One of the last old-time neighborhoods left is the US, recently featured as the lead story of the Houston-Chronicle Travel Section titled: Harmony in the Bywater:

HoustonChronicle - "New Orleans' Bywater is an authentic, fun experience"

. . . for travelers not tourists.
. . .
"There are plenty of bars, restaurants and galleries. But for now there are no T-shirt emporiums clamoring for the tourist dollar and no typical attractions. Instead, something intangible, like a cosmic frequency heard only by a lucky few, is drawing like-minded souls to this bohemian little enclave."
. . .
"Bywater, New Orleans third-oldest neighborhood, dates to the early 1800s, and stands just down river from the first- and second-oldest districts, the French Quarter and the Faubourg Marigny. Many of Bywater's artists and musicians moved there from the Marigny, driven out when tourists, clubs and restaurants began pouring in and real estate prices soared."
. . .
". . . B.J.'s, one of three neighborhood bars comprising what locals have dubbed "the Bar-muda Triangle." The other two are Vaughan's and Sugar Park Tavern, all close enough to eliminate the need to drink and drive (though some patrons do pedal over on bikes)."
. . .

"Vaughan's may be the best-known of Bywater's many bars, thanks to the long-standing Thursday night gig by righteous trumpeter Kermit Ruffins and his Barbecue Swingers. A native son, Ruffins has recorded numerous albums (including the just-released Putamayo Presents: Kermit Ruffins) and toured the world. But he always comes home, and he always draws a crowd of fans, music students and occasional famous guests. A few, like jazz musician and composer Wynton Marsalis, come to sit in with the band; others, like actor Jude Law, Kate Husdson, Peter Jennings, Anderson Cooper, Mick Jagger, Steven Typer, etc., come to listen and soak in the sublimely ramshackle surroundings

.. . .
"The latest newcomers have brought change. There is Bacchanal, an instantly popular wine shop with hundreds of labels, terrines and gourmet cheeses. Several good restaurants, such as Elizabeth's and Bywater Barbecue and the Joint, have joined old standards Restaurant Mandich and Jack Dempsey's. There are galleries, yoga studios and shopping ops for beautiful cast-glass at Studio Inferno and vintage everything at the eclectic Bargain Center."
. . .

* All of the above quotes taken from an article written by -- RENÉE KIENTZ
for the Houston Chronicle, April 4, 2005

SIMON GUNNING
Examples of works by
artist Simon Gunning