Take a Walking Tour of New Iberia: A Stroll Through History
“The rain fell through the canopy of oaks as I drove down the dirt road along the bayou to my house. During the summer it rains almost every afternoon in southern Louisiana. From my gallery, around three o’clock, you could watch the clouds build as high and dark as mountains down on the Gulf, then within minutes the barometer would drop, the air would suddenly turn cool and smell like ozone and gunmetal and fish spawning, the wind would begin to blow out of the south and straighten the moss on the dead cypress trees in the marsh, bend the cattails in the bayou, and swell and ruffle the pecan trees in my front yard; then a sheet of grey rain would move out of the marsh, floating across the islands of purple hyacinths in the bayou…and ring as loud on my gallery as marbles bouncing on corrugated tin.” —an excerpt from In the Electric Mist with the Confederate Dead, by James Lee Burke
Nationally acclaimed novelist and New Iberia local (as well as one of my favorite southern writers) James Lee Burke describes how awe-inspiring thunderstorms on the bayou are. In fact, in the natural splendor of the Bayou Teche area, any dramatic change in weather seems to enhance forgotten wonders in the southern landscape, like a beautiful woman casting off an airy yellow sundress and donning an evening gown of deep blue silk.
New Iberia, nicknamed the Queen of the Bayou Teche, is a grand dame town of the South, boasting a saucy Cajun cultural climate, the effortless beauty of the southern landscape, elegant historic neighborhoods, and infectious joie-de-vivre.
To get an introduction to the cultural climate of the area, stop first at Konriko Rice Mill and Company Store. Built in 1912, Konriko is America’s oldest rice mill. Take a tour of the old, creaky mill, where you can watch rice being packaged and made into rice cakes, and view a presentation on the history of Cajun culture. After the tour and the presentation, browse through the collection of souvenirs in the Company Store, where you can buy and sample local products, gather recipes, and even find some great Cajun dance music.
Next, take a walk along New Iberia’s Main Street, where a bustling commerce gracefully blends with the charm of town life. On the residential end, historic homes stand in the shadows of oak trees along the stately thoroughfare, providing ample scenery for a peaceful walk on a beautiful day. Notice the elephantine oak gracing the front entryway as you pass by the ornate Steamboat house (circa 1886-1890) at 623 Main Street, and later the Gebert Oak looming into view, nearly concealing the Gates home behind it, as you cross Prairie Avenue.
The neighborhood of gracefully designed Creole cottages and Antebellum-style estate homes soon gives way to the business district, which showcases more historic buildings and a grand view of the bayou. Don’t miss the Sliman Theater for Performing Arts, also known as the Evangeline Theater, located at 129 East Main Street in the heart of the historic downtown district. An architectural gem, this Art Deco-style building was opened in the 1930s by the Sliman family. It closed down in 1960 and remained dormant until 1994, when the Slimans donated it to the city. It was renovated by the city and has since become established as a quality venue for performance art. Most recently, the theater has been hosting the widely-acclaimed musical concert series Louisiana Crossroads, presented by the Acadian Arts Council.
As you walk through the downtown historic district, enjoy the ambiance of streetside cajun cafés and dancehalls, creative spaces such as the Bayou Art Gallery, and more historic sites, such as the Episcopal church that was used as a field hospital and prison during the Civil War. During the springtime, local homes take part in capturing the natural beauty of surrounding homes on the Azalea Trail.
New Iberia is also the perfect environment for a spring festival. The Bunk Johnson Jazz Festival, going on May 23-25, in the SugArena. This festival commemorates famous jazz trumpeter Bunk Johnson, who taught Louis Armstrong to play. There will be fabulous musical performances, arts and crafts booths, and delicious local fare to satisfy your cravings for anything fried or made with a roux. You can also visit Johnson’s grave in St. Edwards Cemetery. (He passed away in New Iberia in 1949.) For more information about the festival, call (888) 942-3742.
Another fun festivity held downtown in the spring is the Teche Area Farmers’ Market, open year-round in Boulingy Plaza on Saturday mornings from 6am-10am and Tuesday afternoons from 3pm-6pm. You will find a delightful array of homegrown produce as well as handmade cypress yard objects, fresh baked goods, ceramics, honey, jams, candy, herbs, handcrafted wooden bowls and utensils, garden ornaments, and various arts and crafts items arranged in colorful displays.
Burke, who spends half of his year in New Iberia, describes a view of Main Street in the novel A Stained White Radiance: “I look down from the window at the brick paved street in the morning’s blue light, the colonnades over the sidewalks, a black man pushing a wooden cart laden with strawberries from under the overhang of a dark green oak tree. The scene looks like a postcard mailed from the nineteenth century.” However, New Iberia’s nineteenth century was anything but picturesque, plagued by fires, long bouts of yellow fever, and the Civil War. During the first yellow fever epidemic of 1839, a brave woman named Félicité from Santo Domingo became a local heroine, nursing the sick, comforting the dying, and arranging burials. This angel of mercy was followed by everyone in town to her final resting place when she passed away in 1852; she is remembered by a historical marker that stands before City Hall in honor of her selfless courage during desperate times.
Another monument stands near the local library. The beautiful Grotto of our Lady of Lourdes was originally erected in 1941 to commemorate the pioneer families of New Iberia; however, it was re-dedicated in 1967 to the New Iberian veterans of foreign wars who died in the service of their country.
The most unusual landmark in New Iberia is a statue, made in 130 AD, of Hadrian, the great Roman Emperor. It is a seven-foot-tall white marble statue enclosed in a glass dome and visible to the public at all times on the corner of Weeks and St. Peter Streets. It was purchased in 1961 by the New Iberia Savings and Loan Association. The Stoic-Epicurean Emperor was known for his extensive travels and the 73-mile long wall he built in Britannia (now England) during his time as Emperor of Rome.
Nearby is one of the main attractions in New Iberia, the Shadows-on-the-Teche mansion. A historic antebellum home, this red-bricked, white-columned mansion was constructed by slave artisans between 1831 and 1834 for David and Mary Clare Weeks. Designated as one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation properties, it represents over 150 years of history in New Iberia, preserving a sense of the life led in antebellum times through the preservation of the landscape, the architecture, antique collections, and family papers over four generations. Daily tours are available. If you get hungry, stop over at Le Rosier, a quaint restaurant and bed and breakfast, where you can enjoy a beautiful view of the historic antebellum mansion.
Continue your tour of the downtown area along Boulingy Plaza, where you can park for free and enjoy a spectacular view of Bayou Teche. Stroll along the charming bayou boardwalk, which runs from behind Shadows-on-the-Teche to the Duperier Street Bridge. The walk is well lit in the evenings and offers a different perspective after the sun sets, with various observation points of the bayou for those who wish to enjoy a tranquil sojourn. Take a sunset stroll and reflect as your daytrip in New Iberia comes to a close, through a town rich with history and colored by natural beauty that has remained unchanged throughout the ages.✦
