Audubon and University

Understand

New Orleans was a rapidly growing city in the 19th century, spreading upriver, incorporating what had been farmland, plantations, and villages into the quickly developing boundaries of the city. By 1870 the area was pretty much filled in with the exception of a single plantation, whose boundaries included the majority of what is now this neighborhood. The city bought the land to turn into a park, but nothing much was done for some years until the city decided to hold a World's Fair here, the 1884 "World Cotton Centennial". About the only thing remaining here from the 1884 World's Fair is the curious metallic bolder on the east side of Audubon Park golf course; some locals will call it "the meteorite", but historians have documented it to actually be a huge chunk of iron ore that was on display here during the Fair but it was decided it was too much bother to remove it afterwards. After the Fair, the land between the Mississippi River and St. Charles Avenue was developed as Audubon Park. The area on the back side of St. Charles was divided into new homes for Tulane University and Loyola University, which both had previous smaller campuses elsewhere in the city.

This district also includes a long narrow strip on either side of Broadway (despite the grand name, the street isn't particularly broad). Before it was annexed to New Orleans in 1870, this was the town of Greenville; you may still hear some locals refer to the neighborhood near the river just upriver from the Park as "Greenville". Historic Greenville Hall is on St. Charles Avenue up from Broadway in the middle of what had been the district's third University, St. Mary's Dominican College, from 1910 to 1984; in 1984 the St. Mary's Dominican campus was bought by Loyola and is now a satellite campus of that University.

Get in

By car

The area is pretty easy to drive to from other parts of town, but parking at and around the Universities and the Park can be a bit of a problem once you get here.

There's a good sized parking lot for the Audubon Zoo, but even that tends to fill up on holidays and busy weekends.

By streetcar

The St Charles Streetcar is a famous and convenient route along the main street from the edge of the French Quarter through the CBD, all the way through Uptown, bisects the Audubon/University section, and then on to the main section of Carrollton.

By bus

Bus 15, the "Freret Street" Route, runs from the corner of Freret and Broadway to the Central Business District at Canal Street & University Place. The "Freret Jet" is generally the quickest route between the Universities and the CBD & French Quarter; it passes through a section of Central City that is generally ok during the day, but late at night one may feel safer and more comfortable taking the streetcar or a cab.

Bus 11, "Magazine Street", is the quickest way between Audubon Zoo and the French Quarter/Central Business District. Magazine at Canal Street to Magazine Street just below Broadway in Audubon Park near the Zoo entrance.

Bus 16 "South Claiborne" runs along Claiborne Avenue from the corner of Carrollton Avenue down to Canal Street & Magazine.

Bus 10 "Tchoupitoulas" along Tchoupitoulas Street from Magazine & Canal to the East edge of Audubon Park.

Some who visited before Katrina may remember the Broadway Bus line; it has been discontinued, but Bus 32 "Leonidas" now incorporates the part of the route between St. Charles Avenue and Magazine Street, where it ends by the Zoo entrance. The other end of the Leonidas line is at Esplanade & Carrollton in Mid-City, making it the quickest transit route from this part of town to City Park and the New Orleans Museum of Art. The Leonidas line goes through some rather troubled parts of the Hollygrove section on the way, and that the line only runs less than once an hour.

By taxi

Stay safe

This is generally one of the safest sections of New Orleans. However criminals sometimes hunt for individuals with their guard down especially late at night. Lone students wandering dark streets after too much to drink are particularly tempting targets for them, so play it safe and call a cab or a friend.

Go next

The Carrollton neighborhood is adjacent just up river; much is within walking distance, and the further parts of Carrollton just a short streetcar ride up. St. Charles and its famous streetcar line also link the Audubon and University section to the French Quarter and Central Business District at the far downriver end, passing through Uptown on the way.