St. Louis Cathedral - Three Spires on the Square

A stop on New Orleans French Quarter Walk, a free self-guided tour.

In front of you is the church that has become the face of New Orleans. A church has stood on this spot since the city's first years: a simple wooden one in 1718, then a brick-and-timber church in the 1720s.

That second church burned on Good Friday in 1788, when the Great New Orleans Fire swept through the town and destroyed hundreds of buildings. Under Spanish rule, a wealthy official named Andres Almonester paid to rebuild, and the new church was finished in 1794, the same year it became a cathedral. The baroness who built the Pontalba Buildings behind you was his daughter.

What you see today is mostly the result of a major rebuilding around 1850, which gave the cathedral its tall, pointed spires. In 1964 the Pope named it a minor basilica. It is often called the oldest cathedral in continuous use in the United States. If a service is not underway, you are welcome to step inside quietly and look at the painted ceiling.

Getting here: Walk to the top of the square and cross the pedestrian plaza to the cathedral steps.

Did you know?: During the 1850 rebuilding, the cathedral's central tower collapsed, and much of the work had to be redone with new builders.

Photo op: Step back toward the square's iron fence and shoot straight up the center so all three spires line up above the doors.

More on Wikipedia: St. Louis Cathedral · Great New Orleans Fire

St. Louis Cathedral - Three Spires on the Square

Stops on this tour