Two weeks before the holidays last December, New Orleans French Quarter saw its first new hotel opening in more than 50 years. Located inside a former sugar factory in the 85-block area of the Vieux Carré, as the French Quarter is also known, One11 Hotel has 83 guest rooms and sweets (paying homage to the building s history), and a modern aesthetic complemented by unparalleled views of the Mississippi River. But beyond its look, the journey to opening has been especially unusual.
It all started in 1969, when the New Orleans City Council passed a moratorium prohibiting new hotels in the French Quarter (a traditionally residential community) until a study could be completed to determine the effects of demolitions for new projects in the area. In 2004 (before Hurricane Katrina hit) and again in 2015, a land company received city council approval to convert the building at 111 Iberville Street into a hotel, which became One11 and opened Dec. 11, 2020. The key factors in its approval
Multimedia artist Ceaux s 2021 Mardi Gras poster.
Every year since 2016, New Orleans-born-and-raised multimedia artist Courtney “Ceaux” Buckley, of Axiom Gallery on Freret Street, has been painting vibrant and detailed posters that depict the Black Mardi Gras experience.
Through this annual poster series, Buckley said, he not only aims to provide a representation of the Black experience during Carnival season, but that he also intends to normalize it.
“I don’t think we should always be presented like a big deal,” he said. “These things go on all the time, every year, it’s recurring.”
He adds that it is important for Black people from New Orleans to see representations of their culture in this more generalized way opposed to only packaged news stories and documentaries.