Bouligny Big Step (6.2 miles)

The Bouligny Big step route cuts through the heart of Uptown and weaves through one of Louisiana’s newest Cultural Districts: Touro-Bouligny. Great for biking,

running or walking, this 10K route is easy to moderately difficult.

Prytania Theatre – 5339 Prytania St.• This is New Orleans’ oldest active movie theater, dat-ing to 1915. It’s also the oldest single-screen movie the-ater still operating in Louisiana. In 1996, its then owner filed a permit to have it torn down as the theater was no longer profitable. Equipment was brought out to de-stroy it, but Rene Brunet Jr. and Chris Riley showed up to save the theater. Brunet, who operated the Prytania with his family for many years, died in 2017 at age 95.

St. Peter A.M.E. Church – 1201 Cadiz St.• This church community was founded more than 170 years ago by a group of free people of color. The congregation bought its current building in 1877 after previously worshipping in the basement of the white Methodist Episcopal church.

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St. Stephen’s Catholic Church – 1027 Napoleon Ave.• This church parish was established in 1849 to serve the large number of German immigrants in the area. Construction began on the current church building in 1868. Built in a German Gothic style, the church cele-brated its first Mass near the end of 1887 on the feast of St. Stephen. You’ll notice its six-sided spire, which is more than 200 feet tall, and the stained glass windows that were designed in Munich, Germany.

Home of the Boswell Sisters – 3937 Camp St.• This is the former home of a famous vocal trio of sisters. They became nationally prominent in the 1930s toward the end of the Jazz Age and the onset of the Great De-pression. The sisters studied various classical instruments, and their mother took them to experience different types of music around New Orleans. Crooner Ella Fitzgerald claimed that the middle sister, Connee, was one of her biggest influences.

Rayne Memorial Methodist Church – 2900 St. Charles Ave.

• In 1875, this church was built on St. Charles Avenue by Robert Rayne, a local preacher and New Orleans merchant. He bought the site and paid for much of the construction in memory of his son, William.

Columns Hotel – 3811 St. Charles Ave.• This building was originally a home designed by archi-tect Thomas Sully in 1883 for tobacco merchant Simon Hernsheim. In 1980, the hotel had fallen into disrepair when a local couple purchased the building after riding by it on the streetcar almost every day. They meticulously restored the structure after taking three months to clean it out. Many movies and TV shows have been filmed there, including “Tremé”, “12 Years a Slave” and “All the King’s Men,” and many famous actors have stayed there, including Seth Rogan, Quincy Jones, Bob Dylan, Farrah Fawcett and Rod Stewart. The hotel was recently reno-vated by new owners.

Touro Synagogue – 4238 St. Charles Ave.• Home to one of the oldest Jewish congregations in Louisiana and one of the first outside of the original 13 colonies, this building was designed by Emile Weil. The design was influential and modern, and the plans for the building were published in a 1909 issue of American Architect. The Byzantine/Sullivanesque structure was built in 1908. The Byzantine and Moorish elements were a nod to Sephardic heritage.

Academy of the Sacred Heart – 4521 St. Charles Ave.• The Academy of the Sacred Heart’s elegant Colonial Revival-style building was designed by architects Diboll and Owen and dedicated in 1900. “Of particular note is the intertwining S and C for ‘Sacré Coeur’ inserted at the top of the central panel of the stained glass doorway by the builders, Darcantel and Diasselles,” according to the school’s website. “In 1906, the same architects added two wings to the front of the building. One wing housed a chapel of French Gothic design, and the other wing consisted of two cavernous rooms, one above the other.” A third floor was added to the original building in 1913.

Touro Synagogue dome under construction, 1908.Photo courtesy of the Louisiana State Museum.

The old facade of the Prytania Theatre.Photo courtesy of the Prytania Theatre.

Convent of the Rosary at Academy of the Sacred Heart, 1900.Photo courtesy of Wikicommons.

Guest room at the Columns Hotel, 1958.Photo courtesy of The Historic New Orleans Collection.

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Latter Branch Library in the 1970s.Photo courtesy of The Historic New Orleans Collection.

Arabella Station, when it functioned as a streetcar hub.Photo courtesy of NOPSI.

Aldrich-Genella House – 4801 St. Charles Ave.• This home, designed by Thomas Brown Wright, was built in 1866 in the Second Empire style, which was popular at the time. In 1878, it was renovated and fitted with elements of the Renaissance Revival style. It is believed to be the best representation of Second Empire architecture in the state due to its side tower with its own mansard roof, its wide variety of windows including four different dormer designs, and its side wing, which gives it a three-dimensional effect. The home is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and protected by an easement held by the Preservation Resource Center.

Milton H. Latter Memorial Library – 5120 St. Charles Ave.• According to the New Orleans Public Library, this 1907 neo-Italianate home “was once a stately mansion for a noted turn-of-the century family, an elegant retreat for a silent screen star and a festive center for weeklong parties.” In 1948, the final family to live in this house donated the building to the public library in memory of their son who was killed in Okinawa during World War II. Every Saturday, the library hosts a used book sale in the carriage house.

The Blue Lady and Pink Lady – 5726 & 5728 St. Charles Ave.

• You can’t miss these two Queen Anne-style mansions, both built in 1889 and designed by architect Louis Lambert. The original cost of the larger, pink house was $9,900, while the blue was $5,000. Inside, both houses are filled with original carved woodwork, oak floors and elaborate stained glass, all stunningly preserved. In 1891, the Pink Lady was sold to new owners, who hired architects Favrot and Livaudais to wrap the front porch around the left side of the house, swapping turned columns for Doric ones and adding a pediment above the entrance.

Arabella Station – 5600 Magazine St.(This site is a few blocks off the route.)

• This structure was built by the Crescent City Railroad in the 1880s. It was formerly a barn for storing and parking the streetcars that operated from St. Charles Avenue to the river. In 2002, Whole Foods grocery store opened in the building. In the back parking lot, you’ll find some of the old streetcar tracks.

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Bouligny Big Step CONTINUED