|
Harvest time is the most exciting time of the year in the Farmer's
Market. That's when many of the farmers from southeastern Louisiana
come into the French Market to sell their produce and other goods.
This section of the French Market was constructed in 1924 to
encourage local farmers to bring their produce into the city.
New Orleans had grown so much by that time that the vendors in
the Vegetable Market building just couldn't keep up with that
growth, so it was time to expand. The expansion became the "produce
terminal" stalls in the block from Ursulines St. to Barracks
St. The original stalls of the Farmer's Market received a complete
make-over in the PWA renovations of the 1930s, and the current
structure dates from that time.
 The idea behind the Farmer's Market is simple: the city provides
a location and the farmers back their trucks right up to the walkway
in the middle. They then sell their goods right from the back
of the truck. The farmer pays the city rent on the space, the
customer gets the freshest produce around, and everyone is happy.
Given the Creole cook's desire to get the freshest ingredients
possible for dinner, the Farmer's Market was a welcome addition.
The Farmer's Market was a 24-hour operation; the farmers would
travel in at night, arriving in the wee hours of the morning to
get the choice stalls. This all-night bustle of activity encouraged
development of other businesses in the Market, such as the Morning
Call coffee stand.
Physically, there's not much different about the structure of
the Farmer's Market. The section of stalls from Gov. Nicholls
to Barracks is now the Flea Market, but the closer-in section
of stalls is still a great place to get fresh strawberries in
the spring, watermelon in the summer, and all kinds of local produce
in the fall. The only downside to the market is that some of
the stalls closer to Ursulines St. are being taken over by permanent
little stores that sell more culinary souvenirs and such than
they do fresh produce. One section of stalls on that end of the
building has even given way to a little enclosed store that sells
and ships fresh seafood all over the world. So, in a sense, the
Farmer's Market has come full circle, from the original Vegetable
Market that catered to the Creole cooks of the Vieux Carre, to
the "produce terminal" of the pre-supermarket days,
back to a local, open-air market that caters to neighborhood locals
as well as visitors.
One of the most fun things we do in the French Market has been
to take the kids down there in October to buy a pumpkin. We'll
get a nice-sized one to put by the front door on Halloween, then
we'd also pick one up one of those little orange squashes that
look sort of like a mini-pumpkin for Justin (now age 7) to decorate.
We have continued doing this since Justin was 4, and his pre-school
made the journey as a class field trip. There are few things
more enjoyable than experiencing the magic of the French Market
through the eyes of a child, especially when they know they get
to buy something and bring it home.
|
