Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Guide to Baton Rouge: how to get there and where to stay, what to see and where to go in the evening. Highlights of Baton Rouge: fresh reviews and photos, places to see, branded entertainment and shopping.

According to toppharmacyschools, Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana and its second largest city. He is most famous in the first capacity. Firstly, here is the highest state capitol in the country. Secondly, in the political history of the city, such a prominent figure as Huey Long, a governor, a member of the Senate and a kind of dictator, was noted.

How to get to Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge Airport is located north of the city, near Southern University. It receives flights from American Airlines, United Airlines, U. S. Airlines, Delta and Vision from major American cities. There is no train station in the city, but you can take the train to New Orleans or Hammond and then take the bus. Driving from New Orleans to Baton Rouge takes about 1.5 hours.

A bit of history

The first European settlement on the site of the current Baton Rouge appeared in 1719, and then it was a French military outpost. The main movement in French times was observed in New Orleans. Since then, Baton Rouge has been under the control of the British and Spanish, in the 19th century it developed rapidly due to steamboats that sailed along the Mississippi, and became the capital in 1849.

The French pioneers did not particularly think about the name of the city. They saw a peg driven into the ground, stained with fish and animal blood, and which served to mark the border between the territories of Indian tribes. The settlement was called “le Baton Rouge” – that is, “red stick”.

Entertainment and attractions in Baton Rouge

The old State Capitol looks very unusual. It was built in neo-Gothic style and was a real medieval fortress: it was called Louisiana Castle, or Castle on the River. The capitol was erected in the middle of the 19th century, with tunnels and battlements and, judging by eyewitness accounts, looked amazing. During the Civil War, the northerners set up a prison in it, and after they left the castle was practically devastated, so by 1882 it was completely reconstructed. The building was used in its former capacity until 1932, and after reconstruction in the 1990s. it housed the Museum of Political History.

The old Louisiana governor’s mansion was used from 1930 to 1961. During the governorship of Huey Long, termites began to wear down the former building, so it was abandoned. Since 1978, the mansion has been operating as a historical house-museum. The museum deserves interest: it contains, among other things, various artifacts related to Long, for example, the gun from which he was shot.

Huey Long is one of the most interesting and controversial figures in American politics. He was famous for his unscrupulousness and unscrupulousness in the conduct of business, in which he did not hesitate to use the help of criminal elements, and at the same time – a line of government that supported the poor and hit the wallets of the rich. It was he who became the prototype of the protagonist in R. P. Warren’s novel “All the King’s Men.”

The building of the new Capitol is distinguished by a 34-story tower with a height of 137 m. This is the tallest Capitol in the United States (if you count those that are built in a modern style). It is often called the “monument to Huey Long”, since it was the latter who initiated the construction, which was completed in 1931, and here, 4 years later, he received a mortal bullet. The idea to abandon the traditional domed rotunda came from Nebraska, where the first skyscraper Capitol was being built. The Louisiana building was created from Alabama limestone and decorated with many sculptures and reliefs. Around the Capitol there is a garden with azaleas, magnolias and camellias, as well as centuries-old oaks, and there is also a 4-meter bronze statue of Governor Long.

3 things to do in Baton Rouge:

1. Go on a sightseeing tour of the alligator swamps of Bayou.
2. Drop in on a Saturday morning at the farmers’ market on Main Street.
3. Go fishing or just take a walk by the lakes on campus.

The Yazoo Railroad Depot near the Mississippi Valley was built in the Classical Revival style and is today considered a historic building. A steam engine is on display outside, and the Louisiana Museum of Art and Science is open inside. It operates a planetarium, and the museum often hosts temporary art exhibitions. The strongest part of the collection is considered to be the Department of Ancient Egypt.

The University Museum of Rural Life is located on Burden Plantation and reflects the multicultural heritage of the state’s heritage. The barn contains numerous artifacts from the 19th century: farm tools, tools, furniture and household utensils. The working plantation was created as a replica of a 19th century plantation with an overseer’s house, slave huts, a kitchen, a school, a forge and a mill. In addition, several buildings with traditional architecture from the time of the first settlers are located on the museum grounds: the village church, the pioneer hut, the Caroline hut, the shooting house, the Acadian house and the dogtrot house.

The Baton Rouge Gallery was founded in 1965 and became the first gallery of the professional community of artists in the United States.

Initially, mainly 8 initiators of the opening of the museum were exhibited here, but today the exposition, which occupies the park pavilion, exhibits works by more than 50 contemporary authors. These are not only pictures, but also multimedia.

The most modern art venue in the city is the Shaw Arts Center. It combines art galleries, an education center and several event venues. It also houses the State University Art Museum. The pearl of the museum’s collection is the largest collection of Newcomb ceramics in the country. The center building itself, with translucent glass panels, is quite interesting: in 2005 it received an award from the American Institute of Architects for “an aggressive concept with good contrast of materials.”

The Catholic Cathedral of St. Joseph is located in downtown, it was built in 1853 in the Gothic style, with a pointed central tower. The original interior of the cathedral has not been preserved: today inside you can see the result of the renovation of 1967. Also of interest from an architectural point of view is the old post office and court building, built in 1894 with an Italian Renaissance facade, atypical for Louisiana.

The USS Kidd was the first US Navy ship to be named after Admiral Isaac Kidd, who died on the bridge of his flagship, the Arizona, during the attack on Pearl Harbor. The ship served in the campaigns of World War II and the Korean War and is today open to the public as a museum. This is the only American destroyer that has retained exactly the configuration and armament that were used in 1945.

Neighborhood Baton Rouge

Not far from the city there are several old plantations open to tourists. San Francisco Plantation was restored in 1977. Here you can see a beautifully finished house, typical of Louisiana, but still uncharacteristic of the plantation: this architectural style is sometimes called “Steamboat Gothic”. On the Oak Alley plantation, the master’s house was built in 1839 in the Greek Revival style, as close as possible to the oak alley. The plantation, located halfway to New Orleans, is given tours by costumed guides, and here you can also stay for the night.

And a small late 18th-century mansion at Magnolia Mound exhibits a French-Creole architectural style. One of Louisiana’s oldest wooden buildings, it features vaulted ceilings and French and Caribbean details. Magnolia Mound Plantation is located closest to Baton Rouge.