Podcast version of our Third Thursday Sicilian talk.
Podcast 61 – When the French Quarter was Sicilian
Thanks to everyone who came out last Thursday night for our fourth talk in our “Third Thursday Lecture Series.” This talk is essentially a lecture, now podcast, version of part of my “down-river” French Quarter Walking Tour. We explore the part of the Quarter known as “Little Palermo” in the early part of the 1900s. From the riverfront to the French Market, up into the neighborhood, we talk about produce farmers, market vendors, grocers, bakers, organized crime, and a well-known ice cream guy.
As mentioned in the presentation, I am a volunteer tour guide for the Friends of the Cabildo (FOC). The FOC offers one of the best French Quarter Walking Tours, and I’m proud they let me do them! This presentation is more-or-less a verbal/image “walk” like my tour. When going “down-river” from Jackson Square, you just can’t avoid talking about the Sicilian influence in the French Quarter, beginning in the 1880s. You’re most welcome to join us on the tour–click the link for more information.
Creole Italian by Justin A. Nystrom (link to bookshop.org)
While there are several good books on the Sicilian influences and history in New Orleans, I really enjoy Dr. Nystrom’s. The book goes well beyond just Da Quarters, but his thoughts on “Little Palermo” are excellent.
Scenes
Sicilian Lemons, which became part of the tariff issues in 1897.
Produce stall at the French Market, 1920s (colorized by NOLA History Guy)
While Progress Grocery ain’t there no more, Central Grocery is still selling muffulettas at 923 Decatur Street. The Peronne family closed their grocery at 1003 Decatur, but still operate as a wholesale business. You can buy Progress Grocery brand olive salad and other products at local supermarkets.
New Orleans French Market 1925 underwent a significant re-design.
French Market 1925
Architectural rendering of the “new” French Market 1925. While the market buildings had undergone minor, quick-fix, repairs since the 1880s, the market required a major facelift by this time. Sam Stone’s firm won the bid for the design. Among many Stone designs in the Central Business District (CBD), the 13-story Maison Blanche Building remains the most-visible.
Public Market
The French Market anchored the city’s Public Market system. The location pre-dates the French colony as a trading post. The indigenous gathered here long before Jean-Baptiste LeMoyne chose the site for his city. Unlike many towns, the market extended along the riverbank. The French and Spanish didn’t change this. So, the locals accessed the market via streets (and later, street railways) as well as boats.
Stone’s design
Sam Stone’s design suggested a major change to the French Market. He proposed building a new structure directly across the street from Jackson Square. The left side of the rendering shows the square’s iron fence and main gate. Across the street stands a “new” Butchers’ Market. The proposal never materialized. The city maintained a clear line of sight from St. Louis Cathedral to the river since 1728.
So, with that exception, the new plan moved forward. The Butchers’ Market remaind in the first building, behind the Cafe’ du Monde Coffee Stand.
Public Market to Retail
Stone’s incarnation of the market stands to this day. The French Market endured several changes in the last century. While this design continued the functionality of the post-Civil War market, commercial air conditioning changed how New Orleanians made groceries in that next decade. A/C allowed the butchers and fishmongers to operate longer each day. Neighborhood groceries installed coolers and their own butcher counters. Locals didn’t have to go to the public markets early in the morning to get fresh meat and poultry. The “truck farmers” designed their own distribution systems to provide those local stores with fresh produce, but that wasn’t as critical. The Vegetable Market continued into mid-century.
The 1920s buildings required renovations and upgrades by the 1980s. Mayor Dutch Morial’s administration supervised that work, which is why part of the back path through the market bears his name, “Dutch Alley.”
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The Bagur Southern Souvenir Company produced postcards of New Orleans.
Bagur Southern Souvenir
“Greetings from New Orleans” postcard, published by the Dexter Press company, of Pearl River, NY. Bagur Southern Souvenir Company sold a wide range of products. They hold the rights to the “Aunt Sally” logo for “Creole Pralines.”
Curt Teich created this style of postcard. His company produced hundreds of “Greetings postcards.”
Greetings from New Orleans
Curt Teich, a German, immigrated to the United States in 1895. He opened a print shop in 1899. Teich produced linen postcards. Beginning in 1931, Teich produced a line of color postcards saying, “Greetings From…” He published postcards featuring hundreds of locations across the United States.
Businesses selling souvenirs snapped up Teich’s postcards. Travelers purchased the postcards to document family trips. The postcards continued in popularity until the Interstate Highway System dominated auto travel in the 1950s. Interstate highways bypassed the small towns and shops that sold Teich’s Cards. Stops consisted of gas stations and restaurants immediately off of the highway, rather than passing through towns.
Curt Teich passed away in 1974. He was 96. The family donated their collection of postcards to the Lake County Discovery Museum in Libertyville, Illinois. The museum transferred the collection to the Newberry Library in Chicago. The collection at The Newberry consists of over 500,000 unique postcard designs. This postcard came to the Newberry from the Bagur shop in the French Market.
Pralines and Souvenirs
The Bagur family began their candy business in the 1910s. They added pralines to the product line in the 1930s. The business moved into the French Market at that time. The Aunt Sally’s shop operates there to this day. So, Bagur Southern owns the shop, presenting the iconic figure out front.
It comes as no surprise that a candy shop in the French Market sold souvenirs. While postcard sales aren’t what they used to be, Teich’s New Orleans postcard no doubt did well at Aunt Sally’s.
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