Project Funded by Gift from Spanish Ambassador to U.S.
New Orleans, LA – The French Quarter Management District (FQMD,) in partnership with The Vieux Carre’ Commission (VCC,) announces a Spanish Tile Replacement Program funded by The Ambassador of Spain to the United States, Angeles Moreno Bau. French Quarter property owners must apply by May 30, 2025, to participate in the program: onestopapp.nola.gov/Apply.aspx .
Ambassador Bau’s gift to the City of New Orleans allows for the repair or replacement of missing and broken Spanish-era ceramic street tiles seen on the outside of many French Quarter properties. The original 126 tiles were gifted by the Spanish Government to New Orleans in 1959 and were installed under the guidance of the Vieux Carré Commission between 1959-1961.
Produced in Talavera de la Reina, Spain, the tile place markers commemorate the original Spanish names of streets in the Vieux Carre (what the Spanish called the “Viejo Barrio”.) Spain governed the colony of Louisiana for nearly four decades, from 1763 through March 1803, returning it to France for a few months before France sold it to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.
“The Spanish Tile Replacement Program is an example of the work we do every day to make the French Quarter a better place to live, work and visit,” said FQMD Executive Director Michelle Courseault. Thanks to the generosity of Ambassador Bau and the good work of the Vieux Carre Commission, the French Quarter is about to become even more beautiful than it already is,” she said.
The VCC will once again serve as the facilitator of the Spanish Tiles program. Property owners with questions or who need application assistance with the Spanish tile replacement program can contact Maddie Charleston of the FQMD’s Livability Committee. maddiecharleston504@gmail.com .