The New Orleans Solution

St. Mary’s Park, New Orleans, LA.

Image 7

Verse 2

 1)       At the place where jewels abound

2)       Fifteen rows down to the ground

3)       In the middle of twenty-one

4)       From end to end

5)       Only three stand watch

6)       As the sound of friends

7)       Fills the afternoon hours

8)       Here is a sovereign people

9)       Who build palaces to shelter

10)   Their heads for a night!

11)   Gnomes admire

12)   Fays delight

13)   The namesakes meeting

14)   Near this site.

In the upper right corner of the clockface is the number 29 (see image above).  New Orleans is located at 29 degrees of latitude.

In the lower right corner of the clockface is the number 90 (see image above).  New Orleans is located at 90 degrees of longitude.

1)       At the place where jewels abound

Many people think that this refers to the enormous quantity of beads used in the Mardi Gras celebration.  But its primary meaning actually involves a bit of wordplay.  St. Mary’s Park comprises the Diamond St. median, which is bounded on the north side by N. Diamond St. and on the south side by S. Diamond St., hence the wordplay between “where jewels abound” and ‘bounded by jewels’ (see photo below).

St. Mary’s Park bounded by N. Diamond St. and S. Diamond St.

2)       Fifteen rows down to the ground

Many people have noticed that, if you place Lafayette Square at the center of the clockface in the painting, not only does the Superdome seem to represent the moon, but when you create a mirror image of the second hand the circle at the end falls on the Lee Circle Monument, which has “Fifteen rows [of steps] down to the ground” (see photos below).

Lee Circle Monument with fifteen rows of steps down to the ground

Aerial photo of New Orleans showing Lee Circle Monument orientation from Lafayette Square, the Superdome, Preservation Hall, and St. Mary’s Park

But this is not the “Fifteen rows down to the ground” that the clue is referring to.  At the top of the clockface is the word “PRESERVATION” (see image below left).  It’s a reference to Preservation Hall, the famous jazz venue in the French Quarter of New Orleans (see photo below right).  New Orleans also has the unusual history of referring to the grassy median between lanes of traffic as 'the neutral ground'.  St. Mary’s Park used to be called the Diamond Street neutral ground, which is the “ground” the clue is referring to.  From Preservation Hall it is “Fifteen rows [of buildings] down [due south] to the [neutral] ground” that is now St. Mary’s Park (see aerial photo above).

“PRESERVATION” at top of clockface                            Preservation Hall in French Quarter

The fact that there is a second hand is somewhat unusual for a grandfather clock.  It’s a clue that explains the 1 and the 9 in the upper left corner of the clockface (see image above left).  While the latitude and longitude of New Orleans is given in degrees (29 & 90), the width and length of St. Mary’s Park is given in seconds (1 & 9).  Any combination of latitude and longitude creates a geographic point, a specific location.  But a degree of latitude or longitude by itself equals a distance (about 69 miles at the equator).  What’s more, degrees can be broken down into smaller increments.  One degree equals 60 minutes, and each minute can be broken down into 60 seconds.  Notice that the 1 and the 9 are not written on the same level, but are rather two separate numbers.  The 1 is above a vertical line, which represents latitude, and the 9 is beside a horizontal line, which represents longitude.  The dimensions of St. Mary’s Park equal 1 second of latitude and 9 seconds of longitude.

3)       In the middle of twenty-one

Many people think this indicates Lafayette Square, since it is in the middle of Lafayette Street, which was 21 blocks long when Byron was there (see aerial photo above).  But it actually refers to St. Mary’s Park and where the treasure is buried.  “In the middle of [the number] twenty-one” is the number 11.  There are 11 palm trees in St. Mary’s Park, three of which are notable in that they bisect the park (see photo below).  More importantly, 11 feet’ is one of three dimensions used to locate the treasure.

Three palm trees in the middle of St. Mary’s Park, and V on adjacent building

4)       From end to end

This defines the direction in which we must measure the 11 feet.  Because St. Mary’s Park is very long and narrow, “From end to end” tells us that we should measure 11 feet parallel to the Park’s length.

5)       Only three stand watch

This clue has several functions.  It can refer to the three palm trees that bisect the park (see photo above), which tells us the treasure is near the center of the park.  But it also suggests that the paperboy needs to be rotated 180° to watch the three.  And because you “stand” on your feet, it reveals that the dimensions to the treasure are in feet.

Just inside the numerals on the clockface are two rings.  And just inside those rings beneath the numerals XI, XII, and I is a shadow, which suggests that the paperboy is painted on a separate plate that rotates (see image above left).  Notice that the paperboy’s eye is depicted as a straight line pointing directly at the IX.  This is further evidence that the paperboy should be rotated 180°, to watch the three.  Once the paperboy is rotated upside-down, his right hand is revealed to actually be a third foot, signifying that there are three feet being rotated 180° about the center of the clock (the center of the park).

Also, notice that the word PRESERVATION has been rotated counterclockwise so that the V is over the center of the clock (see image above left).  This signifies that the V on the front of an adjacent building (see photo above) indicates the center of the park.  More precisely, because the V in the painting is offset ever-so-slightly to the left of the hands on the clock (see image below left), it tells us that the V on the building is slightly east of the park’s center.

Slightly offset V    Staggered palm trees          Looking NE at staggered palms & center of park

In the lower portion of the clock hands there are four small circles.  Three are the same size and one is noticeably smaller (see image above left).  The three same size circles are staggered to match the orientation of the palms in the middle of the park (see image above left and photos above center and above right).  Notice that the clock hands extend from the center of the clock upward between two of those circles.  This tells us that the clock hands extend from the center of the park eastward between the south and center palm trees, and that up (12:00) in the painting equates to east in the park.

6)       As the sound of friends

7)       Fills the afternoon hours

When Byron visited New Orleans, the city was well into preparing for the 1984 World’s Fair.  Just two hundred feet to the southeast of St. Mary’s Park they were building an attraction called Festival Park (see photo below).  It provided food, music, rides, and access to a monorail that toured the fair.  Because “the afternoon hours” are roughly 12:00-3:00, and 12:00 in the painting equates to east in the park, this clue tells us that “the sound of friends” is coming from the southeast, the exact direction of Festival Park.  Also notice that the checkerboard pattern on the ground in the photo below matches the pattern on either side of the clock in the painting.

Festival Park in the New Orleans World’s Fair, just 200 feet southeast of St. Mary’s Park

8)       Here is a sovereign people

9)       Who build palaces to shelter

10)   Their heads for a night!

This statement was used in a book titled Travels in the United States in 1847, to describe the Saint Charles Hotel, a landmark in New Orleans until it was demolished in 1974.

11)   Gnomes admire

12)   Fays delight

13)   The namesakes meeting

14)   Near this site.

“this site” is Saint Mary’s Park.  “The namesakes” are the New Orleans Saints (football team), who meet at the nearby Superdome.

But to solve this puzzle one must determine from where to take the 11 foot measurement indicated in line 3 (In the middle of twenty-one), which requires one to locate the center of the park.

3)       In the middle of twenty-one             (11 feet)

4)       From end to end                             (measured parallel to the length of the park)

5)       Only three stand watch                   (rotate 3 feet 180°, so paperboy is watching the three)

Once the center of the park has been located, these three lines delineate the treasure’s exact location.

First, we must measure 11 feet in the direction of the length of the park.  But from where?

Hidden in the hands of the clock are both the numbers 8 and 3 (see image below left).  They represent the other two dimensions used to locate the treasure (11 being the third).  Notice how the bottom of the 8 blends into and becomes the width of the shaft below it, and how that width fills the gap between the south and center palm tree circles further down.  This indicates that the distance between the south and center palms is 8 feet, and that an 8-foot radius about the south palm would be tangent to the center palm (like the radius shown around the north palm is tangent to the center palm).

Just below the clock’s center, there is a subtle dark radius representing the bottom edge of the clock hands.  On that bottom edge radius is a dot with a diagonal line emanating from the small south palm circle above and to the right of it (see images below).  That line coming from the south palm circle to the dot on that bottom edge radius indicates that the radius is the same size as the 8-foot radius around the south palm.  This is where the 11 foot measurement should be taken from, the dot that is 8 feet west of the park’s center.

Clock hands                   Radius, dot, & diagonal upward line

Once we determine where the park’s center is, because the dimensions are taken lengthwise in the park, we must:

1. measure 8 feet west of the park’s center,

2. then measure 11 feet back to the east (which puts us 3 feet east of the park’s center),

3. then rotate (the paperboy’s) 3 feet 180° around the park’s center (which puts us back 3 feet to the west of the park’s center, where the treasure is).

Not surprisingly, there is a small white dot at precisely this location in the painting, which represents the treasure (see image below).

Measurements to locate treasure

To locate the center of the park it helps to consider what Byron had to work with more than 40 years ago.  The park’s most prominent permanent feature is its 12 streetlights.  Like the V on an adjacent building, the three palm trees that bisect the park affirm that you are in the right area.  But the streetlights serve to locate the exact center of the park.

Notice that there are small circles between the numerals on the clockface.  Even though the mask covers some of them, because the clock has 12 numerals, we know that there are 12 such circles (see image below right).  They represent the 12 streetlights that surround the park.  The key that tells us this is hidden in the clock’s hands.  Note that the small circle representing the northernmost of the three palm trees is the same size as the 12 circles between the numerals (see image below left).  The larger circle around it represents the light pole. The J-shaped line tangent to it represents the arm that holds the light out over the street. The small crossbar at the top of the J represents the light itself (see image below left).  Notice that the J-shaped arm reaches across two concentric circles.  Those concentric circles represent the concrete curb that surrounds the park.  The light poles are inside the park and reach across the curb to light the street on the other side.

Streetlight key                          Clockface with small circles between numerals

To find the exact center of the park in the north/south direction is relatively easy.  Because the park is only 40 feet wide, we can measure halfway between the two concrete curbs that border it on the north and south sides.  But to find the exact center in the east/west direction is considerably more difficult.  Not only is each end of the park several hundred feet away, but the ends are curved or slanted, making any kind of accurate measurement unrealistic.  Hence the need for the type of precise clues that the painting provides.

On a normal clock any such circles between the numerals would be equally spaced.  Which means that a line drawn between any two opposing circles would pass directly through the center of the clock.  But in the painting only one pair of opposing circles produce such a line, the circles between the XI & XII and the V & VI (see image above right), which coincides perfectly with the streetlights in the park.  When you are standing in the middle of St. Mary’s Park and facing the V on the adjacent building, there is a streetlight in front of you just to the left, and one behind you just to the right.  The center of the park is determined by measuring halfway between these two light poles.

The photo below was taken looking southeast.  It shows the three palm trees that bisect the park, the V on the adjacent building to the south (barely visible through the branches of the oak tree), the two light poles represented by the small circles between the XI & XII and the V & VI on the clockface, and the center of the park midway between them.

Once the center of the park has been located, the 8-foot radius, the 11-foot distance, and the 3-foot radius can all be measured lengthwise along the longitudinal centerline of the park, to determine the treasure’s exact location.

 The painting also provides a number of other clues that point to St. Mary’s Park and, more precisely, its center.

The stick holding the mask is long and narrow, like the park’s shape (see image below left).

The painting makes the palm of the hand prominent, which hints at palm trees (see image below left).

The hair on the arm in the painting represents the fibers on the trunk of the palm trees.  Note how they overlap as they enter the sleeve (see image below left & photo below right).

The unkept fingernails on the hand holding the stick represent the rundown buildings that surrounded the park when Byron was there (some are still in bad shape).

The peculiar angles of the top two fingers holding the stick represent the angles at which Tchoupitoulas and Saint Peters Streets cross the park (see image below left & photo below it).

Overlapping arm hair, palm, fingers, & stick   Overlapping fibers on palm tree trunk

Angle of Tchoupitoulas and St. Peters Streets crossing St. Mary’s Park

General Conclusions

The fact that the New Orleans puzzle was notably more complex and difficult than all the rest might be an indication that it was the last puzzle created.  Both Byron and Mr. Palencar (the illustrator who painted the images) would have been more seasoned in the art of creating elaborate clues, and likely have taken increasing pleasure in doing so.  Also, somewhat recently, when Mr. Palencar was asked what he might have done differently, he said he would likely have made the puzzles more difficult.

Current Status of the New Orleans Treasure

Because St. Mary’s Park was immediately adjacent to the 1984 World’s Fair, it looks like the New Orleans casque may have been lost to a landscaping makeover in preparation for that Fair.  I have not as yet found research to verify it, but the presumption is that a tractor/grader was used to prepare the ground for sodding, which quite possibly destroyed the casque.