The historic center of New Orleans (directly in front of St. Louis Cathedral) is Jackson Square, named after Maj Gen and Pres Andrew Jackson for his role in the great victory of the Battle of New Orleans. It was first built as the Place d'Armes in 1722, a place where troops could practice and parade. It was somewhat notorious as the site of numerous public executions, including the hanging of three leaders of the 1811 German Coast Slave Uprising, whose heads were then placed on the city gates. On March 9 and 10, 1804, the Day of Three Flags, Spain formally transferred control of Louisiana to France, which in turn immediately transferred control to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. In 1815 the square was immediately renamed for the hero of the Battle of New Orleans, the famed equestrian statue of Jackson erected in 1856. During Reconstruction, Jackson Square was the site of an engagement as part of the segregationist retrenchment, where the White League overran the city and drove out the state militia until finally put down by Federal troops. By the 1920s, the area had become known for its artists and musicians and street performers who congregated around the park and entertained the increasing number of tourists.
The formal gardens are laid out based on the 1851 design of Micaela Almonester, Baroness de Pontalba. The gates to the park are locked at night.
French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana
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