Tremé
The Vibe
Living jazz history on streets where brass bands still rehearse in backyards and second-line parades snake through on Sunday afternoons. The neighborhood featured prominently in HBO's 'Treme' (2010-2013), bringing international attention to its musical heritage and post-Katrina struggles. Louis Armstrong Park (32 acres) hosts festivals, concerts, and the annual Treme Creole Gumbo Festival. The Backstreet Cultural Museum (1116 Henriette Delille St) preserves Mardi Gras Indian suits, jazz funeral traditions, and second-line memorabilia. Gentrification pressures threaten the community, but cultural organizations fight to maintain the neighborhood's authentic character.
Description
America's oldest African American neighborhood, founded in the 1810s as a community for free people of color—one of the only places in the antebellum South where formerly enslaved people could own property. Congo Square (within Louis Armstrong Park) was the historic gathering place where enslaved Africans danced, sang, and sold goods on Sundays, directly seeding jazz, rhythm & blues, and modern brass band music. St. Augustine Church (1841) is the nation's oldest African American Catholic parish. The neighborhood's shotgun houses and Creole cottages line quiet streets where multi-generational families and second-line parades preserve living traditions.
Neighborhood Stats
Popular With
- Music Historians
- Culture Seekers
- Soul Food Lovers
- Festival-Goers
Key Attributes
- Historic
- Jazz Heritage
- African American Culture
- Brass Bands
- Second Lines
Food Scene
Dooky Chase's Restaurant (2301 Orleans Ave) is sacred ground—legendary Leah Chase served Freedom Riders, inspired Disney's 'The Princess and the Frog,' and perfected fried chicken and gumbo z'herbes (meatless greens gumbo on Holy Thursday). Lil' Dizzy's Cafe (1500 Esplanade Ave) serves breakfast buffet with fried catfish and red beans. Willie Mae's Scotch House (2401 St. Ann St) earned 'America's best fried chicken' acclaim from James Beard and Travel + Leisure—essential NOLA experience. Addis NOLA (recently relocated to Bayou Road) brings Ethiopian flavors to the historic neighborhood.