How to unwrap the culture and history of Louisiana, the Gulf, and the Mississippi river delta flood-plane? This rich cultural system of Creoles, Cajuns, French Arcadians, Spanish, French, Haitian and Afro-Caribbeans make a rich stew of culture – a culture closely tied to its environment, and its preservation is vital to the enduring legacy of the region. Enter the Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC). It is the Historic New Orleans Collection’s job to maintain it all, to record and preserve for mankind the incredibly diverse traditions of New Orleans and the Gulf South region. Through a collection of historic French Quarter buildings, the Collection operates museum galleries and walkthroughs which showcase some 35,000 artifacts, manuscripts, photographs, and prints shedding light upon Louisiana’s multifaceted and extensive past.