State Capital The State Capitol and the man who built it, Huey Long.
Government,
of course, draws demonstrations. Ralph Nader's Green
The Governor's Mansion.
The Capitol Lakes, between the Capitol and the Governor's Mansion.
The Old State
Capitol Building.
Reviewing stands along the Mississippi levee, with the Capitol building in the background. On the Fourth of July, you can watch fireworks over the river and the river bridge from here.
Downtown
In the shadow of the Capitol are Spanish Town and Beauregard Town, the old sections of the city.
Mardi Gras in Baton Rouge rolls down Spanish Town Road. Baton Rouge's celebration is a good deal less formidable than New Orleans' - or Lafayette's, for that matter - and tends toward lawnmower brigades and precision-marching Elvises.
An LSU float in the Spanish Town Mardi Gras parade...
...And a Cajun band.
Beauregard Town is thick with attorneys, who want to be near the courthouses. Many of them locate their offices in graceful old Victorians.
Residential rennovation is coming back downtown. These shotgun houses are in demand again, and many are being rennovated.
But downtown development is still a struggle. Like many American cities, Baton Rouge let its center atrophy with the movement to suburban areas and malls. The Baton Rouge Bar Association is rennovating the building on the left as its headquarters.
But a Downtown Development District is active in encouraging renewal. The Roumain Building has been tastefully restored, and has a design firm as a tenant.
Tabby's Blues Box. Blues musician Tabby Thomas worked tirelessly to keep the blues alive in Baton Rouge, and retired and closed the Blues Box in 2005. Today, blues is played in several clubs around town, and there is an annual blues festival. Baton Rouge is an important historical center of blues, and several internationally known musicians got their start here, including Buddy Guy, Raful and Kenny Neal, and Tabby's own son, Chris Thomas King.
|
