What it is like to live in the Lower Garden District.
The Lower Garden District runs from Jackson Avenue down to the Pontchartrain Expressway, between the river and St. Charles. The streets are named for the Muses and Coliseum Square sits at the center of it. The houses date from the same era as the Garden District and run smaller: Greek Revival row houses, raised center-halls on narrow lots, and a great deal of patient restoration.
The streets, and what the mornings are like.
Coliseum Square is the anchor, a long green triangle with the fountain at one end, and the blocks around it hold some of the earliest houses in the neighborhood. The Muses streets run through it, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Euterpe, Polymnia, and nobody agrees on how to say any of them. The accepted local pronunciation is whichever one you heard first.
It is busier than the Garden District and closer to everything. You are a short drive from the CBD and a walk from the bottom end of Magazine, where the shops thin out and the restaurants get less formal. Sound carries differently here. The expressway is a presence along the downtown edge, and the closer you get to it the more that matters, which is worth standing on the block and checking at rush hour before you commit.
The housing stock rewards attention. Many of these houses were cut into apartments decades ago and have been put back together one at a time, so two identical facades can hide very different interiors and very different permit histories. Much of the neighborhood sits inside historic district review, so exterior work follows the same process as the Garden District.
What you get in return is proximity. The streetcar on St. Charles, the river at the bottom of the hill, the Warehouse District galleries and the CBD just across the interstate. This is the easiest of these neighborhoods to live in without a car, and the least likely to feel like a place people visit.
The housing stock.
Townhouses, doubles, and grand old houses, many of them divided into condos.
House types
Greek Revival and Italianate townhouses, side-hall shotguns, doubles, and a few grand mansions around Coliseum Square. Many of the larger houses have been converted into condos, which makes this one of the easier places in the city to find a smaller home with real architecture.
Condition and era
Much of the neighborhood dates from the 1830s through the 1890s. It went through hard decades before a long revival, so condition varies more than almost anywhere else: a meticulous restoration can sit beside a building that still needs everything.
What to watch for
In condos, read the association’s budget, reserves, and insurance before anything else. In houses, look hard at foundations, roofs, and old wiring. Much of the neighborhood is a historic district, so exterior changes need approval. Owning an Old House covers what to check.
What is around.
What your days look like once you live here.
Eating and drinking
Magazine Street runs through the middle with coffee shops, bars, and restaurants, including Stein’s Deli. Mr. John’s Steakhouse is on St. Charles, and the Warehouse District’s restaurants are a short walk or ride away.
Walking
Very walkable. Coffee, groceries, bars, and the streetcar are usually a few blocks away, and the CBD and Warehouse District are within a comfortable walk or a quick bike ride.
Green space
Coliseum Square is the neighborhood’s living room, with its fountain, oaks, and dog walkers. Annunciation Square is nearby, and the riverfront is a short walk away.
Getting places
The St. Charles streetcar reaches Canal Street in about 10 minutes. By car, the CBD is 5 minutes away and the airport is roughly 25. Plenty of residents walk or bike to work downtown.
Homes for sale in the Lower Garden District
Three questions about the Lower Garden District.
The ones people ask me most as a New Orleans real estate advisor.
Is the Lower Garden District a good place to live?
Yes, for people who want to walk everywhere and be close to downtown. It has some of the best architecture in the city and a lively stretch of Magazine Street. The trade-offs are more noise, tighter parking, and blocks that vary a good deal, so walk the street at night before you buy.
How walkable is the Lower Garden District?
Very. Most daily errands, restaurants, and the streetcar are a few blocks away, and many residents commute on foot or by bike to the CBD. It is one of the few places in the city where living with one car, or none, is realistic.
What does a house in the Lower Garden District cost?
It spans a wide range because so much of the housing is condos. A one-bedroom in a converted house and a restored townhouse near Coliseum Square are very different purchases. What Your Money Buys has current price bands, and I am happy to pull this month’s sales for the blocks you like.
Read next.
Honest price bands by neighborhood.
What to check before you make an offer.
What caring for an older house involves.
The grand houses off St. Charles.
Oak canopy, Magazine Street, and Audubon Park.
Luxury Real Estate Advisor License ID: 995701126
+1(504) 617-5184 | richard@richardhebertrealtor.com
The Lower Garden District guide.