Baton Rouge (from the French bâton rouge), pronounced /ˈbætn
ˈɹuːʒ/ in English, and 
/bɑtɔ̃ ʀuʒ/ in French, is the capital and
the second largest city in Louisiana behind New
Orleans. The effects of Hurricane Katrina have reduced the population of
Orleans Parish such that East Baton Rouge Parish is currently more highly populated than Orleans Parish. Baton Rouge serves as the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish. In June 2005 East Baton Rouge Parish contained 412,000
residents. The Greater Baton Rouge population is approximately
700,000.
Baton Rouge is located in the southeast portion of the state along the Mississippi
River. It owes its location and its historical importance to its site upon Istrouma Bluff,
the first bluff upriver from the Mississippi delta, which protects the city’s 224,097 residents from flooding and other natural
disasters. In addition to the natural protection, the city sports a levee system stretching from the bluff southward to protect
the riverfront and the southern agricultural areas.
Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, and port center of the American
South. The Port of Baton Rouge is the tenth largest in the United States in terms of weight.[1]
The Baton Rouge region, like that of other capital cities in the United States, is called the "Capital Area."
History
French period (1699-1763)
Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville provided Baton Rouge as well as Lakes
Pontchartrain and
Maurepas their current names
The French words bâton rouge mean "red stick" in English. In 1699, French explorer Sieur d'Iberville led an exploration party of about 200 up the Mississippi River. On March 17, on a bluff on the east bank of the
river (on what is now the campus of Southern University), they saw a reddish cypress
pole festooned with bloody animal and fish heads, which they learned was a boundary
marker between the hunting territories of the Bayougoula and the Houma tribes (the
Bayougoula village was situated near the present-day town of Bayou Goula, LA;
the Houma village was believed to be situated near the site of what is now Angola,
LA). The French term survives.
British period (1763-1779)
On Feb. 10, 1763, the Treaty of Paris was signed, where by France gave all its
territory in North America to Britain and Spain. Spain ended up with New Orleans and all land west of the Mississippi. Britain
ended up with all land east of the Mississippi, except for New Orleans. Baton Rouge, now part of the newly-created British colony
of West Florida, suddenly had strategic significance as the southwest-most corner of
British North America.
The British built Fort New Richmond just south of the eventual site of the
Pentagon Barracks (in downtown Baton Rouge), and began plans for the development of a
town. Land grants were given, resulting in an influx of the first settlers.
When the older British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America rebelled in 1776, the newer colony of West Florida,
lacking a history of local government and distrustful of the potentially hostile Spanish nearby, remained loyal to the British
crown.
Spanish statesman and soldier Bernardo de Galvez defeated the British colonial forces at
Manchac,
Baton Rouge, and
Natchez in 1779.
In 1778, France declared war on Britain, and in 1779, Spain followed suit. That same year, Spanish Governor Don
Bernardo de Galvez and his militia of about 1,400 men from
New Orleans conquered Fort New Richmond. The fort was renamed Fort San Carlos. Once the Spanish controlled Baton Rouge, they
ordered its inhabitants to declare their allegiance to Spain or leave. Most residents reluctantly stayed. Galvez subsequently
captured Mobile in 1780 and Pensacola in 1781, thus ending the British presence on the Gulf Coast.
Spanish period (1779-1810)
- See also: Battle of Baton Rouge
(1779)
A colony of Pennsylvania German farmers settled to the south of town, having moved
north to high ground from their original settlement on Bayou Manchac after a series of floods in the 1780s. They were known
locally as "Dutch Highlanders" ("Dutch" being a corruption of the German
"Deutsch") and today’s Highland Road cuts through their original indigo and cotton plantations. The two major roads off of
Highland Road, Essen Lane and Siegen Lane were both named after
cities in Germany. The Kleinpeter and Staring families (which Staring Lane is named after) have been prominent in Baton Rouge
affairs ever since.
In 1800, the Tessier-Lafayette buildings were built on what is now Lafayette Street. The buildings are still standing
today.
In 1805, the Spanish administrator, Don Carlos Louis Boucher de Grand Pré, commissioned a layout for what is today know as
Spanish Town.
In 1806, Elias Beauregard led a planning commission for what is today known as Beauregard
Town.
The Republic of West Florida (1810)
The Bonnie Blue Flag of West Florida
As a result of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, Spanish West Florida found itself almost entirely surrounded by the United States and its possessions. The Spanish
Fort at Baton Rouge became the only non-American post on the Mississippi River.
Several of the inhabitants of West Florida began to have conventions to plan a
rebellion, among them Fulwar Skipwith, a Baton Rouge native. At least one of these
conventions was held in a house on a street in the city that has since been renamed Convention St. (in honor of the rebel
conventions). On September 23, 1810, the rebels overcame the
Spanish garrison at Baton Rouge, and unfurled the flag of the new Republic of West Florida, known as the Bonnie Blue Flag. The flag had a single white star on a blue field. The Bonnie Blue Flag also inspired
the Lone Star flag of Texas.
The West Florida Republic existed for only seventy-four days, during which St.
Francisville served as its capital.
Seizing upon the opportunity, President James Madison ordered W.C.C. Claiborne to move north and seize the fledgling republic
for incorporation into the Territory of Orleans. Madison used the premise that the territory had always been a part of the U.S.,
citing the terms of the Louisiana Purchase, an explanation largely believed to be a
deliberate error. The rebels were largely composed of American settlers, and they provided no resistance. With minor resentment,
the stars and stripes were raised on December 10, 1810.
For the first time, all of the land that would become the State of Louisiana now lay within U.S. borders.
Since Louisiana statehood (1812-1860)
In 1812, Louisiana was admitted to the Union as a State. Baton Rouge's location continued to be a strategic military outpost.
Between 1819 and 1822, the U.S. Army built the Pentagon Barracks, which became a major
command post up through the Mexican American War (1846-1848). Lieutenant Colonel
Zachary Taylor, supervised construction of the Pentagon Barracks and served as its
commander. In the 1830s, what is known today as the "Old Arsenal" was built. The unique structure originally served as a powder
magazine for the U.S. Army Post.
In 1825, Baton Rouge was visited by the Marquis de Lafayette
as part of his triumphal tour of the United States, and he was the guest of honor at a town ball and banquet. To celebrate the
occasion, the town renamed Second Street as Lafayette Street.
The old Louisiana State Capitol Castle.
In 1846, the Louisiana state legislature in New Orleans decided to move the seat of government to Baton Rouge. As in many
states, representatives from other parts of Louisiana feared a concentration of power in the state's largest city. In 1840, New
Orleans' population was around 102,000, fourth largest in the U.S. The 1840 population of Baton Rouge, on the other hand, was
only 2,269.
New York architect James Dakin was hired to design the new Capital building in Baton
Rouge, and rather than mimic the federal Capitol Building in Washington, as so many other states had done, he conceived a
Neo-Gothic medieval castle overlooking the Mississippi, complete with turrets and crenellations. In 1859, the Capitol was
featured and favorably described in DeBow's Review, the most prestigious
periodical in the antebellum South.[2] Mark Twain, however, as a steamboat pilot in the 1850s, loathed the sight of it, "It is pathetic ... that a
whitewashed castle, with turrets and things ... should ever have been built in this otherwise honorable place." (Life on the Mississippi, Chapter 40)[3]
Despite his view of the Capitol, Twain was fond of Baton Rouge, "Baton Rouge was clothed in flowers, like a bride — no, much
more so; like a greenhouse. For we were in the absolute South now — no modifications, no compromises, no half-way measures. The
magnolia trees in the Capitol grounds were lovely and fragrant, with their dense rich foliage and huge snowball blossoms....We
were certainly in the South at last; for here the sugar region begins, and the plantations — vast green levels, with sugar-mill
and negro quarters clustered together in the middle distance — were in view." (Life on
the Mississippi, Chapter 40) [4]
The Civil War (1860-1865)
- See also: Louisiana in the
American Civil War and Battle of Baton Rouge
(1862)
Southern secession was triggered by the 1860 election of Republican Abraham Lincoln
because slave states feared that he would make good on his promise to stop the expansion of slavery and would thus put it on a
course toward extinction. Many Southerners thought that even if Lincoln did not abolish slavery, sooner or later another
Northerner would do so, and that it was thus time to leave the Union.
In January 1861, Louisiana elected delegates to a state convention to decide the state's course of action. The convention
voted for secession 112 to 17. Baton Rouge raised a number of volunteer companies for Confederate service, including the Pelican Rifles, the Delta Rifles, the Creole Guards, and the
Baton Rouge Fencibles (about one-third of the town's male population eventually volunteered).
The Confederates gave up Baton Rouge (which only had a population of 5,429 in 1860) without a fight, deciding to consolidate
their forces elsewhere. In May 1862, Union troops entered the city and began the occupation of Baton Rouge. The Confederates only
made one attempt to retake Baton Rouge. The Confederates lost the battle and the town was severely damaged. However, Baton Rouge
escaped the level of devastation faced by cities that were major conflict points during the Civil War, and the city still has
many structures that predate it.
In 1886, a statue of a Confederate soldier was dedicated to the memory of those who fought in the Civil War on the corner of
Third Street and North Blvd.
Late 19th and early 20th centuries
The mass migration of ex-slaves into urban areas in the South also affected Baton Rouge. It has been estimated that in 1860,
blacks made up just under one-third of the town's population. By the 1880 U.S. census, however, Baton Rouge was 60 percent black.
Not until the 1920 census would the white population of Baton Rouge again exceed 50 percent. After the end of Reconstruction the white population regained control of the state's and the city's institutions, and
segregation and "Jim Crow" laws were enforced, though leavened with a dose of paternalism
(Radical Republican control in Louisiana had never been strong outside of New Orleans
in any case).
By 1880, Baton Rouge was recovering economically and psychologically, though the population that year still was only 7,197 and
its boundaries had remained the same. The carpetbaggers and scalawags of Reconstruction politics were replaced by middle-class white Democrats who loathed the Republicans, eulogized the Confederacy, and preached white
supremacy. This "Bourbon" era was short-lived in Baton Rouge, however, replaced by a more management-oriented local style of
conservatism in the 1890s and on into the early 20th century. Increased civic-mindedness and the arrival of the Louisville, New Orleans, and Texas Railroad led to the development of more
forward-looking leadership, which included the construction of a new waterworks, widespread electrification of homes and
businesses, and the passage of several large bond issues for the construction of public buildings, new schools, paving of
streets, drainage and sewer improvements, and the establishment of a scientific municipal public health department.
Baton Rouge waterfront during the record high water of the Mississippi River Flood of 1912
At the same time, the state government was constructing in Baton Rouge a new Institute for the Blind and a School for the
Deaf. LSU moved from Pineville to temporary quarters at the old arsenal and
barracks and Southern University relocated from New Orleans to Scotlandville (just
north of Baton Rouge at the time but now within the city limits). Finally, legal challenges to the Standard Oil Company in Texas led its board of directors to move its refining operations in 1909 to the
banks of the Mississippi just above town; Exxon is still the largest private employer in Baton
Rouge.
In the 1930s, the new Louisiana State Capitol building was built under the
direction of Huey P. Long, and became the tallest capitol building in the United States. The
old state capitol is now a museum.
In the late 1940s, Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish became a consolidated city/parish with a mayor/president in its
government. It was also one of the first cities in the nation to consolidate, and the parish surrounds three incorporated cities:
Baker, Zachary, and Central.
2000s
In the 2000s, Baton Rouge has proven to be one of the fastest growing cities in the South, not so much in population but in technology. Baton Rouge is well wired, and ranks #19 as
one of the most wired cities (more wired than New Orleans, and most of the 25 largest cities in the United States) There are now
many sky-eye traffic cameras at major intersections and countless other advances. Although, Baton Rouge's city population was not
growing fast, it has overtaken Mobile, Alabama, Shreveport, and many other currently declining cities. After the 2000 census, Baton Rouge had a
slight decline in population, with 224,000 from recent estimates. This is attributed by some to white flight.
The flag of Baton Rouge flies on a cloudy day.
Baton Rouge was rated one of the largest mid-sized business cities, after Hurricane Katrina It was also one of the fastest
growing metropolitan areas in the U.S. (under 1 million), with 600,000 in 2000 and 700,000 since 2000. Aside from politics, there
is also a vibrant mix of cultures found throughout Louisiana, thus forming the basis of the city motto: "Authentic Louisiana at
every turn".
Hurricane Katrina
On August 29, 2005, Baton Rouge was changed, perhaps forever,
by Hurricane Katrina. Although the damage was relatively minor compared to
New Orleans (generally light to moderate except for fallen trees), Baton Rouge
experienced power outages and service disruptions due to the hurricane. In addition, the city provided refuge for residents from
New Orleans. Baton Rouge served as a headquarters for Federal (on site) and State emergency coordination and disaster relief in
Louisiana.
The city executed massive rescue efforts for those who evacuated the New Orleans area. Schools and convention centers such as
the Baton Rouge River Center opened their doors to evacuees. LSU's basketball
arena, the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, and the adjacent LSU Field House
were converted into emergency hospitals. Victims were flown in by helicopter (landing in the LSU Track Stadium) and brought by
the hundreds in buses to be treated. Here patients were triaged and, depending on their status, were either treated immediately
or transported further west to Lafayette, Louisiana. As a result of this the LSU
football team was forced to play their originally home scheduled game against Arizona State in Arizona.
As a result, by August 31, TV station WAFB had reported that
the city's population had more than doubled from about 228,000 to at least 450,000 and East Baton Rouge Parish's population shot
up to almost 600,000 since the mandatory evacuation had been issued. That day, Mayor-President Kip
Holden was expected to host a conference to discuss how to effectively enroll evacuated children into the East Baton Rouge
Parish public school system. During late 2005 and half of 2006 traffic in the city was more congested to the point of hours long
stand stills since the evacuation of the Gulf South but since then traffic is on somewhat normal levels for a parish that had
412,000 pre-Katrina residents.
Crime
Crime in Baton Rouge is higher than the national average. In 2005, the city's murder rate was higher than many of the largest
U.S cities, ranking 13th out of U.S cities its
size, with 49 murders.[5][6] There were a total of 56 homicides in 2006.[7]
Geography and climate
Baton Rouge is located at 30°27′29″N, 91°8′25″W (30.458090,
-91.140229).1
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area
of 204.8 km² (79.1 sq mi). 199.0 km² (76.8
sq mi) of it is land and 5.7 km² (2.2 sq mi) of it (2.81%) is water.
Baton Rouge along with Tallahassee, FL and Austin, TX is one of the southernmost capital cities in the lower 48 U.S
Climate
Baton Rouge is humid-subtropical, with mild, short, wet, and somewhat warm winters and long, hot, humid, wet summers.
| Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Rec High °F |
84 |
85 |
91 |
92 |
98 |
103 |
101 |
105 |
104 |
94 |
87 |
85 |
| Norm High °F |
60 |
63.9 |
71 |
77.3 |
84 |
89.2 |
90.7 |
90.9 |
87.4 |
79.7 |
70.1 |
62.8 |
| Norm Low °F |
40.2 |
43.1 |
49.6 |
55.8 |
64.1 |
70.2 |
72.7 |
71.9 |
67.5 |
56.4 |
47.9 |
42.1 |
| Rec Low °F |
9 |
15 |
20 |
32 |
44 |
53 |
58 |
58 |
43 |
30 |
21 |
8 |
| Precip (in) |
6.19 |
5.1 |
5.07 |
5.56 |
5.34 |
5.33 |
5.96 |
5.86 |
4.84 |
3.81 |
4.76 |
5.26 |
| Source: USTravelWeather.com [1] |
Disasters
Baton Rouge rarely suffers from natural disasters. Earthquakes are very rare (unlike farther north up the Mississippi River). The
Mississippi River poses little threat to the highly populated sections of the city because Baton Rouge is built on natural bluffs
at higher elevations than the river. However, the outlying areas near the Amite and
Comite rivers are very easily flooded if already saturated by previous precipitation. Baton Rouge rarely sees tornadoes and storm surges are impossible because of its distance inland.
While hurricanes often affect the area, they rarely hit Baton Rouge at their full
force due to the inland location. Instead, due to the projection of the Louisiana peninsula
into the Gulf of Mexico, storms tend to hit that part of the state then steer northward.
Storms that head on a more westerly route tend to upswing sharply, angling more toward the western coastal areas, from
Morgan City to the Acadiana parishes. The last hurricane
to threaten the city with a direct hit was Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which missed the
city and took a direct path through the Atchafalaya Basin, some forty miles west of
the city. Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita
in 2005 followed this pattern as well, with Katrina veering east to New Orleans and eastward and Rita striking the
Lake Charles, Louisiana area and the state's western border with
Texas.
Demographics
Baton Rouge Governmental Building.
City of Baton Rouge
Population by year [2] |
| 1950 |
125,629 |
| 1960 |
152,419 |
| 1970 |
165,963 |
| 1980 |
219,419 |
| 1990 |
219,531 |
| 2000 |
227,818 |
| 2004 |
224,097 |
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 227,818 people, 88,973 households, and 52,672 families
residing in the city. The population density was 1,144.7/km² (2,964.7/sq mi).
There were 97,388 housing units at an average density of 489.4/km² (1,267.3/sq mi). The racial makeup of the city was 50.02%
African American, 45.70% White, 0.18% Native American, 2.62% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.49% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.72% of the population.
There were 88,973 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.8% were married couples living together, 19.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.8% were
non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or
older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.4% under the age of 18, 17.5% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from
45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 90.5 males.
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,368, and the median income for a family was $40,266. Males had a median
income of $34,893 versus $23,115 for females. The per capita income for the city was
$18,512. About 18.0% of families and 24.0% of the population were below the poverty
line, including 31.4% of those under age 18 and 13.6% of those age 65 or over.
Tallest buildings
Baton Rouge currently has several towers in the works. One project includes a 17 story office, another a 30+ story condominium
tower to be the first towers built downtown in two decades.
JP Morgan Chase Building and Riverside Tower
| Name |
Stories |
Height |
| RiverPlace Condominiums (groundbreaking between June and September) |
36 |
|
| Louisiana State Capitol (tallest state capitol building in the U.S.) |
34 |
460 ft (140 m) |
| Riverfront Office Tower (proposed) |
25 |
|
| One American Place |
24 |
310 ft (94 m) |
| JPMorgan Chase Tower |
21 |
277 ft (84 m) |
| Riverside Tower North |
20 |
229 ft (70 m) |
| Marriott Hotel Baton Rouge |
22 |
224 ft (68 m) |
| Laurel Street Tower (on-hold) |
19 |
|
| Catholic-Presbyterian Apartments |
14 |
|
| Dean Tower |
14 |
|
| Two City Plaza (groundbreaking in August) |
12 |
|
| Galvez Office Building |
12 |
|
| Kirby Smith Hall (LSU) |
13 |
|
| Memorial Tower (LSU) |
|
175 ft (52m) |
| Saint Joseph's Cathedral |
|
165 ft (50m) |
| Louisiana State Office Building |
12 |
160 ft (49 m) |
| Jacobs Plaza |
13 |
144 ft (44 m) |
| Bluebonnet Towers (3 residential towers) |
12 |
|
| LaSalle Office Building |
12 |
|
| Shaw Plaza |
12 |
|
| Wooddale State Office Building |
12 |
|
| Hilton Capital Center |
11 |
132 ft (40 m) |
| 19th Judicial District Court Building |
10-11 |
|
| Sheraton Baton Rouge Convention Center Hotel |
10 |
125 ft (38 m) |
Neighborhoods and suburbs
- Downtown - Baton Rouge's central business district.
- Spanish Town - Located between the Mississippi River and I-110, it is one of the
city's more diverse neighborhoods and home to the State Capitol Building and the city's largest Mardi Gras Parade.
- Beauregard Town - A historic district between the downtown area and
Old South Baton Rouge. Many of the homes have been renovated and are used as law
offices.
- Garden District - The Garden District is located in Baton
Rouge's Mid-City area where Park Boulevard intersects Government Street. The Garden District is an established historic area with
many upscale homes.
- Old South Baton Rouge - An old section of the city directly south of downtown and Beauregard Town, it stretches south
from I-10 and along the river to Brightside Lane. After years of neglect and a crumbling infrastructure, the city is targeting
the neighborhood in the city's largest ever revitalization project.
- LSU/Lakeshore - Home to LSU's main campus, the University Lakes and the City Park lake. It includes neighborhoods like
University Hills, University Gardens, College Town, State Street, Carlotta Street, and Arlington. Homes directly on the lakeshore
are some of the most expensive within the city limits, and the lakeshore itself is a popular place for jogging, walking and
bicycling.
- Mid-City - Bound by I-110 on the west, College and N. Foster on the east, Choctaw to the north and I-10 to the south.
It includes several neighborhoods like Ogden Park, Bernard Terrace, and Capital Heights. Always a socially and economically
diverse area, Mid City is quickly regaining popularity due to urban renewal and
gentrification. Includes historic Baton Rouge Magnet High School.
- Brookstown - Is bordered by Airline Highway to the east, Hollywood St to the
north, McClelland St to the west and Evangeline St to the south.
- Melrose Place - Melrose Place is home to BRCC and is between N.
Ardenwood and N. Foster Rd.
- Melrose Place East/Mall City - Is bordered by Florida Blvd (US 190) to
the south, Greenwell Springs Rd to the north, Airline Highway to the east, and N.
Ardenwood Dr to the west. However the border is traditionally between Mall at Cortana and the old Bon Marche Mall.
- Inniswold - Area around Bluebonnet Rd between Jefferson Hwy and
I-10.
- Goodwood - an older subdivision located between Government Street, Jefferson Highway, Airline Highway, and Old Hammond
Highway.
- Southdowns - an older subdivision located between Perkins Road and Bayou Duplantier, also between the University Lake
and Pollard Estates. Hosts one of Baton Rouge's Mardi Gras parades, on the Friday night before Mardi Gras.
- Gardere - an area using Gardere Lane (LA Highway 327 Spur) as its main
artery. Found between Nicholson Drive and Highland Road, located near St. Jude the Apostle Church. Dominated by low-rent housing
prior to Hurricane Katrina.
- Westminster [3] - Between Essen and
Bluebonnet off Jefferson Highway, around the Baton Rouge Country Club.
- Oak Hills Place -Bordered by Bluebonnet Boulevard to the west,
Perkins Road to the north, and Highland Road to the south. South of the Mall of Louisiana.
- Broadmoor - A mostly mid-century
neighborhood founded in 1950
- Scotlandville - The largest section of north Baton Rouge also has one of the highest crime rates in the city. It was
once incorporated as a city, before being annexed by Baton Rouge. The area is bounded by Plank Road to the east, Thomas Road to
the north, the Mississippi river to the west, and Airline Hwy to the south, and surrounds the Southern University campus and the
Exxon chemical plants.
- Shenandoah - A very large subdivision built in the 1970s and 1980's,
located between South Harrell's Ferry and Tiger Bend Roads with its westernmost boundary Jones Creek Road. Schools in this
subdivision include: Shenandoah Elementary and St. Michael the Archangel.
- Shenandoah North - A small subdivision, built in the late 1980s, located off the north end of Jones Creek Road.
- Sherwood Forest - A large, established neighborhood with large, older homes. Located just east of "Broadmoor."
Sherwood Forest Blvd. is to the south, Flannery Rd. is to the east, Florida Blvd. is to the north, and Sharp Rd. is to the
west.
- Village St. George - located off Siegen Lane near the Mall of
Louisiana. Named after nearby St. George Catholic Church.
- Brownfields - located near Baker off
Committee Drive and bounded between Foster Road and Plank Road.
- Zion City - Between Hooper Road and Airline Highway.
- Monticello - located off Greenwell Springs Road between the Baton Rouge
City Limits and Central City, site of Greenbriar Elementary School.
- Glen Oaks - located in northern Baton Rouge between Mickens Road and Airline Highway,
site of Glen Oaks High School.
- Old Jefferson - located off Jefferson Highway near Antioch and Tiger
Bend Roads. Site of Most Blessed Sacrament School and Woodlawn High
School.
- University Club - A newer neighborhood built inside the University Club Golf course located off of Nicholson Drive on
the south edge of Baton Rouge.
Points of Interest
Arsenal Park overlooking Capitol Lake
- Alex Box Stadium - Baseball stadium for LSU.
- Baton Rouge River Center - Entertainment complex.
- Baton Rouge Zoo - BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo is home to over 1,800 animals from
around the world. The Baton Rouge Zoo was the first zoo in Louisiana to achieve the distinguished honor of being accredited by
the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
- Blue Bayou Waterpark - Blue Bayou has over
20 water rides. Favorites are the "Mad Moccasin," "Conja" and "Racers."
- BREC, LSU, BRAS Highland Road
Observatory - An astronomical observatory for education and recreation that provides regular events open to the
public.
- Dixie Landin' Amusement Park - Dixie
Landin' contains 26 rides, 10 games and more. Contains such rides as the "Ragin' Cajun," "Flyin' Tigers," "Gilbeau's
Galaxi" and "The Glimmer."
- Capitol Lakes - located north of the State Capitol.
- City Park Golf Course - Baton Rouge's first public golf course.
- F.G. Clark Center - basketball arena for Southern University.
- The Herbarium of LSU
- Huey Long Field House - one-time student union for LSU. When built, it
featured the largest indoor swimming pool in the country at that time.
- Independence Park Botanic Gardens - Includes a
rose garden, crape myrtle garden, sensory garden,
children's forest, and Louisiana iris garden.
- Memorial Stadium - 21,395-seat football stadium. Was built in 1956 in
memory of the men and women who fought and served Baton Rouge during the two World Wars and
the Korean War.
- Laurens Henry Cohn, Sr Memorial Plant Arboretum - contains more than 120 species of
trees and shrubs on 16 acres.
- Louisiana Arts and Science Museum - Contains
art and science galleries, an Ancient Egypt Gallery, and simulated space travel in the Challenger
Learning Center. LASM is also home to the Irene W. Pennington Planetarium and ExxonMobil
Space Theater, which offers planetarium shows and large-format films.
- Louisiana Museum of Natural
History - Contains two main exhibit areas, one in the Textile and Costume Museum, the other in the Museum of Natural
Science.
- Louisiana State Capitol - tallest state capitol building in the
United States.
- LSU - One of only thirteen American universities designated as a
land-grant, sea-grant and space-grant research center.
- LSU Museum of Art - located within the
Shaw Center for the Arts. LSU MOA's permanent collection consists of about
4,000 objects with an emphasis placed on American, British, and, in particular, Louisiana art.
- LSU Museum of Natural
Science - Was founded in 1936. Is one of the nation's largest natural history museums, with holdings of over 2.5 million
specimens. As the only comprehensive research museum in the south-central United States, the LSU Museum of Natural Science
fulfills a variety of scientific and educational roles.
- LSU Rural Life Museum - Commemorates the contributions made by Baton
Rouge's various cultural groups through interpretive programs and events throughout the year.
- LSU University Lakes
- Magnolia Mound Plantation House - Built c. 1791. Is a rare
survivor of the vernacular architecture influenced by early settlers from France and the
West Indies.
- Mall at Cortana - Contains
Dillards, Sears, JCPenney, Macy's, and over 110 specialty stores and services.
- Mall of Louisiana - Contains
Dillards, Sears, JCPenney, and Macy's. Has over 160 stores and services. It will soon incorporate 11 upscale stores, as well as
four additional restaurants.[8]
- Mount Hope
Plantation
- The Old
Arsenal Powder Magazine - Is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places. Was built around 1838.
- Old State Capitol - Louisiana's Old State Capitol Center for
Political and Governmental History houses several interactive state-of-the-art exhibits including "Huey Long Live! The Kingfish
Speaks", "We The People," "The Governor Huey P. Long Assassination Exhibit" and more.
- Pennington Biomedical Research Center - The largest
academically based nutrition research center in the world.
- Perkins Rowe (coming soon) - An urban
village with residences, theaters, restaurants, and specialty shops.
- Pete Maravich Assembly Center - The "PMAC" is a 13,472-seat
multi-purpose arena. The arena opened in 1972, and is home to the LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers
basketball teams, volleyball team and gymnastics team. It was originally known as the "LSU Assembly Center," but was renamed in
memory of Pete Maravich, a Tiger basketball legend, shortly after his death in 1988.
- Poplar Grove Plantation -
Began life not as a home but as the Bankers' Pavilion at the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition of 1884 in
New Orleans. The exposition was held at what is today Audubon Park in uptown New
Orleans. Was moved upriver on a barge in 1886 and became the home of sugar planter Horace Wilkinson and his wife, Julia.
- Shaw Center for the Arts - Performing-art venue and fine arts museum
located at 100 Lafayette Street downtown.
- Southern University - one of the most well known historically black colleges and universities.
- Tiger Stadium LSU football stadium.
- USS Kidd - a Fletcher
class destroyer, was the 1st ship of the United States Navy to be named for Rear Adm. Isaac C. Kidd,
Commander of Battleship Division 1, who died on the bridge of his flagship USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Media
Greater Baton Rouge is well served by television and radio. The market is the 94th largest Designated Market Area (DMA) in the United States, serving 317,550 homes or 0.282% of the U.S.
population.
Television
Major television network affiliates serving the area include:
KPBN 11, KZUP 19, and WBTR 41
also operate as independent stations in the area, along with WLFT 30 providing mainly religious
programming. Other cable-only stations include: Metro 21, Cox 4,
and Catholic Life Channel 15.
Periodicals
The major daily newspaper is The Advocate, publishing since
1925. Prior to October 1991, Baton Rouge also had an evening newspaper, The State-Times -- at that time, the morning paper was known as "The Morning Advocate." Other
publications include: 225, LSU Daily Reveille, Tiger Weekly, Southern University Digest, Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, and the South Baton Rouge Journal. Other newspapers in
East Baton Rouge Parish include the Central City
News and the Zachary Post.
Radio
