1800s - 1830s

1800s -- 1830s

The following are excerpts from the Digest of the Acts and Deliberations of the Cabildo:

1800 Ronde – A bill is presented by Arnaldo Magnon for painting the Fish Market with tar and red lead.

Markets 4 III 143 2/21/1800 Acting Governor: Vidal; Royal Ensign: De La Ronde – At this time a petition from Don Bartholome Lafond is read in which he states that he has finished the Fish Market, asks that it be inspected, and if found correct in accordance with contract, that he be paid its value. On page 168, the last one-third payment of the contract is ordered paid to Lafond.

Markets 5

59 3/11/1803 Governor: Salcedo; Royal Ensign: De La Ronde – The Governor, expecting the momentary arrival of French Officials with 4500 troops to take possession of the Colony, asked the Commissioners to take steps to prevent the scarcity of food. One thousand head of cattle was ordered procured and held in reserve. (See “Transfer of Louisiana back to France” Part I of this Digest.)

Markets 5

101 9/17/1803 Governor: Salcedo; Royal Ensign: De La Ronde – At this time the Governor calls attention to the danger threatening the levee over which the fish and meat market is established, and ordered that the outside walls of this building be immediately supported with props.

From the New Orleans Public Library:

The October 26, 1805 session of the Conseil de Ville includes a reference to a petition from several of the city's butchers complaining that rain water leaking through the roof of the meat market was spoiling their meats. The Council directed the Mayor to ask the city surveyor to examine the roof and present an estimate of the cost of the most urgent repairs. Apparently, the job of repairing the roof was given to one Charles Laveau, who tackled it quickly and, at the end of November, presented his bill for $101.7 "bits." Charles Laveau, a free man of color, was the father of the famous Marie Laveau. His work must have been found satisfactory, because in later years he made other repairs to city property. The meat market referred to here is not the current meat market on Decatur between St. Anne and Ursulines. That building, the oldest of the current French Market structures, was not built until 1813. The market that Laveau repaired was completed in May, 1790 by contractor Augustin McCarty and located on the levee approximately where the current meat market stands today.
[Miscellaneous French and Spanish Documents, #354, Item 19]

On October 12, 1820, the Council approved an estimate of repairs to be made to the City Hall (the Cabildo), including the type of bricks to be used in the entrance way and the exterior colors to be used. Earlier, in 1808, the body adopted the contract and estimate for construction of the public market (the Meat Market of the French Market complex). Indexes are available for most of the ordinance series.

Photo http://nutrias.org/~nopl/monthly/july2003/july0309.htm - The caption reads "Under the Poydras Market cupola." This public market, built in 1838 and remodeled in 1898, stood in the middle of Poydras Street between Baronne and South Rampart. Most photographs of this distinctive building show it from a distance; this one gives a more intimate view of the market in use--and the streetcar trundling down Poydras Street.

Photo http://nutrias.org/~nopl/inv/neh/nehkg.htm -- Above is the Poydras Market, from Gibson's Guide and Directory of the State of Louisiana, and the Cities of New Orleans and Lafayette, 1838

Photo http://nutrias.org/~nopl/monthly/july2003/july0309.htm -- The caption reads "Under the Poydras Market cupola." This public market, built in 1838 and remodeled in 1898, stood in the middle of Poydras Street between Baronne and South Rampart. Most photographs of this distinctive building show it from a distance; this one gives a more intimate view of the market in use--and the streetcar trundling down Poydras Street.