The 5th Ward or Fifth Ward is a division of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

, one of the 17 Wards of New Orleans

Wards of New Orleans

The city of New Orleans, Louisiana is divided into 17 wards. Politically, the wards are used in voting in elections, subdivided into precincts. Under various previous city charters of the 19th century, aldermen and later city council members were elected by ward. The city has not had officials...

.

Boundaries

The roughly "L" shaped ward stretches through the city from the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 to Lake Pontchartrain

Lake Pontchartrain

Lake Pontchartrain is a brackish estuary located in southeastern Louisiana. It is the second-largest inland saltwater body of water in the United States, after the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and the largest lake in Louisiana. As an estuary, Pontchartrain is not a true lake.It covers an area of with...

. The lower boundary is St. Philip Street, across which is the 6th Ward

6th Ward of New Orleans

The 6th Ward or Sixth Ward is one of the seventeen Wards of New Orleans, located in the Downtown section of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.-Boundaries:...

. The Ward boundary then follows Bayou St. John

Bayou St. John

Bayou St. John is a bayou within the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.The Bayou as a natural feature drained the swampy land of a good portion of what was to become New Orleans into Lake Pontchartrain...

, which back from Esplanade Avenue has the 7th Ward

7th Ward of New Orleans

The 7th Ward is a section of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is geographically the second largest of the 17 Wards of New Orleans, after the 9th Ward.-Boundaries and geography:...

 on the other side. The Upper boundary is St. Louis Street, across which is the 4th Ward

4th Ward of New Orleans

The 4th Ward or Fourth Ward is a division of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, one of the 17 Wards of New Orleans.-Boundaries:...

. The boundary continues on a straight line of St. Louis to City Park Avenue (formerly Bayou Metairie Road), where it jogs down to Orleans. It then follows the Orleans Canal

Orleans Canal

The Orleans Canal is a drainage canal in New Orleans, Louisiana. The current version of the canal is about 2 km long, running along the up-river side of City Park, through the Lakeview and Lakeshore neighborhood, and into Lake Pontchartrain...

 route north to the Lake.

Cityscape and landmarks

The Ward includes some of the earliest and most famous portions of New Orleans settled in Colonial Times. The riverfront, long busy docks, is now the "Moonwalk", a pleasant park along the Mississippi. Just above the Moonwalk is Café du Monde

Café du Monde

Café du Monde is a coffee shop on Decatur Street in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is best known for its café au lait and its French-style beignets. In the New Orleans style, the coffee is blended with chicory....

, below it the old Jax Brewery

Jackson Brewery

Jackson Brewery, commonly known as Jax Brewery by locals, is a building in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, containing shops and restaurants and primarily frequented by tourists. Constructed in 1891, it originally was the central brewery for Jax Beer, and in the 1960s was the...

 building, converted into an upscale shopping mall. Across Decatur Street is Jackson Square

Jackson Square, New Orleans

Jackson Square, also known as Place d'Armes, is a historic park in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960.-Design:...

, the heart of the old French Quarter

French Quarter

The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...

, surrounded by historic buildings. Farther back, past the shops and galleries of Royal Street and the bars and clubs of Bourbon Street, is a still largely residential section of the Quarter. Such famous music venues as Preservation Hall

Preservation Hall

Preservation Hall is a noted jazz performance hall located at 726 St. Peter Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It hosts nightly concerts featuring a rotating roster of bands. The bands of Preservation Hall typically perform jazz in the New Orleans style.Despite the fame of the...

 and Donna's are in the portion of the Quarter in the 5th Ward.

Across Rampart Street

Rampart Street

Rampart Street is a historic avenue located in New Orleans, Louisiana.The upper end of the street is in the New Orleans Central Business District...

 is Louis Armstrong Park

Louis Armstrong Park

Louis Armstrong Park is a park located in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, just across Rampart Street from the French Quarter. It was designed by New Orleans architect Robin Riley. The park contains the New Orleans Municipal Auditorium, the Mahalia Jackson Theater of the...

 and the Municipal Auditorium

Municipal Auditorium (New Orleans)

The Morris F.X. Jeff, Sr. Municipal Auditorium is a 7,853-seat multi-purpose arena in New Orleans, Louisiana, and a component of the New Orleans Cultural Center, alongside the Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts. It is located in the Treme neighborhood in Louis Armstrong Park near Congo...

, site of many Carnival

New Orleans Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana, is a Carnival celebration well-known throughout the world.The New Orleans Carnival season, with roots in preparing for the start of the Christian season of Lent, starts after Twelfth Night, on Epiphany . It is a season of parades, balls , and king cake parties...

 balls. The ward includes the old route of the historic Carondelet Canal

Carondelet Canal

The Carondelet Canal, also known as the Old Basin Canal, was a canal in New Orleans, Louisiana from 1794 through 1938.Construction of the canal began in June of 1794 on the orders of Governor of Louisiana Francisco Luis Hector de Carondelet, for whom the canal was named. The 1.6‑mile long canal...

, now filled in. The Lafitte Projects

Lafitte Projects

The Lafitte Projects are one of the Housing Projects of New Orleans and are located in the 6th Ward of New Orleans Treme neighborhood. It is one of Downtown New Orleans' oldest housing developments and had many associated problems before being severely flooded and damaged during Hurricane Katrina...

 along Orleans Avenue were closed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

. The area around Bayou St. John and Orleans is a famous gathering place for the Downtown

Downtown New Orleans

In New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, "downtown" has historically referred to neighborhoods along the Mississippi River down-river from Canal Street, including the French Quarter, Treme, Faubourg Marigny, Bywater, the 9th Ward, and other neighborhoods...

 Mardi Gras Indian tribes. Across the Bayou, the old American Can Factory building was renovated into apartments and shops at the end of the 20th century. Continuing back, the Ward includes a slice of Mid-City New Orleans

Mid-City New Orleans

Mid-City is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Mid-City District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: City Park Avenue, Toulouse Street, North Carrollton and Orleans Avenues, Bayou St. John and St. Louis Street to the north, North Broad...

. Turning north, the Ward includes all of City Park, the former site of the Old Spanish Fort

Spanish Fort, New Orleans

Spanish Fort, also known as Old Spanish Fort, Fort St. Jean, and Fort St. John, is a historic place in New Orleans, Louisiana, formerly the site of a fort and later an amusement park.-The fort:...

, and the upscale Lake Vista neighborhood

Lakeshore/Lake Vista, New Orleans

Lakeshore/Lake Vista is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A subdistrict of the Lakeview District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Lake Pontchartrain to the north, Bayou St. John to the east, Robert E. Lee Boulevard to the south and Pontchartrain...

, and finally a section of Lakeshore Park.