Tivoli Circle is a central traffic circle in New Orleans, Louisiana, which featured a monument to Confederate General Robert E. Lee between 1884 and 2017. During this time the circle was known as Lee Circle until its name reverted to Tivoli Circle in 2022. The inner grass circle around the monument was renamed Harmony Circle at that time.
The monument of Robert E. Lee was a bronze statue by Alexander Doyle, a prominent American sculptor known for statues of Civil War figures. Lee Circle is located at the intersection of St. Charles and Howard Avenues. Prior to the erection of the monument, the location was known as Tivoli Circle or Place du Tivoli.[1][2][3] Tivoli Circle was an important, central point in the city, as it linked upriver areas with downriver areas. It was a common local meeting point and the site remains a popular place to gather for Mardi Gras parades.
- ^ Douglas, Lake (2011). Public Spaces, Private Gardens: A History of Designed Landscapes in New Orleans. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. pp. 250–251, n. 25. ISBN 978-0-8071-3837-3.
Using "Tivoli" as a place-name first appeared in New Orleans in 1807, when the engineer Barthélémy Lafon drew subdivision plans for the Delord-Sarpy Plantation property above Canal Street in the Faubourgs Ste. Mary and Annunciation. He created the Place du Tivoli, encircled first by the Tivoli Canal and then by a paved street; this traffic circle was renamed in honor of Gen. Robert E. Lee in the 1870s. Another use of Tivoli occurs with a plantation and garden on nearby Bayou St. John from 1808 through 1824, discussed above. Some may conflate these into one location, an understandable conclusion since early notices of Tivoli Plantation mention garden features and the Carondelet Canal is an extension of Bayou St. John.
- ^ Kane, Harnett (1961). Place du Tivoli: A History of Lee Circle. Boston: John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company. Published on the occasion of the dedication of the John Hancock Building (now known as K&B Plaza), New Orleans, LA, December 7, 1961.
- ^ "Tivoli Circle - Lee Circle". Old New Orleans. Retrieved 2011-12-04.