Downtown Districts

(Tremé, Marigny-Bywater, The Lower Ninth, and Storyville)

In New Orleans, the terms Uptown and Downtown refer to the positions in relation to the Mississippi's flow, with Canal Street as the divider. Originally, Downtown was where the Creole residents settled, and Uptown was where you'd find the English-speaking Johnny-come-latelies. Now, Downtown is home to some of the worst slums in New Orleans.

Its hard to get an exact read on how many people reside in these neighborhoods due to a high number of transient residents combined with an ingrained distrust of authority figures. In addition to being home to the poverty-stricken population of the city, the lack of order attracts large numbers of homeless and migrant workers who flock to the abandoned tenements that pepper the neighborhoods.

Tremé

By far, this is the worst of the neighborhoods, with a higher concentration of run-down buildings than either of the others. President Davis freed the slaves back in the 1860s, but that was about it for giving the scores of largely uneducated former slaves and further help. Many ended up settling north of the French Quarter in poorly built and even more poorly maintained structures. The population has been ravaged repeatedly by yellow fever and suffered heavily during the flu pandemic.

Many buildings today are in a state of downfall or ruin. Congo Square and two of the three St. Louis cemeteries are also housed in this neighborhood, all focal points for voodoo practitioners in the city. Congo Square is home to many street vendors hawking supposedly potent talismans and charms, if that's your bag.

Marigny-Bywater
Near the French Quarter Marigny-Bywater retains a European influence in architecture and culture. The area was heavily settled by German and other northern European immigrants toward the end of the last century. As one moves farther downriver, the buildings begin to show signs of urban decay. At the Industrial Canal itself there are the beginnings of a revival of industry, with an occasional factory or warehouse rising among the bones of the dying neighborhoods. The Confederacy maintains a holding facility in the area where the most dangerous prisoners are held until they can be transferred to a national prison.

The Lower Ninth
Virtually exiled from the rest of the city by the Industrial Canal, this neighborhood houses a large number of poor residents in homes that are often little more than shanties. Before the construction of the Canal, this area was largely rural and occupied by former sharecroppers and the descendants of freed slaves. Now some of the residents find employment in the nearby industrial developments along the canal while others continue to live as they did for half a century, with small farming plots and by fishing.

Close to the Industrial Canal, the Confederate Army operates a supply depot and the Louisiana National Guard maintains the Jackson Barracks for use when operating in the city. Farther south along the riverfront, a few of the antebellum plantation houses still stand, and the money belonging to the owners of those mansions keeps something of a police presence.

Storyville(vice district)
The city of New Orleans legalized prostitution within a 10-block area just north of the quarter. In 1917, the Confederate Secretary of War, Josephus Daniels, tried to exercise federal authority to force the closure of the area. He quickly learned how impressed New Orleans was by stiff-shirted politicians in Richmond when they ignored his demands. Daniels promptly closed a Confederate military base in Algiers, but the city's leadership figured the taxes (and kickbacks) from Storyville more than made up for the lost revenue from the base.

Named in "honor" of the alderman responsible for its creation, Sidney Story, the area is infamous throughout the Confederacy as a bed of carnal iniquity. The presence of a rail station inside Storyville proves there's no shortage of out-of-towners looking to spend a little money in the quest for release. The madams even publish so-called "blue books" advertising their wares and prices to new arrivals.