It doesn’t get more New Orleans than Canal Street.
Beginning at the Mississippi River and culminating at a collection of cemeteries, the 5 1/2-mile thoroughfare contains a sampling of everything the city has to offer, including key components of two of its top industries. Adjacent to the famed French Quarter, it is home to celebrated cultural and entertainment venues — including multiple theaters and the area’s only land-based casino — along with shopping and big-name hotels, including New Orleans’ only five-star offering.
Undoubtedly a tourism hot spot, Canal Street has also become home to two major hospitals and the city’s burgeoning “BioDistrict” and BioInnovation Center.
The street has long had its struggles, however. Once a center of commerce recognized worldwide in the late 1880s as one of the few streets in the world to be lit by electric lights (along with New York City, Paris and London), Canal Street’s light has dimmed over the years, as explained in the Canal Street Study conducted by the City of New Orleans in 2018:
“A survey of residents during the Unified New Orleans Plan resulted in the general view that Canal Street was ‘little more than an unattractive border between downtown districts.’ Many residents and visitors hold this opinion, and Canal Street has become a street that one must cross to get to the CBD or French Quarter, and not a street that people walk up and down for its attractions.”
In September 2024, at the same time the city launched its third study aimed at revitalizing Canal Street in three decades, local leader Sandra Herman held the first meeting of the Celebrate Canal! Coalition, a nonprofit group of dedicated citizens determined to make a difference.
“New Orleans attracts 6 to 8 million tourists per year.” said Herman. “We want everyone, including families, to put Canal Street at the top of their list. We want to bring all the people back.”
Working closely with the City Planning Commission, Downtown Development District, New Orleans & Co., New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, New Orleans Business Alliance and GNO, Inc., the Celebrate Canal! Coalition aims to bring together a cross-section of citizens, business owners and city leaders to breathe new life into the street.
Celebrate Canal! is led by an advisory board of 11 accomplished local women from a wide variety of fields, and a 24-member advisory committee that boasts prominent business leaders like Gayle Benson, Bill Goldring and Samir Mowad and city leaders like Mayor LaToya Cantrell and New Orleans City Council members Lesli Harris, Freddie King and Helena Moreno.
The coalition is currently forging ahead with projects that directly address the issues identified in the latest survey, including retail/business attraction, transportation/walkability, placemaking and safety.
Bringing the Locals Back
This February, Sandra Lombana Lindquist, president and CEO of the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, worked with Celebrate Canal! to host a “Champagne Stroll” that attracted more than 200 participants.
The Chamber’s “After 5: Canal Street Champagne Stroll” invited attendees to visit more than a dozen businesses from the Canal Place shopping center to the Ruby Slipper restaurant. Treated to hors d’oeuvres, champagne, art, history, a raffle and a limited-edition Scrim pin, participants enjoyed a sneak peek at the upcoming April opening of another Celebrate Canal! project, the “Windows on Canal” art installations.
Windows on Canal is aimed at transforming Canal Street stores into outdoor galleries showcasing New Orleans’ diverse artistic talents and cultural heritage. The thinking behind the three-month public art series is similar to how Mardi Gras porch floats were used to keep Carnival alive during COVID.
Curated by Where Y’Art Works, a full-service art consulting company founded by Cat Todd and Collin Ferguson, visitors can follow Scrim, a shelter dog whose multiple escapes have made him a local icon, through interactive displays highlighting the street’s history and telling the artists’ stories.
“Each animal Scrim meets along the way represents a chapter of Canal Street’s amazing past along with its ongoing role in shaping New Orleans’ future,” said Ferguson.
Six muralists, sculptors, float designers and fabricators, and other artists worked on the Windows on Canal initiative. Among the contributors are Tyla Maiden, Bryan Brown, Courtney “Ceaux” Buckley, Monique Lorden, Jacques Francois, and Breanna Thompson.
The Historical New Orleans Collection was also involved, providing information about each building’s colorful history and the businesses that occupied them.
The Woman Behind the Movement
Herman is known for getting things done. Recognized as one of the most accomplished women in Louisiana governance, she was the driving force behind the creation of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism and served as its first cabinet-level secretary in the 1970s.
Later, as director of the Atchafalaya Basin Program, she authored legislation that was unanimously passed by the Louisiana Legislature, securing $83 million in state funds to match $250 million in federal funding.
“On one side you had forestry, oil industries and property owners, and on the other side were the sports enthusiasts, environmentalists and ordinary citizens,” Herman said. “I brought them together to negotiate the deal, which established welcome centers, parks, boat landings, and water management projects across the eight parishes of the Atchafalaya Basin.”
This is not Herman’s first time leading a coalition or working on Canal Street. In 2019, she and a group of like-minded leaders established the New Orleans Entertainment Coalition (NOEC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to arts and culture. The group had a historic marker installed on Canal to memorialize the location of the first fixed-seat movie theater in the U.S. called “Vitascope Hall,” which was established in 1896.
This latest passion project, however, was sparked by the words of another local force for change, GNO, Inc., Executive Director Michael Hecht, while at a women’s council meeting last year. Hecht was speaking about how cities can make progress through civic action.
“I remember him saying, ‘It’s going to take a coalition of citizens,’” said Herman. “That inspired me to create the Celebrate Canal! Coalition.”
“This is not her first rodeo,” noted Hecht, who expressed his confidence in Herman. “She has a lifetime of civic action. I think I merely reignited her drive.”
Other coalition members share Hecht’s confidence in Herman’s leadership.
“I think the coalition has a great person leading this effort,” said Andre Rubenstein, chair of Rubensteins, a men’s clothing company that has operated on Canal since 1924. “She has the cooperation of a lot of downtown entities and businesses. Her concept is good.”
“Sandra is very devoted and eager to see results,” added Matt Brown, general manager of Canal Place. “She’s the right person to drive Celebrate Canal!, and she’s surrounded by intelligent people who want to see it flourish.”
Just Getting Started
Celebrate Canal! is planning additional events through June, including art and architecture tours, children’s scavenger hunts, culinary experiences called “A Taste of Canal,” and a fashion show.
In addition to beautifying Canal Street and drawing more locals, the coalition is looking at ways to address other issues. One issue that may be addressed in the future is transportation.
“Parking is a major consideration,” said Rubenstein. “While there is available space along St. Charles and the streetcars bring people into the area, more affordable public parking is needed downtown. Enhancing the visibility of existing options like the D.H. Holmes Garage and around the Saenger would create a more user-friendly experience.”
In addition to more parking, however, some would like to see accessibility increase for other forms of transportation.
“Canal is stressful for people on bikes,” said Laura Harris, education and policy manager with Bike Easy. “The right lane is constantly blocked by delivery trucks. People ride on the neutral ground which is dangerous with the streetcars and streetcar tracks.”
Considering increasing accessibility for bikes may be a smart business move.
According to a study on Minneapolis’s Central Avenue by PeopleForBikes and Portland State University, adding bike lanes led to a 12.64% increase in retail and a 52.44% surge in food sales.
“The data shows that more people are more likely to stop than if they’re driving,” said Harris. “Turning the Basin Street bike path into a two-way path that better connects the Lafitte Greenway to Canal Street would improve accessibility.”
Harris says the new bike lanes that were added in both directions on Poydras Street between Loyola Avenue and Convention Center Boulevard are a good example of what could be done on Canal Street.
“Canal is an important missing link which would bring all sides of the city together,” Harris said. “It’s so wide there’s enough space for separate biking and walking paths.”
Nearby, there are plans to extend the Lafitte Greenway up to Canal Boulevard, which would provide access to the top of the Canal Street corridor. The Greenway currently stretches from the Treme at North Rampart Street to just past North Carrollton Avenue and sees traffic from an average of 1,000 people per day, according to the Lafitte Greenway Partnership. That number increases to 4,000 during Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest.
Proponents argue that if this busy path connected safely with Canal Street, it would increase accessibility for the entire length of the thoroughfare.
To Tree or Not to Tree
Another of the coalition’s considerations is whether to replace Canal Street’s existing palm trees with shade trees to make outdoor seating and walking along Canal Street more inviting. Larger trees could also help reduce stormwater runoff.
City officials have reported that the current tree canopy covers 18.5% of the community which is a significant drop from nearly 30% before Hurricane Katrina. The New Orleans Reforestation Plan — developed by the local nonprofit Sustaining Our Urban Landscape (SOUL) in partnership with design firm SMM — has outlined plans to boost coverage to 50% over the coming decades. By comparison, Charleston, South Carolina, boasts an impressive 63% tree canopy.
A study by the University of Washington, “Trees Mean Business: City Trees and the Retail Streetscape” found that people spend 9%-12% more in tree‑lined districts because they want to linger there. The Lafitte Greenway is a perfect example of this. Running parallel to Canal Street just three blocks over, the Greenway features approximately 500 native trees spurring economic development.
But not everyone is a fan.
“I’m a little bit concerned about planting bigger trees on Canal Street,” said Rubenstein. “They’re susceptible to bugs and of course someone would have to clean up the leaves. The palm trees are nice, and the city does a good job of maintaining them.”
Planting costs can also be high, ranging from $250-$600 per tree for the first year of maintenance, and tree roots can damage sidewalks and utilities.
However, several U.S. cities have successfully grown shade trees in downtown areas, including New York City which launched a “Million Tree” initiative, along with Philadelphia, Atlanta, Oakland, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Detroit. The cities have all found that tree‑lined streets increase foot traffic — one of the main objectives of the Celebrate Canal! initiative.
Something to Learn from The Big Apple?
In New York City, one street stands out among its many famous thoroughfares. Widely regarded as the epicenter of theater, retail and tourism, 42nd Street, like Canal, is at the heart of the city’s dramatic evolution. Local leaders hope to replicate the success of 42nd Street.
The street struggled with crime and blight. Back in the 1990s, a coalition of citizens came together and successfully revitalized it.
The central theme of NYC’s revitalization strategy was the understanding that 42nd Street, especially at Times Square, was the city’s greatest asset. Like Canal Street, the street serves as a transportation nexus and is close to major cultural and commercial landmarks. The coalition knew it had to make 42nd Street more attractive to investors by capitalizing on the area’s unique position as a focal point for the entire city.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Weishaupt, co-founder and co-owner of The Ruby Slipper Restaurant Group, said Canal Street has started to see some positive change.
“We’ve started to see movement on attracting a more diverse group of interesting businesses to fill vacant spaces on Canal, but there’s more that can be done,” said Weishaupt. “[The success of] Magazine Street is a good example of what the city can achieve.”
