The Circle With a Column and a Conversation
For 133 years, a bronze statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee stood atop a 60-foot marble column at the center of one of New Orleans' most prominent traffic circles. He faced north — defiantly, the story went — arms crossed, looking toward the enemy even in stone. In 2017, the statue came down, the last of four Confederate monuments removed by the city in a process that was contentious, emotional, and long overdue for some, sacrilege for others.
The circle is officially named Tivoli Circle, though almost nobody in New Orleans has ever called it that. For more than a century it was "Lee Circle," and old habits die hard in a city where people still give directions by landmarks that were demolished decades ago. The column remains, rising above the traffic and the streetcar tracks, but its top is empty — a blank canvas that the city has been debating how to fill ever since the statue was lowered by crane.
The Intersection of Everything
Whatever you call it, the circle sits at one of the most important crossroads in the city. It's the point where the Central Business District meets the Warehouse District, where St. Charles Avenue curves its way toward Uptown, and where the streetcar line turns the corner on its route from Canal Street to Carrollton. The circle links upriver neighborhoods with downriver neighborhoods, Garden District elegance with CBD commerce. You pass through it constantly, whether you mean to or not.
The surrounding blocks have been transformed over the past two decades. The National WWII Museum, which has grown into one of the top-rated museums in the country, sits just a few blocks away. Restaurants, galleries, and hotels have filled the Warehouse District. The circle that once anchored a quiet commercial neighborhood now sits at the center of one of the city's most vibrant corridors.
What Comes Next
The column still stands, and the conversation about what — if anything — should replace the Lee statue continues. Proposals have ranged from monuments to civil rights leaders to abstract art installations to simply leaving the column bare as its own kind of statement. The debate is quintessentially New Orleans: passionate, deeply personal, tied to questions of identity and memory, and unlikely to be resolved quickly or quietly.
In the meantime, the circle does what it has always done — it moves traffic, it anchors a neighborhood, and it serves as a landmark that everyone knows even if they argue about what to call it. The column catches the light differently at different times of day, and at sunset it throws a long shadow down St. Charles Avenue like a sundial marking the passage of time over a city that is constantly reckoning with its own past.
Frequently Asked Questions About Tivoli Circle
Why was the Lee statue removed?
In 2017, the New Orleans City Council voted to remove four Confederate monuments, including the Robert E. Lee statue. The removal was part of a broader national reckoning with Confederate symbols on public land.
What is on top of the column now?
As of now, the column remains empty. The city has discussed various proposals for what should replace the statue, but no final decision has been made.
Why is it called Tivoli Circle?
The official name Tivoli Circle predates the Lee monument. However, the circle was commonly known as Lee Circle for over a century, and many locals still use that name out of habit.
Where is Tivoli Circle?
The circle sits at the intersection of St. Charles Avenue and Howard Avenue, at the boundary of the Central Business District and the Warehouse District. The St. Charles streetcar line passes through it.
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