A View from Bourbon Street

New Orleans is chock full of interesting qualities, characteristics, and cultural oddities. This variety is what makes the city unique. Yet, to the outside world, New Orleans is Bourbon Street: loud music, putrid smells, cheap alcohol, and an all-around good time. This was my perception of New Orleans before I came here; the Big Easy was simply one large venue for good times. What I am interested in is what does Bourbon Street mean for this city? What conditions led to the formation of this pleasure zone? The neighborhood was originally a predominately French community, infiltrated by the Spanish, but then became a slum zone when the wealthy moved out and the new immigrants moved in. I am curious as to what previous history influenced the formation of current day Bourbon Street, and also role the street played in previous times.
My biggest interest in Bourbon Street is whether it actually represents New Orleans. What does Bourbon Street mean to the locals? Is it a negative tourist trap that hinders the public understanding of the true New Orleans? How do the surrounding French Quarter residents feel about this channel injecting into their neighborhood? Maybe it doesn’t have a bad connotation for the locals, and instead represents the “spirit” of New Orleans, especially as an outlet for Mardi Gras. Bourbon Street is accepted here as somewhat normal, or allowable, but anywhere else in the United States would be unacceptable. Are vices embraced in this city? Why are New Orleanians so laid back, and everything goes?
Lastly, I want to make an in-depth analysis of Bourbon Street beyond the façade of a party alley, although it is most definitely that. It provides so many different destinations for different demographics, but who actually comes there? What zones are created within Bourbon Street, what unique aspects give it its “charm”, so to speak? It exudes an “anything goes” atmosphere, but so does all of New Orleans in a sense. I am curious as to how this laid back atmosphere came about, and how it led to the current existing Bourbon Street. My overall goal is to disassemble the myth that is Bourbon Street and analyze its validity as a symbol of New Orleans.