From the 1950s to the 1970s, the city of New Orleans razed almost ten blocks of the Tremé neighborhood, demolishing historic 19th-century buildings and displacing 178 families.
A thousand people lost their homes and businesses, and the city lost many of the institutions that had helped to nurture jazz and Afro-Creole culture, all for a proposed cultural complex that was never built.
In 1980, Louis Armstrong Park was built on that vacant land. Although the park was promoted as a tribute to the legendary jazz trumpeter, many city leaders, urban planners, and preservationists did not recognize the architectural or cultural value of the mostly black, poor neighborhood. They saw the area as an investment opportunity and proposed development projects to attract tourists and bring in revenue. If they had their way, the park’s flashy entrance arch would have led to a fee-based amusement park and entertainment district.
However, Tremé residents and community activists saw the neighborhood “as a center of black culture, not just for New Orleans, but for the whole country.” They fought against further destruction of the neighborhood and demanded restitution for the earlier displacement of Tremé residents. Led by the grassroots organization Tremé Community Improvement Association (TCIA), they insisted that any designs for the park honor the neighborhood’s history of black resistance and cultural creativity. As a result, the city was forced to scrap plans for privatization of the park and agreed to employ Tremé residents and to build the Tremé Recreation Community Center, a multimillion dollar project adjacent to the park. In 1999, the National Park Service established the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park and signed a long-term lease of Armstrong Park to interpret the development and evolution of jazz in the city.
Nearby Sites of Interest
Tremé Recreation Community Center
900 N. Villere St. New Orleans, LA 70116
(504) 658-3160
http://nordc.org/parks/treme/
The recreation center houses a swimming pool, gym, weight room, and dance studios. It was built as part of the Armstrong Park development in response to community activists’ demands for reparations for the displacement of Tremé residents in the name of urban renewal.
Aart Accent Tattoos
1041 N. Rampart St. New Orleans, LA 70116
Jacci Gresham opened Aart Accent Tattoos with her best friend Ajit “Ali” Singh in 1976. It is the oldest extant tattoo shop in Louisiana.
Favorite Neighborhood Bar
GrandPre’s
834 N. Rampart St. New Orleans, LA 70116
While changing ownership periodically over the years, this club has been operating as a gay bar since the 1970s, featuring regular drag shows and karaoke nights. Lush and shady back courtyard.
To Learn More
- J. E. Bourgoyne, “Treme Area Waiting for Its Turn for Something Good to Happen,” Times-Picayune, June 23, 1974.
- Angela M. Carll, “Treme Tour, Other Activities on Tap Sunday,” Times-Picayune, June 27, 1981.
- Crutcher, Tremé: Race and Place in a New Orleans Neighborhood (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2010).
- Therese L. Mitchell, “Treme One of Unique Neighborhoods of City,” Times-Picayune, September 9, 1979.
- Lynnell L. Thomas, Desire and Disaster in New Orleans: Tourism, Race, and Historical Memory (Duke University Press, 2014).
- Frank S. Washington, “NORD Adds New Centers to Serve Community,” Times-Picayune, January 30, 1977.