We assume people like to visit New Orleans for the food and music. Which they do. But most music is at night. And there’s only so many hours a day you can eat.

If you visit Magazine Street on any given day you’ll find tourists shopping alongside locals on almost every block of the 6 miles of stores that stretch from the Lower Garden District to Uptown.

Magazine Street has been a commercial backbone of New Orleans since the city’s inception. The street’s contribution to our economy is as colorful as it is important. And it’s chronicled in a new book, The Incomparable Magazine Street.

Its author, historian John Magill, joins Peter Ricchiuti for this edition of Out to Lunch at Commander’s Palace. 

Desiree Petitbon is a board member of the Magazine Street Merchants Association and co-owner of Basics Underneath, one of the oldest stores on the street, and Basics Swim and Gym, one of the newest.

Desiree’s first-hand observations about the changes of both shoppers and shop-owners along Magazine Street over the past two decades and John’s centuries-long historical perspective provide insights into where both local and nationwide retail trends are heading. 

Photos by Alison Moon.