Dear Subscriber,

French Quarter, New Orleans - 40 days post Katrina – Disasters natural and man-made have shaped and forged New Orleans and her people for centuries. In the natural order of things, fires, floods, pestilence, hurricanes and political plunderers have challenged our character and resolve, our culture and way of life. Not just once, but over and over. Now Hurricane Katrina and the resulting floodwaters have devastated much of the city. Our people have been cast out by Nature and tossed across the continent in a stunning diaspora unprecedented in American history. But by the grace of God and its location on high ground close to the Mississippi River, the French Quarter, the original city, the Vieux Carre, was largely spared the kind of destruction wreaked on the lower lying areas of this great metropolis.

The wind damage to old slate roofs and shuttered facades and windows was severe and some very few unstable structures and outbuildings collapsed. The public squares, parks and gardens of the Quarter suffered a forced pruning. But it was the loss of essential services in the Quarter - electricity, gas, water, cable, communications, and waste management for so many weeks that caused the worst destruction.

Now six weeks post-Katrina the Quarter is rushing back to life and commerce and the recovery is exciting to witness and picking up pace daily. A massive clean up, refurbishment, recovery campaign is being waged in every house, apartment, condo, hotel, shop, museum, restaurant and service operation in the district. Most businesses are still struggling to find the employees “back of the house”, the artists, musicians, cooks and service people who made it all go so seamlessly and joyfully before the storm. Nevertheless, scores of shops, restaurants, museums, hotels and clubs are already back in business. In the next few days and months FrenchQuarter.com will chronicle and celebrate the great recovery with frequent stories and updates via our newsletter QuarterNotes. We’ll be bringing you the hopeful sounds and sights of an historic neighborhood and a great city stirring at first, then rushing back to life and commerce and culture and the joi de vivre that’s distinguished it for centuries.

Sincerely,

Carolyn McLellan, Publisher

Restored And Back In Business! French Quarter shops, restaurants, hotels, clubs and businesses are re-opening at a rapid pace. Here's FrenchQuarter.com's updated list of the latest returns.

Quarter Restaurants Get Their Rhythm Going Some of the grand ones and the neighborhood joints are back serving the best food in the world.

Quarter Attractions, Tours, Museums Updates Brief reports on the current status of Quarter tours, attractions, historic houses and museums.

Buff And Not So Buff On And Off Bourbon Normally swarming with shoppers and strollers seeking the elegant, sublime, kicky and absolutely silly, the streets of the Quarter post Katrina are jammed with a different sort of visitor.

Aunt Sally's Says The Pralines Are Better Than Ever Sweet attraction open in the French Market on Decatur Street.

French Quarter Futurists Trickling Back Home Psychics, street performers, stray artists and musicians are trickling back to the Quarter stage. Some never left.

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