COVID-19J.S. MakkosRegionalNew Orleans Staying Connected in Light of the Pandemic As necessity becomes the mother of adaptation people search for splendor. By J.S. Makkos - May 2, 2020 Share FacebookTwitter Back on Frenchman Street in the Marigny Triangle, an artist utilizes the bare plywood pieces protecting the music venues to stencil a series of music-inspired figures. Here is a piece depicting the Jazz legend Louis Armstrong, on the front window of Cafe Negril. People silhouetted against a picturesque sunrise along the Mississippi River in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Staying Six Feet apart from has been a challenge for many under the Quarantine. A deserted French Market sits on the site where the infamous Gallatin Street was in the early part of the 20th Century, now only the morning light can break through the silence and stillness of the empty stalls. A roller skater shows off her moves while exercising to stay fit, making the most of the empty market by using the space as a repurposed roller-rink. A park goer is shut out of the Alcee Fortier Park in Midcity, New Orleans, which was recently closed amid the current Pandemic as a public health precaution. Social distancing doesn’t prevent this stylist from cutting her woozy friend’s hair – smack in the middle of the neutral ground on Orleans Avenue in Midcity this past week. Close friends utilize creative measures to Socially Distance while still sharing the special gift of each others’ presence. The same sunrise Illuminated the downtown New Orleans, Louisiana skyline. Center: the former World Trade Center New Orleans, a key piece of riverfront real estate, now actively under development as Four Seasons hotel and private residences. A Fireman enjoys a smoke on an exceptionally quiet evening. Hovering above: the glowing green clock face on the top of the building that houses the Louisiana Music Factory, among others. Night walkers don white face masks while observing the reverse spectacle: a mostly deserted Bourbon Street. As a motorcycle drives by, the scene is all too surreal: perhaps a film still from a post-apocalyptic sci-fi flick? In modern times, this New Babylon has never been seen so deserted and desolate. As politicians seek to re-open the local economy, the question still remains: when will the tourists think it’s safe The New Orleans Jazz Museum in the Old US Mint, lit up in blue on the evening of Thursday, April 30th, in solidarity and tribute to healthcare workers and first responders on the front lines in Louisiana.