|
A
Brief History
In 1699 Pierre le Moyne, sieur d'Iberville,
came upon a tall cypress pole smeared red with animal blood. This
site on the banks of the Mississippi River would become known as Baton
Rouge which is the English translation of the French words Red Stick.
The local indians called it Istrouma. As you can tell by the date
above, Baton Rouge is over 300 years old. It became the state capital
in 1846 and remained so until 1862 and the onset of the Civil War.
The capital changed locations several time after that and Baton Rouge was
designated the permanent state capital in 1879. It has remained so.
Fun
Facts
Population: 227,818
(as of 2000... more since Hurricane Katrina)
Land Area: 44,520 sq. miles
Local
Weather
For the local forcast from the Weather Channel
click here.
Local
Newspaper
The Advocate Online Newspaper. Click
here.
Louisiana
Tour Guide
For a free Louisiana tour guide click here.
|
| Below are some photos in thumbnail format.
Click on the photo to see a larger picture. |
New State Capitol
c.1932
|
Another view
from the side.
|
| The new state capitol was completed in 1932 under governor Huey P.
Long at a cost of 5 million dollars. The Art Deco building, which
was completer in just 14 months, sits on 27 landscaped acres. It
is the tallest state capitol building in the United States with a height
of 405 feet it has 34 floors. On the 27 th floor is an observation
deck that gives a very good view of the city and of the Mississippi River.
The stairs to the main entrance are engraved with the name of each state
and their date of admittance to the Union.
Also part of the capitol complex are the Pentagon Barracks (c.1819)
and the Old Arsenal Powder Museum (c.1835). See photos below.
The building is open to the public as follows:
Daily 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Observation Deck 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
(225) 342-7317 |
| The Pentagon Barracks were built in 1819-1823 as a major expansion
of the Baton Rouge military post. They were designed by Captain James Gadsden,
an engineer with the U. S. Army. Two of the pentagonal group were to be
for quartering troops, and two were to provide quarters for officers. The
fifth "building" was to be twin structures with a common wall. The
twin buildings with the common wall that were to comprise the fifth side
of the pentagon were built, but one was torn down the year after construction
work began and the other, after unsuccessful attempts to brace it to keep
it from leaning toward the river, was gone by 1829.
The galleries on the outsides of the structures were added about 10
years after the buildings were completed. Soldiers stationed here had complained
of the excessive heat without them, and they were apparently added when
it was considered safe to allow them. The buildings were used to house
the Louisiana State University cadets after 1886, and then, in 1927 LSU
coeds. They were then converted into apartments and some office space.
The 1966 renovation work found the brick shells of all four buildings in
excellent shape. Today Building A contains eleven one- and two-story apartments,
while B, C, and D house state offices. |
|
More Photos Soon
|
| The Old Arsenal, more properly known as a powder magazine, was constructed
in 1838. The original specifications are in the National Archives, Washington,
D. C. The building is constructed of brick covered with plaster.
It is 106 feet 6 inches long and 36 feet 3 inches wide. Fifteen feet tall,
it has 4 foot thick, slate-covered roof. The walls are 4 feet 6 inches
thick. The interior is one main room with a small partitioned section on
the southern end dating from 1961 which contains offices and a rest room.
The original 1838 floor was replaced in 1850 when the foundation developed
moisture problems. The interior walls were at least partially covered with
paneling as early as 1861 as evidenced the Civil War inscriptions still
preserved. The Magazine is surrounded by ten foot high,
18 inch thick wall which is located 20 feet 2 inches from the east and
west walls and 25 feet 2 inches from the side walls. It, too, is plaster
covered brick. The only gate in the wall is directly opposite the door
in the west wall of the building.
The Old Arsenal is located on the state capital grounds and is open
to the public. Also close by is an old indian mound, which is the
one remaining mound of the two or three which were originally found on
the Capitol grounds. On top of the mound are two old
cannons. |
The old State
Capitol
|
Another view
of it.
|
Front door of
the Old Capital.
|
Another view
of the stairway.
|
Looking down the
stairway from the
second floor..
|
Looking up at the
dome above the
beautiful stairway.
|
| The old state capitol was built in 1847-49 by James N. Dakin in the
gothic rivial style. It sits on a bluff above the Mississippi River
and looks like an old castle. It was occupied by Union troops in
1862 and the interior accidently burned. It was renovated and opened
again in 1882. Mark Twain had this to say about it:
"It is pathetic enough that a whitewashed castle, with turrets and
things, should ever have been built in this otherwise honorable place.
But it is much more pathetic to see this architectual falsehood undergoing
restoration when it would have been so easy to let dynamite finish what
a charitable fire began."
During the restoration period after the fire the cast iron circular
staircase was added. Also at that time the stained glass dome and
the black and white marble floors were added.
The building is open to the public as follows:
Monday closed (opened by appointment only)
Tuesday - Saturday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm,
Sunday Noon to 4:00 pm |
Old Governors
Mansion
|
Door detail of
the old mansion.
|
Side angle view
of the mansion.
|
Back view of
the mansion.
|
Another view of the back.
|
| The Louisiana Old Governor's Mansion was built in 1930 under the governorship
of Huey P. Long, its first resident. The building, of stucco Georgian construction,
is reported to be a copy of the White House as it was originally designed
by Thomas Jefferson. The mansion is two stories high, and it also has a
basement and an attic. Four 30-foot-tall columns span two stories to support
a fancy carved pediment showing the design of the great seal of the State
of Louisiana-- a pelican feeding her young.
This is the second governor's mansion to occupy the site. The first
governor's mansion, a large frame house built for Baton Rouge businessman
Nathan King Knox, served as the official residence of Louisiana governors
from 1887 until 1929, when it was razed. In 1964 after construction
of the New Governors mansion this building became the home of the Louisiana
Arts and Science Center Museum and served that purpose until 1976. In 1978
the mansion reopened as a historic house museum listed on the National
Register of Historic Places. It has recently undergone restoration
and is now open for tours. |
Magnolia Mound
Plantation c.1791
|
St. Joseph Cathedral
c.1853
|
Mount Hope Plantation
c. 1790
|
New Governors
Mansion c.1963
|
| The photos above will be added to or changed
as I get newer ones. I am still trying to collect information and
photos on some of Baton Rouge's buildings and sites. These photos
are copywrited so please do not use without asking me first.
Thank you for visiting! |
|
Graphics From
The Cajun Toolbox
|
|
