New Orleans, Louisiana – 1725 Colonial City Plan
New Orleans, Louisiana – 1725 Colonial City Plan
Step into the earliest days of New Orleans with this rare 1725 city plan, depicting the French colonial settlement just seven years after its founding. Drawn while the city was emerging as the capital of Louisiana, this manuscript map captures New Orleans at the moment its urban identity first took shape along the Mississippi River.
Historical Context
Founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, New Orleans quickly became the administrative and commercial center of French Louisiana. By 1725, the city had adopted a uniform rectangular grid, fortified by retaining walls and organized around a central place d’armes opening onto the river. Colonial government buildings, military installations, religious institutions, and company holdings dominated the landscape, reflecting the city’s strategic importance to France’s New World ambitions.
This map documents New Orleans as it existed during its formative colonial phase—before American expansion, industrial growth, and modern infrastructure transformed the city.
The Map’s Features
This finely rendered manuscript plan presents New Orleans with remarkable clarity, showing:
• A rectangular street grid aligned to the Mississippi River
• Fortifications and retaining walls protecting the settlement
• The central place d’armes facing the riverfront
• Government, military, and religious buildings identified in the legend
• The property of Bienville located outside the city walls
• Compass rose, ships, and river activity enhancing geographic context
Though modest in size, the map provides an authoritative snapshot of early urban planning in French North America.
Historical Significance
This 1725 plan is among the most important visual records of New Orleans’ founding era. It preserves the city’s original layout and reveals how colonial priorities—defense, administration, and trade—shaped its earliest form. For collectors and historians, it represents the blueprint from which one of America’s most distinctive cities would evolve.
Museum-Quality Reproduction
This is a high-quality reproduction of the original manuscript map, professionally printed using museum-grade methods and materials to preserve every detail of this historic document. Each piece is produced on archival Hahnemühle paper using the Giclée printing process, ensuring exceptional clarity, durability, and a refined finish suitable for display in any setting.
Perfect For
• Early American and colonial history enthusiasts
• Louisiana and New Orleans collectors
• Francophile historians
• Libraries, offices, and study spaces
• Gifts for scholars and city history lovers
• Displays focused on the origins of American cities
Specifications
• Original Publication: 1725
• Cartographer: Unknown
• Style: Early 18th-century manuscript city plan
• Features: Rectangular street grid, fortifications, place d’armes, colonial buildings, Mississippi River frontage
• Product Type: High-Quality Reproduction Print
• Scale: In toises
• Dimensions (Width x Height): 20 x 13.8
Each map is printed using the finest materials and methods. Your map will be handled with white gloves from start to finish. We use the Giclée printing method on Hahnemühle paper, which produces a clear, extremely detailed, durable map perfect for proud display in your home or office.
Digital watermark does not appear on your purchased map.
