January 5th, Learned

Today I was able to tour the Cabildo. The Cabildo is a building to the left of the St. Louis Cathedral that was turned into a museum that explains the history of the city of New Orleans. The Cabildo is named after a Spanish governing body that once met here in New Orleans. When the French ruled Louisiana, the Cabildo was used as a police station, a prison, and courtroom. It is interesting to me because my classmate Peyton, one of her E-Travel guide topics was about Pirates. Pirates Alley runs along the left side of the Cabildo. Pirates Alley was named that due to legend of Pierre Lafitte, the brother to a famous man of the city Jean Lafitte, used that alley way next to the Cabildo to escape from prison.

In 1788, the Great Fire that happened in the city ended up burning down the Cabildo and some of the surrounding places as well. A new Cabildo that was built shortly after the fire and a matching building called the Presbytere was built on the opposite side of the Cathedral to match. The architecture of the Cabildo has been changes drastically over the years. I would describe the Cabildo's architecture to be more Spanish as of current day. The Cabildo has a ton of rich history, in which was displayed and learned through the exhibit that lies in the Cabildo museum today. Information about the Louisiana Purchase, the battles of New Orleans, and more is displayed in the Cabildo today to give tourist and visitors a chance to learn about the complicated history that makes New Orleans the amazing city that it is today.