# data[].attributes.body
The stark difference between the two spaces is palpable. In terms of activity, Jackson Square is clearly utilized to adhere to the tourist population, which is seen in the vendors and establishments surrounding the area, a majority of which are overpriced goods and trinkets with a particular iconographic relevance in terms of the national portrayal of the city. What does this portrayal reveal about the commodification of New Orleans’ history via tourism? Further, what is the significance of this portrayal in a particular space which functions to memorialize a figure such as Andrew Jackson.
The increase in tourist activity surrounding Jackson Square is indicative of the role it serves in the New Orleans community. It conveys the notion that the space is one to be highly populated and further is deemed valuable in terms of the attention it receives from the public. This brings about the question of which history is perceived by city planners, etc. as valuable enough to be shared with the public and further remain in the public consciousness. The prioritization of Jackson Square foot traffic over Congo Square demonstrates the values of the powers that be and what history they want the city to share with nonlocals entering the space. It demonstrates the prioritization of the sharing of a history that aligns more comfortably with a white audience, rather than acknowledging the value of spaces that don’t center white historical figures such as Andrew Jackson, who embraced the institution of slavery and profited from it in his lifetime.

# data[].attributes.body
Congo Square, also referred to as Louis Armstrong Park over time has been used as a meeting ground under a variety of contexts. However, in 1817 the square was legally established as a congregation space for enslaved people once a week on Sundays to dance and perform different musical practices.

A few blocks down from Congo Square is Jackson Square, named after a prominent figure of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans Andrew Jackson. It is also known to be the site of the U.S. purchase of the state of Louisiana in 1803.

# data[].attributes.body
During our time in New Orleans, we visited both Louis Armstrong Park and Jackson Square. During our time there, we noticed differences between Congo Square and Louis Armstrong Park as a whole, in comparison to Jackson Square. It became clear to us that the use and preservation of the spaces and their histories were quite different.

When entering these spaces, we noticed that Congo Square was not as well-lit, with the lights on the Louis Armstrong Park sign not working completely and their being less working lamps compared to Jackson Square (see image to the right). The park also has an auditorium that is not in use Additionally, Congo Square was less populated compared to Jackson Square which had many working lights, had many vendors surrounding all entrances, and even had decorations up for the upcoming holidays. There were folks from the Congo Square Preservation Society present, playing music, when we went and some other people gathering at the square specifically to listen, however the entire park as a whole was less populated that Jackson Square.

Based on what we observed, it’s clear that there are differences in the ways that these two spaces are preserved, which then impacts the amount of people visiting the spaces and being aware of the history of the locations.

# data[].attributes.headline
Image of one entrance to the Louis Armstrong Park

# data[].attributes.subject
Image of one entrance to the Louis Armstrong Park

# data[].attributes.body
Our group focused heavily on questioning what it means to enter and exit the community of New Orleans as a tourist. This meant reckoning with our history as we encountered historic sites and taking into consideration our media consumption of New Orleans in our respective classes, focusing on music, literature, anthropology, sociology, and art. We placed the media into physical space, and came to understand what it means to experience a space in its context rather than reading about it.

We noticed in our research of Congo Square, Jackson Square, Whitney Plantation, and the Oak Alley Plantation stark differences between the places that tourists tend to inhabit and places that contain rich cultural history, and what is expressed in the forefront. In Congo and Jackson Squares, we noticed how tourists contribute to the environment of a space and its surroundings. The Whitney and Oak Alley Plantations were met with shock and disgust at the contrast of the differing presentations of the same history.

# data[].attributes.headline
What Kind of Legacy does Tourism Create?

# data[].attributes.subject
What Kind of Legacy does Tourism Create?

# data[].attributes.body
Five blocks away from one another in the French Quarter, a tourists experience of Jackson Square and Congo Square are starkly polarized. On Sunday, music isn’t difficult to find especially within the crowded streets of the French Quarter, but there’s a key difference between what kind of music is treating tourist’s ears. Just across from the St. Louis Cathedral was a five-piece brass band, creating a space that was well appreciated by all – including the psychics and artists that sold their work just outside of the gated square. This seemed to be the ideal presentation of New Orleans, lively and vivacious and filled with brass band music. In the other square, one can hear the drums as they approach. The group who performs in the Louis Armstrong Park are a dedicated to “undertake, support, and promote research ” on the plot of land once used by enslaved people to gather and play music that highly influenced the birth of jazz music (Congo Square Preservation Society). Still, it is less inhabited by tourists, despite the performance and the historic ground.

One key difference between each square is how the local government chose to preserve the public space. Jackson Square was ordained in 1851 , cementing it as the central gathering place of New Orleans. However, many years earlier during the settlement of the French colony, enslaved people gathered to play drums in a green that came to be known as Congo Square (Sublette 2001). Highly hyperbolized by many white travelers including Lafcadio Hearn who described the square and its inhabitants as, “the last remnants of those famous Congo plains where the negro slaves once held their bamboulas” (Widmer 2003). Still today, the square is deteriorating with lights that don’t work on the sign, the old Municipal Auditorium (which has been left untouched since its closure in 1999), and a crowd size that is nothing the size of Jackson Square’s. The legacy of each square is dependent on who continues such a legacy. In the case of Jackson Square its legacy is based in the commercialism and the touristy shops that surround it. The legacy of Congo Square is kept by persons like the Congo Square Preservation Society and those who purposefully come to visit it. Unlike Jackson Square, Congo Square is not something that is stumbled upon by tourists and its legacy is more complex than a shopping center, it’s a place of culture and expression that is critical to New Orleans as a whole.