Church of New Orleans

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Celebrating the Birthday of Chris Owens

Performer, club owner and entrepreneur Chris Owens was born Christine Joetta Shaw in rural Texas on October 5, 1932, studied to be a nurse, and later married car dealer Sol Owens in 1956, and opened a nightclub on St. Louis Street in the French Quarter. Originally intended to be low-key, Owens' performance numbers became so popular that the "Chris Owens Review" became a must-see act in town and they purchased the building on the corner of St. Louis and Bourbon in 1977. Tourists visiting Bourbon Street could not miss huge posters of her wearing costumes as they walked by her nightclub. Chris hosted a yearly Easter Parade that rolls throughout the French Quarter. And, in 2006, she was inducted into the New Orleans Musical Legends Park with a statue created in her likeness. Sadly, Chris passed away on April 5, 2022, in her French Quarter home. Chris Owens was a French Quarter fixture and celebrity, and on this day, we fondly remember and celebrate the life of the “Queen of the Vieux Carré.”

Photo: Infrogmation