"A Place of Romance" Mardi Gras, 1900 |
Mardi Gras, 1900 |
From a postcard description, ca. 1900: "Ever since its founding in 1718, New Orleans has been a place of romance, contrasting dramatically with other American cities. From a village of a hundred hovels, in a malarious thicket of willows and palmettos, infested by alligators, it has expanded through the years to a great modern city of over 450,000 people. But it still retains the strange mixture of customs and characteristics which have always given it individuality. "The Mississippi River and its alluvial valley, richer than that of the Nile, pour into the lap of New Orleans the wealth of the south and the west, until the wharves and the contiguous streets are filled to overflowing with raw staples: sugar, molasses, rice, tobacco, corn, wheat, oats and one-third of the country's supply of cotton. "Here, on Canal Street, one of the great modern thoroughfares of the city, we are watching the elaborate floats of the parade of Mardi Gras. This is, by far, the most splendid of the kind held anywhere in the United States and thousands of visitors flock into the city every year to enjoy it. Mardi Gras has been celebrated with increasing pomp by the French and Creole population of New Orleans since 1827 and the various features of the carnival are elaborated by different societies, such as the Mystic Krewe of Comus, the Knights of Momus and others." ~ ~ ~ The link to this page is: http://old-new-orleans.com/Mardi_Gras_1900.html Back to Mardi Gras in Old New Orleans Back to Old New Orleans Whispers - Home |