Page 81 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - New Orleans

L OWER FRENCH QU AR TER , M ARIGN Y , AND TREME  79

who was born here and
later served in the Venezuelan
Revolutionary Navy; and
the Segher family, whose
household inventory featured
four slaves, including a mulatto,
valued at $2,500, and his
daughter, who was valued at
only $1,200, because she had
been promised her freedom at
age 30. The second-floor
galleries are now used for
contemporary art exhibitions.
t Cornstalk Fence
Artillery Park and Moon Walk on the Mississippi River
915 Royal St. Map 5 D2. @ 5, 55.
This handsome cast-iron y Washington Landrieu, who approved the
landmark fence is one of three Artillery Park and construction of a boardwalk
remaining in the city (see p108). that made the riverfront area
It was erected around 1850, Moon Walk accessible to the public in
when cast iron began replacing Decatur Street (between St. Ann and the 1970s. For decades, it had
wrought iron (see pp40–41). The St. Peter sts). Map 5 D2. @ 5, 55. been walled off by port
cornstalks are entwined with v Riverfront. authorities, so the public was
morning glories, and each able to re-establish its historic
element is painted in its natural Washington Artillery Park faces relationship with the riverfront.
color – yellow for the ears of corn, Jackson Square from across Today, Moon Walk is favored
green for the stalks, and blue for Decatur Street. Inside the park by street performers. Crowds
the morning glories. A butterfly is an austere concrete amphi- often gather to witness
decorates the central portion of theater with a central staircase impromptu performances
the gate, and a spray of holly leading to the Moon Walk. This by solo musicians, including
adorns the bottom. It was cast community boardwalk was guitarists, clarinetists,
by the prestigious Philadelphia named after former New saxophonists, trombonists, and
company, Wood & Perot. Orleans Mayor Maurice “Moon” steel drummers, who play with
an open music case at their feet
to collect donations.
Standing on the Moon Walk,
the audience can enjoy a
welcome break from the city’s
humidity, as a constant breeze
along the waterfront makes
temperatures feel several degrees
cooler than in the rest of the
city. It also provides an excellent
vantage point from which to
view the river, Jackson Square,
and the surrounding area.
Stone steps lead right down
from the boardwalk to the
Mississippi River where you can
sit and dangle your feet in the
whiskey-colored water, or watch
the steamboats, ocean-going
barges, and other river traffic
float past. Do not attempt to
stand in the river, however, as
the current is deceptively rapid
and powerful.
If you do want to get closer to
the water, there are plenty of river
cruises – from 1-hour sightseeing
trips to romantic night-time
Cast-iron Cornstalk Fence surrounding the Cornstalk Hotel dinner cruises (see p213).

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