that have tons of money."
Residents and business owners say their neighborhood is unique and hope there will be more awards recognizing this place they feel is like no other.
The American Planning Association says the Marigny has grand views and singled out the oaks in Washington Square as the neighborhood's heart and soul. It also praised the Marigny's nightlife as having a "bohemian vibe."
