Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Down the block on North Rampart are two of this area's trendiest bars, Bar
Tonique and Meauxbar. Bar Tonique boasts a menu of original, adapted, and
classic cocktails, along with eclectic beer and wine selections. Meauxbar has
equally impressive selection of libations along with appetizers and entrees
such as goat cheese tart, French-onion grilled cheese, and hanger steak au
poivre.
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At North Rampart and Dumaine, between Bar Tonique and Meauxbar, is the
site of the old J&M Recording Studio, considered the birthplace of rhythm
and blues. Among the greats who recorded there were local luminaries Fats
Domino and Aaron Neville, as well as stars such as Little Richard, Jerry Lee
Lewis, and Ray Charles.
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Walk to the end of the park, then another block to Ursulines Avenue, and
turn left. Walk one block to Henriette Delille Street and turn right. This
street is named for the founder of the Catholic order of the Sisters of the
Holy Family in New Orleans. Delille, a free woman of color, devoted her life
to serving the poor.
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In the middle of the block is the Backstreet Cultural Museum, which opened
in 1999 to preserve and perpetuate the cultural traditions of New Orleans's
African American community. The museum has the world's most compre-
hensive collection of artifacts related to the masking and parading traditions
of the city's African American community. They include exhibits on Mardi
Gras Indians, jazz funerals, social aid and pleasure clubs, Baby Dolls (female
maskers in frilly attire), and Skull and Bone gangs, as well as filmed records
of more than 500 events. In addition to hosting music and dance perform-
ances, conducting outreach programs, and creating an annual book that doc-
uments the year's jazz funerals, the museum serves as the starting and end-
ing point for second-line parades and as an assembly spot for the North Side
Skull and Bone Gang and Mardi Gras Indians on Fat Tuesday.
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Walk a half-block to Governor Nicholls Street and turn left. At the corner is
St. Augustine's Catholic Church (1210 Governor Nicholls), the oldest African
American Roman Catholic parish in the United States (see sidebar).
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Continue on Governor Nicholls for two and a half blocks. The New Orleans
African American Museum of Art, Culture and History opened in 2000, its
