The story
As you walk along the vibrant, narrow stretch of Burgundy Street here in the Faubourg Marigny, take a moment to look at the colorful Creole cottages and the intricate gingerbread trim. It feels peaceful, perhaps even a bit bohemian, but the ground beneath your feet holds a much rowdier secret. Long before these homes were painted in shades of turquoise and saffron, this street was known by a far more scandalous name: the Rue de Craps.
To understand why, we have to look back to the early nineteenth century and the man who owned this entire landscape: Bernard de Marigny. Bernard was the ultimate New Orleans "bad boy." At just fifteen years old, he inherited one of the largest fortunes in the world, including the massive plantation that covered this very ground.
He was a teenage aristocrat with a taste for the finer things and a devastating addiction to gambling. During a trip to London and Paris, Bernard discovered a dice game called "Hazard." He loved it so much that he brought it back to New Orleans, simplified the rules, and introduced it to his friends.
The locals, mocking the way the players looked hunched over the table like frogs, nicknamed the players "crapauds." Eventually, the game itself became known simply as "Craps." When Bernard’s extravagant lifestyle began to drain his bank accounts, he did what any clever gambler would do: he subdivided his family’s plantation and sold the lots.
This became the Faubourg Marigny, the city’s first suburb. In a flourish of ego and whimsy, he named the streets after his passions. He named one "Greatmen," another "Frenchmen," one "Love," and this one, right here, he named "Craps" to honor the game that was both his delight and his downfall.
For decades, if you wanted to find a game or a bit of trouble, you headed to the Rue de Craps. However, by the mid-1800s, the residents grew tired of the street’s reputation. They wanted respectability.
In 1852, they successfully petitioned the city to change the name to Burgundy Street, matching the name of the road in the neighboring French Quarter. As you continue your stroll, notice the architectural transition from the grander homes near Esplanade Avenue to the modest, charming shotgun houses further down. Bernard de Marigny eventually lost almost everything, dying in relative poverty, but his spirit of defiance lives on in the Marigny’s refusal to be ordinary.
Even though the signs now read Burgundy, the legacy of the teenage gambler and his dice remains baked into the very soul of this neighborhood. So, take a look around and enjoy the scenery—you’re walking through a history that was quite literally won and lost on a roll of the dice.