Joytown Square as seen from the street. Photo by Bethany Rogers.
Joytown Square Barbershop & Beauty Salon sits on the corner of St. Anthony and St. Claude Avenue. The two-story green building with dark shutters is distinguished by its wide wraparound balcony that hangs over the sidewalk. It’s an unusual corner in the neighborhood, and the building has the benefit of a high profile near these busy streets while still maintaining the intimacy found on the sidestreets. Owned by Willie Adams, Joytown Square is a hub of the Seventh Ward.
Inside, boys, grown men, and grandfathers sit in church pews waiting for the services of three barbers: Nat Williams, Mike Butler, and Tyrone Motin. Misty Jenkins’ has a station in the front where the barbers are, and, in the next room, Jackie Alford and Carolyn Youngblood, along with Misty, style ladies’ hair and work on Jackie’s Mardi Gras Indian suit between customers. Rachel Breunlin, Co-Director of the Neighborhood Story Project, researched this special site for Cornerstones, calling it a place of “family, style, and neighborhood commitment” that makes this corner barbershop and beauty salon special to the Seventh Ward and New Orleans.
Nat Williams, Joytown Square barber and artist, said, “They have people who just enjoy being around here cause you can learn a lot by being in a barbershop. If you just sit back and just pay attention to what people are saying or what people are going through. You have some of everybody come through here. You know, you got preachers, you got doctors, you got lawyers, you got prostitutes, you got drug addicts, you got hustlers. They feel at home when they’re in a barber shop. It’s like they take off their titles and they just be themselves when they’re in a barber shop, you know. We call it being real.”
Jackie Alford, Cosmetologist and Queen of the Black Feathers Mardi Gras Indian Tribe, said, “I’m very picky about my stuff [Indian suits]. By me being picky, it has to be perfect. Carolyn knows what I want, and she’s real good at it. She helps me out. My customers who are under the dryer for an hour, they put the beads on the wire for my sewing. I’m really dedicated. They’re going to respect my suit. Once you play that Indian music—’I’m the queen. I’m the prettiest queen you ever seen.’ I’m gonna bring it to them.”
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