Jackson Square Is Changing Hands

In the heart of the French Quarter, Jackson Square was once an inspirational studio for hundreds of classically trained artists, known for their paintings of the city’s colorful streetscapes and bougainvillea-draped courtyards.

In the last two decades, however, the scenic park has taken on an increasingly charlatan air; fortunetellers, magicians, musicians, acrobats and other oft-costumed street performers have realized the potential profits from tourism.

The transformation has driven away many artists and turned the few who remain into little more than a sideshow.

“It’s just terrible,” says Dottie Cooley, 80, of Detroit, who visited earlier this year.

Cooley grew up here and spent many afternoons watching the artists work in the square before she moved away in 1946.

“The artists have always been there. They’re beautiful people, and now they’re almost gone,” she says.

In the late 1970s there were about 400 artists licensed to work and sell in Jackson Square. Today there are 125, although there are rarely as many as 10 on a typical day.

Lee Tucker, who has painted in the square since 1971, says the square’s art colony is endangered.

“People identify a place with whatever the major activity is, so if they see mostly jugglers and tarot cards and there might be a few artists thrown in, they won’t take the artists seriously,” Tucker says.

Residents who live in the high-dollar neighborhood side with the artists. They complained to police, who in June invoked a rarely enforced sign ordinance, yanking the signs of half a dozen palm readers.

City law only allows licensed artists to post their signs on the square’s iron fence.

But the crackdown on card readers propelled them straight to federal court with a free speech argument. The card readers do not charge for their services, so technically, they’re just expressing themselves. But they do encourage donations, and some card readers earn enough to pay the relatively high French Quarter rents.

“Jackson Square is a lovely place that everyone else wants to share, and the artists want entirely for themselves,” said Eric Goza, attorney for the card readers.

The palm and card readers, who easily outnumber the artists and others, say the throngs of tourists in the square have welcomed their increasing presence over the past two decades. Their enemies, they say, are cultural elitists who conveniently forget the prominent role that voodoo and mysticism have played in New Orleans’ history.

“I don’t have any problem with the tarot readers. I think it’s kind of neat,” said Christie Luczak, 20, of Alexandria, La. She said she visits often and would like to see more artists, but likes the diversity. “I think it’s a nice environment.”

Meanwhile, the residents of the neighborhood say they have had no luck offering alternatives to the city, such as moving the street performers to a nearby riverside park.

Mayor Marc Morial and City Councilman Troy Carter, whose district includes the French Quarter, have complained that they are weary of the lawsuits that follow every attempt to resolve disputes in the French Quarter.

The property owner groups remain dissatisfied. Says Stuart Smith, one of their attorneys:

“The circus atmosphere in front of the cathedral and in the square is a disgrace to all Louisiana citizens who love the real French Quarter.”