Uptown/Downtown: Growing Up in New Orleans

In New Orleans, no one believes in the compass. Directions in most American cities are standardized to conform to the magnetic needle: North, South, East, West. But not in New Orleans. Why? Because the oft-bending Mississippi River has discredited the compass. The river, which is the reason New Orleans was founded, the reason New Orleans exists, determines direction in the Crescent City. Replacing the points of the compass are the designations: Uptown, Downtown, River, Lake ...