Description

The historic New Orleans street tiles date back to the 1870’s and are a landmark of the Crescent City.

Encaustic tiles with street names were laid in sidewalks at street corners in New Orleans from the 1870s to about 1920. These are still common in older parts of the city.

Some similar tiles have been occasionally placed more recently (mostly in historic neighborhoods to replace lost older tiles), but such are generally painted ceramic rather than encaustic, with a different look.

In addition, there are tiles in the French Quarter with the old Spanish colonial street names, a gift of the government of Spain in the 1959.

Some other tile designs are occasionally seen, either placed by individuals or neighborhood organizations.