User:Mikaela20/Oak St.

Oak street is mostly known as a local hotspot for college students, artists, writers, and musicians. It is also located just near Carrollton Avenue and Uptown New Orleans. If you're coming from downtown, Oak Street is accessible using the St. Charles Avenue Streetcars. The picturesque hub located on Oak Street, attracts many visitors. On the surface, Oak Street still resembles an old-fashioned Main Street from an era gone by, with a mix of low-slung, glass-fronted storefronts and restaurants, ubiquitous New Orleans shotgun homes, and easy walkability. The street also holds their annual Po-boy festival around mid-November. The festival is a culinary celebration of a famous sandwich, it also celebrates the rebirth of a once-thriving shopping district with roots as deep as the neighborhood itself. Oak Street also caters to the famous Maple Leaf Bar, which made international headlines in September of 2005.

History
Oak Street has been apart of New Orleans since the late 1800s. he street served as the "Main Street" center of the Carrollton area. Therefore, locals could go to Oak Street and do their shopping and take care of their basic needs all in the proximity near their homes. However, as natives started to own cars, they would drive to New Orleans to do their shopping. The now overlooked area became abandoned and many of its historic buildings were knocked down or left empty. By the 1980s, there was a spark of renewed interest in Oak Street, which allowed residents to take notice of the assets Oak Street had to offer. Therefore, all businesses and stores were saved and started to thrive again.

Shops and Venues
Oak street has seven blocks full of flourishing small businesses since the street is once again the commercial center and pride of the Carrollton neighborhood. Visitors can find a variety of establishments such as art galleries, coffee shops, clothing boutiques, and dining restaurants. Oak Street is filled with a wide variety of on-the-go and dine-in cuisine options. Whether you’re looking for sushi, fresh squeezed juice or a good old-fashioned cheeseburger, you’ll find the tastiest cuisine on Oak Street.

Po-Boy Festival
Every year in mid-November Oak Street hosts the Oak Street Po-Boy Festival, which pays tribute to the French bread sandwich for which New Orleans is famous. In recent years the festival has drawn up to 30,000 people who come to dine on po-boys and other culinary and seafood delicacies, listen to live music and shop in the specialty shops along the stretch. The event is one day only with hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., there are features of live music, arts and handicrafts and many booths offering many different types of po-boys. During the festival, merchants along the Oak Street commercial corridor open their doors for browsers and buyers alike, offering a wide variety of merchandise ranging from vintage books and jewelry to works of art and unique apparel. Coffee shops and cozy little dining establishments offer their specialties, as do larger venues like Jacques-Imo's Cafe and the world-renowned Maple Leaf Bar with its live music and large dance floor.

Maple Leaf Bar
The Maple Leaf Bar is a music performance venue and bar on Oak Street in the Carrollton neighborhood of Uptown New Orleans. On February 24,1974, The Maple Leaf opened and it is known as one of the longest continuing operation of New Orleans’ music clubs with live performances seven nights a week. On that first night Andrew Hall’s Society Jazz Band played and were there every Saturday for 7 years. Many of the old time musicians were featured including numerous members of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Musical styles represented include blues, funk, R&B, rock, zydeco, jazz, jam bands and any combination thereof, and beyond, hosting both local performers and touring national acts. Currently home to 2018 Grammy Lifetime Achievement winner George Porter Jr. and his trio every Monday night, and the longtime Tuesday night home to the Grammy Award winning Rebirth Brass Band, frequent performers at the Maple Leaf have included local legends James Booker, the Rebirth Brass Band, Papa Grows Funk, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, “Money Mike” Armstrong, The Radiators and Henry Butler.