I always get excited like a little kid when Halloween decorations start popping up all over town and, knowing New Orleans‘ reputation for going to extremes, I knew I’d be in for a treat my first year here. Perhaps the best Halloween city I’ve lived in prior was Richmond, Virginia where people in ‘The Fan,’ a triangular neighborhood of turn-of-the-century row houses that would fit in Uptown architecturally, culturally, and even physically (New Orleans is composed of pie pieces rather than blocks, like a Trivial Pursuit marker in a Salvador Dali painting!), decorate with abandon, particularly on Hanover Street (I believe) where practically every resident gets in on the act creating unbroken block after block of creepy fun.

Although the decorations in this town are some of the best I’ve seen, I was disappointed to find they weren’t concentrated anywhere such as Hanover Street. In fact, I only came across one intersection where all four house are decorated. So I took off on my bike and spent the past few weeks scouring Uptown so I could share the best Halloween decorations with you to help with your holiday hunting.

But first, a few clarifications. My definition of Uptown was broad. I biked down every street running along the river between and including Tchoupitoulas and St. Charles from riverbend to Callipoe/CBD. Although I didn’t hit every cross street (though I did hit the major ones where I noticed decoration density) I did pass every intersection and peer down every block. I’m sure there’s something I missed, but I was pretty thorough. Above St. Charles, because of street geography, I hit every street running towards the river from the riverbend past Carrollton to Napoleon, all the way up to Claiborne.

I provide a location so you can find all these places, and use directional terms not according to the compass, but New Orleans style. Thus, East mean toward Downtown, West Uptown. North is towards the lake and South towards the river.

Some decorations went up late, and I later passed through areas that I’d scouted earlier to find new displays. While I included these, I didn’t purposefully double back through all areas. Also, peering down side streets isn’t a perfect method, though most good decorations stand out from a distance. The biggest drawback were night decorations. I did most of my biking by day, and unnoticed places turned into masterpieces at night. Once I realized this, I scouted again by truck and bike again, though less thoroughly. Fortunately lights are visible at great distances so I did the best I could though I’m sure I missed a few prime spots.

So that being said, please enjoy the MYOMG 2013 Uptown Halloween Decorations Guide & Awards and be sure to scroll to the end for the 7 Must See Haunts! [Read more…]