Lower Garden District, New Orleans

Lower Garden District
New Orleans neighborhood
Building formerly housing a neighborhood bar, Lower Garden District
Coordinates: 29°56′02″N 90°04′12″W
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
City	New Orleans
Planning District	District 2, Central City/Garden District
Area
• Total	1.16 sq mi (3.0 km^2)
• Land	0.95 sq mi (2.5 km^2)
• Water	0.21 sq mi (0.5 km^2)
Elevation	6 ft (2 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	4,542
• Density	3,900/sq mi (1,500/km^2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code	504

Lower Garden District is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Central City/Garden District Area, its boundaries as defined by the New Orleans City Planning Commission are: St. Charles Avenue, Felicity, Prytania, Thalia, Magazine, and Julia Streets to the north; the New Orleans Morial Convention Center, Crescent City Connection, and Mississippi River to the east; Felicity Street, Magazine Street, Constance Street, Jackson Avenue, Chippewa Street, Soraparu Street, and St. Thomas Street to the south; and 1st Street to the west.

Geography

Lower Garden District is located at 29°56′02″N 90°04′12″W ^[1] and has an elevation of 6 feet (1.8 m).^[2] According to the United States Census Bureau, the district has a total area of 1.16 square miles (3.0 km²), 0.95 square miles (2.5 km²) of which is land and 0.21 square miles (0.5 km²) (18.1%) of which is water.

It includes the Papillon Apartments, an apartment complex operated by Tulane University for graduate students and their families.^[3]

Adjacent neighborhoods

• Central Business District (north)
• Mississippi River (east)
• St. Thomas Development (south)
• Irish Channel (west)
• Garden District (west)
• Central City (west)

Boundaries

The New Orleans City Planning Commission defines the various boundaries of the Lower Garden District with these streets: St. Charles Avenue, Prytania Street, Felicity Street, Thalia Street, Magazine Street, Julia Street, the New Orleans Morial Convention Center, Crescent City Connection, Mississippi River, Constance Street, Jackson Avenue, Chippewa Street, Soraparu Street, St. Thomas Street, and First Street.^[4]

Landmarks

The Lower Garden District is home to a number of historical landmarks, including St. Alphonsus Church.

The Pikachu sculpture

In 2016, the Pikachu, also known as the Pokemonument,^[5][6] a fiberglass sculpture depicting the Pokémon species of the same name by an unknown artist, was installed in Lower Garden District.^[7]

The 5-foot (1.5 m) statue of the Japanese icon was erected as an apparent tribute to Pokémon Go on July 31, 2016, in a decommissioned fountain along Terpsichore Street, near Coliseum Square in New Orleans' Lower Garden District.^[7][8] The fiberglass sculpture was coated to look like bronze.^[9] The artist wrote '#pokemonument' in concrete near the work's base.^[10]

Within a few days, the sculpture was vandalized by someone with a baseball bat.^[8] It was repaired. Some two weeks after its placement, the "Pokemonument" was removed, and an online statement from the artist said that the artwork would be auctioned to benefit restoration of the park's fountains.^[11] The work sold for $2,000.^[12][13]

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,116 people, 3,332 households, and 998 families residing in the neighborhood.^[14] The population density was 6,438 /mi² (2,446 /km²).

As of the census of 2010, there were 6,363 people, 3,843 households, and 994 families residing in the neighborhood.^[14]

Education

Andrew Jackson School in 2007

The Garden District is zoned to schools in the New Orleans Public Schools and the Recovery School District.

ReNEW SciTech Academy, operated by ReNEW Schools, is within the former Laurel Elementary School within the Lower Garden District.^[15][16] After Hurricane Katrina, Laurel was a school directly operated by the RSD. In 2010 Laurel had a performance score of 45, below the "65" score that was considered "academically unacceptable."^[17]

The International School of Louisiana (New Orleans International School), one of the two schools in New Orleans that is chartered by the State of Louisiana but is not a part of the RSD,^[18] operates the Camp Street Campus,^[19] located in the former Andrew Jackson Elementary School in the lower Garden District.^[18] This campus opened in 2000.^[20] The Center for Education Reform in 2007 ranked the International School as one of the best charters in the United States.^[18]

Notable residents

• Mike Williams, singer for Eyehategod, used to live in the Lower Garden District until his house was burned down.^[21]
• Jennifer Coolidge, actress who appeared in the American Pie film series and Legally Blonde.^[22]

See also

• Neighborhoods in New Orleans

References

1. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
2. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
3. "Graduate Housing." Tulane University. Retrieved on December 10, 2016.
4. Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. "Lower Garden District Neighborhood". Retrieved 2008-06-21.
5. Kooser, Amanda (August 3, 2016). "Unofficial Pikachu Pokemonument statue erected in New Orleans". CNET. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
6. "This Mysterious Pokémon Go 'Pokemonument' Popped Up". Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
7. Embuscado, Rain (August 2, 2016). "See Wild Photos of the Pokémon Go Statue That Appeared Overnight in New Orleans". Artnet. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
8. MacCash, Doug (August 5, 2016). "Pokemon sculpture seemingly attacked with baseball bat". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans: Advance Publications. ISSN 1055-3053. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
9. Macaluso, Laura A. (2019-05-30). Monument Culture: International Perspectives on the Future of Monuments in a Changing World. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-5381-1416-2. Archived from the original on 2022-07-25. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
10. "Pokemon Go 'stealth' sculpture appears on Terpsichore Street". Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
11. "Mysterious Pokemonument statue sells for $2,000 at auction Sunday". Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
12. Craig, Eric (2016-09-26). "Mysterious Pokemon statue sold at auction for $2,000". Curbed New Orleans. Archived from the original on 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
13. "Mysterious Pokemonument statue sells for $2,000 at auction Sunday". NOLA.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
14. "Lower Garden District Neighborhood". Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
15. "GARDEN DISTRICT^{[permanent dead link]}." (Archive) City of New Orleans. Retrieved on March 30, 2013.
16. "SciTech Academy Archived 2013-12-06 at the Wayback Machine." ReNEW Schools. Retrieved on March 31, 2013. "820 Jackson Avenue New Orleans, LA 70130"
17. Morris, Robert. "ReNEW hopes to lift Laurel and Live Oak schools out of “failing” status next year, and will open accelerated high school at Bauduit campus in the fall." Uptown Messenger. May 20, 2012. Retrieved on April 2, 2013.
18. Ritea, Steve. "Charter group hails N.O. school." The Times-Picayune. Thursday May 17, 2007. Retrieved on March 30, 2013. "The International School, one of two New Orleans schools chartered by the state but not part of the Recovery District, now operates out of the Andrew Jackson Elementary building in the Lower Garden District."
19. "Camp Street Campus." International School of Louisiana. Retrieved on March 31, 2013. "1400 Camp Street New Orleans, LA 70130"
20. Chang, Cindy. "International School of Louisiana is expanding to the West Bank." The Times Picayune. October 25, 2010. Retrieved on May 18, 2014.
21. J. Bennet (February 2006). "Mike Williams' eternal sludge bender rages on with a new book and Eyehategod's first new material in five years". Decibel Magazine. Archived from the original on February 23, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
22. E. Alex Jung (July 6, 2021). "The Joke Was Never on Jennifer Coolidge". Retrieved July 8, 2021.

External links

• "Lower Garden Historic District." (Archive) City of New Orleans Historic Landmarks Commission.