Jackson Square

1803

Louisiana was made United States territory on this square in 1803

Jackson Square was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960. It is the site where in 1803 Louisiana was made United States territory under the Louisiana Purchase. The flagpole symbolizes the ceremonial transfers from Spain to France and then to the United States.

1960year it was declared a National Historic Landmark

The baroness

The Baroness de Pontalba gave the square its Parisian look in 1851

Iron fences, walkways, benches and Parisian-style landscaping remain from the original design by Micaela Almonester, Baroness de Pontalba, in 1851. She also built the Pontalba Buildings. The statue of Andrew Jackson, by Clark Mills, was erected in 1856.

The fire

Spanish officials rebuilt the church and the town hall after the fire of 1788

After the Great New Orleans Fire of 1788, the Spanish officials rebuilt the St. Louis Church in 1789, and it became a cathedral in 1793. The town hall, the Cabildo, followed in 1795. The Presbytère was built to match it.

Painters

From the 1920s to the 1980s the square was a gathering place of painters

From the 1920s through the 1980s the square was a gathering place of painters, from professionals and art students to amateurs and caricaturists. In front of the cathedral, part of Chartres Street is shared by artists, musicians and street performers, such as jugglers and magicians.

Executions

The square was also a place of public execution

The Place d'Armes was a site of public execution in the 18th and early 19th centuries, for criminals and rebellious slaves. After the 1811 German Coast Uprising, three slaves were hanged here, and the heads of some of the executed rebels were put on the city's gates.