The large multistory building in the center of the photograph is the American Sugar Refinery. It operated in the Vieux Carré from the 1880s into the early 20th century, closing after a new refinery was built downriver in St. Bernard Parish. The light-colored building on the corner across from the refinery is the New Orleans Sugar Exchange. To the right of the Exchange is the office/warehouse building of Delgado & Co., a major sugar brokerage firm. The small open space in front of the latter two buildings is Sugar Exchange Park. None of this remains today—a sea of surface parking lots occupies what once was an important center for the sugar industry in Louisiana. Interestingly, though, the structure at the extreme right in Allison’s photograph is still standing. It and two adjacent buildings form a small island in the midst of that parking lot sea.

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