New Orleans Waters of Katrina History Tour

We have brought back our Waters of Katrina History Tour where we offer a unique insight into the untold history of water and its relationship to New Orleans.
With a concentration on Katrina, this journey will take you through past and present, exploring the natural and man-made disasters that created a need for new and improved ways to deal with our city below sea level.

Water has shaped the culture of this city. Every generation of New Orleanians have been plagued by floods.

On tour you will hear about the history of the city and the 20th-century innovations surrounding our plight with water and storms. We will show you how water has been integral in shaping the city as we know it today.

Thurs, Fri, Sat: 10 am

2 hours

Meeting Point

768 Decatur St

768 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70116, USA

This address brings you to the amphitheater. You will notice a semi circle of concrete steps. Your guide will meet you at the bottom of those steps. You will receive a text from the guide describing themselves before the meeting time.

What's included:

• Your guide is a licensed tour guide who is also an environmentalist

What to expect:

Duration: 2 hours

Mississippi River

Louisiana

New Orleans and the Mississippi River are extricably linked. Tourism, trade and commerce are all powered by the river, lakes and the gulf that surrounds it.
But the very thing that powers the city’s economy also makes it vulnerable to catastrophic floods.
We will discuss this in detail

15 minutes

Latrobe Park

Decatur Street, French Quarter, New Orleans, 70116, Louisiana

This park was named after Benjamin Latrobe who built New Orleans' first water system

15 minutes

Woldenberg Riverfront Park

1 Canal St, French Quarter, New Orleans, 70130-1152, Louisiana

This area used to be flood walls, warehouses, and industrial that ran along the Mississippi River. The area was transformed into a public park complete with lush greenery, bricked walkways, and public art, and it opened to the public before the 1984 World’s Fair, which the city hosted that year. The park was named for philanthropist Malcolm Woldenberg, who contributed to the park’s creation.

15 minutes

Jackson Square

751 Decatur St, , New Orleans, 70181, Louisiana

Jackson Square, or the Place d’Armes, as it was originally known, began to take its shape in August 1721, when French engineers laid out a plan for the new colonial capital of La Louisiane. We will discuss the histroy as we view this gorgeous square.

15 minutes

French Market

518 Saint Peter Street, New Orleans, 70116-3406, Louisiana

In 1791, this French Market originated as a Native American trading post along the Mississippi River. From there it continued to evolve into a cultural and commercial hub for New Orleans, as French and Spanish colonists opened the market up to ships and traders from all over the world. Over the next three centuries, immigrants from Europe, Africa and the Caribbean began to open their own venues at this French Quarter market, offering everything from Italian butcheries to African coffee and Choctaw spices.

15 minutes

French Quarter

New Orleans, Louisiana

This was the original city. When the French created a permanent colony here they initiated a century’s-long effort to pin the Mississippi within its banks by building man made levees on top of the natural ones.
But the Mississippi river was not easily tamed. Even Mark Twain said “The Mississippi River will always have its own way; no engineering skill can persuade it to do otherwise. And he was right. No matter what man did to try to control the river, floods plagued each generation of New Orleanians.

45 minutes