Jackson Square (New Orleans)

Jackson Square, formerly the Place d'Armes (French) or Plaza de Armas (Spanish), is a historic park in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960, for its central role in the city's history, and as the site where in 1803 Louisiana was made United States territory pursuant to the Louisiana Purchase. In 2012 the American Planning Association designated Jackson Square as one of the Great Public Spaces in the United States.

The square is named for Andrew Jackson, who was credited with victory in the 1815 Battle of New Orleans and later became the 7th president of the United States.

Jackson Square was designed by the architect and landscape architect Louis H. Pilié.^{[citation needed]} Jackson Square is roughly the size of a city block (GPS +29.9575 -90.0630).

Sculptor Clark Mills' equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson (a recasting of the Washington, D.C., statue), hero of the Battle of New Orleans and seventh U.S. president for whom the former military parade ground was named, was erected in 1856.^{[citation needed]} Iron fences, walkways, benches, and Parisian-style landscaping remain intact from the original design by Micaela Almonester, Baroness de Pontalba, in 1851. She also built the Pontalba Buildings, which flank the old square.

The flagpole, symbolizing the 1803 ceremonial transfers from Spain to France and then from France to the United States, reflects Louisiana's rich colonial history. During the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) repainted façades, renovated buildings, and improved landscaping in and around the park. In 1971, the pedestrian zone in the vicinity of Jackson Square was created, when three surrounding streets were closed to vehicular traffic—Chartres, St. Peter, and St. Ann.

Early French colonial New Orleans was centered on what was then called the Place d'Armes (lit. 'weapons’ square'). Under Spanish colonial administration in the second half of the 18th century, the name was Plaza de Armas, which also means a place d'armes. Following the Great New Orleans Fire of 1788, the Spanish officials rebuilt the St. Louis Church (elevated to cathedral in 1793) in 1789 and the town hall (known as the Cabildo) in 1795.

Following the 1815 Battle of New Orleans, during the first half of the 19th century, the former military plaza was renamed Jackson Square, for the battle's victorious General Jackson. In the center of the park stands an equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson erected in 1856, one of four identical statues in the U.S. by the sculptor Clark Mills. The statue was dedicated in a grand ceremony on Saturday, February 9, 1856. The square also has four slightly older statues, neoclassical representations of personifications of the four seasons, one near each corner of the square.

The square originally overlooked the Mississippi River across Decatur Street, but the view was blocked in the 19th century by the construction of higher levees. The riverfront was long devoted to shipping docks. The 20th-century administration of Mayor Moon Landrieu installed a scenic boardwalk on top of the levee to reconnect the city to the river; it is known as the "Moon Walk" in his honor, and has since been expanded and paved. The space between Decatur Street and the "Moon Walk" is designated as "Washington Artillery Park".