Virtually Uptown

Most locations in New Orleans proper are classified geographically in one of two categories: Downtown or Uptown. The divding line between the two is Canal Street, the main street of the city. The Downtown areas are the French Quarter and the Creole Faubourgs. When Americans started moving to New Orleans in large numbers, the existing Creole population didn't want much to do with them. The Americans also didn't really care much for the Old World-style homes in the Quarter, with their unassuming fronts and narrow streets. This led the Americans to the undeveloped area north of Canal, which we now refer to as Uptown.

When one says they're "going Uptown" to do something, that's a pretty broad statement. "Uptown" runs from Faubourg St. Marie (now known as the Central Business District) to the old city of Carrollton (what is now Riverbend and Carrollton). There are several distinct neighborhoods within Uptown.