Photo of The Day 527

High Heels on Cobblestones, Louisiana

Photograph by Edwin L. Wisherd

This month in Photo of the Day: Images From the National Geographic Archive

Because the region around New Orleans is composed of alluvial soil, there is no paving material close at hand. More than a hundred years ago the city offered a bounty to ships which would bring to the port rock ballast instead of sand. The first cobblestone pavement was laid on Gravier and Magazine Streets in 1817.

From the National Geographic vintage collection.