Tremé is essential to understanding New Orleans beyond its postcard image. The neighborhood has deep connections to African American history, music, community traditions and the cultural development of the city.
A neighborhood with extraordinary history
Tremé is often described as one of the oldest African American neighborhoods in the United States. Its story is connected to free people of color, slavery, civil rights, religion and generations of Black New Orleanians.
Congo Square
Within today’s Louis Armstrong Park, Congo Square holds particular historical importance as a place where enslaved and free people of African descent gathered, traded and made music during the colonial and early American periods.
Music and tradition
Brass bands, jazz and Black masking traditions associated with Mardi Gras Indians are among the cultural threads connected to Tremé and wider New Orleans.
Visit with context
This is one neighborhood where learning some history before or during your visit makes a substantial difference. Museums, cultural institutions and knowledgeable guides can help put what you see into context.
I would not approach Tremé as a collection of photo stops. Come to understand how much of the New Orleans visitors celebrate today was created and sustained by communities whose histories deserve more than a passing mention.