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Celebrate the contributions of women to the building of New Orleans. This exhibit highlights both popular figures like the Baroness Pontalba and everyday shop owners.
This exhibit celebrates the contributions of women by describing the lives and achievements of several dozen female property and business owners in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century New Orleans, selected at random from business directories, court documents, and other general sources available in the New Orleans Public Library’s Louisiana Division/City Archives.
A few are well known, but many of the others lived and worked in relative anonymity. Some were successful business owners, while many struggled to support themselves and their families. Some were widows who, despite a lack of prior experience, continued to operate their husbands’ businesses, often very successfully, sometimes temporarily. Some were single women who found their own individual avenues in the economic structure of the city. Some were wives or daughters who inherited property; others acquired real estate on their own. All had to battle the social and economic norms of a male-dominated society that made successful female enterprise far less attainable than it is today. Considered together, they provide us with a glimpse into typical female enterprise in New Orleans during the period.
An online version of the exhibit can be viewed here.
AGE GROUP: | Teens | Children | Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | DO NOT USE Exhibits/Displays |
TAGS: | History/Preservation | Exhibits/Displays |
Mon, Apr 15 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
Tue, Apr 16 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
Wed, Apr 17 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
Thu, Apr 18 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
Fri, Apr 19 | 10:00AM to 5:00PM |
Sat, Apr 20 | 10:00AM to 5:00PM |
Sun, Apr 21 | Closed |
The Main Library, located in the Central Business District, opened in December 1958. The building, encompassing three main floors and two sub-basements, is the Library's flagship location, providing the system's largest collection of popular and research sources.
The Main Library offers a wide collection of books, music, and movies, and hosts many programs for children, teens, and adults.