Huey Long's Baton Rouge
My destination today was Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana and the location of my interview. Today we had a lunch meeting scheduled with the staff and a tour of thee offices, so I had time for a nice breakfast in Lafayette before heading off down the interstate for the roughly 60 minute drive to Baton Rouge. My choice for breakfast was Cracker Barrel. Sure it's a chain, but the country cooking is comforting and I needed/wanted a nice country breakfast, which is precisely what I enjoyed.
The drive from Lafayette to Baton Rouge was boring, with most of the highway being elevated over bayous, rivers, and swamps. There just was not much to see.
I arrived in Baton Rouge with a couple of hours to spare, so i made my way to the State Capitol, a monument to Louisiana Governor Huey Long. Long wanted to have a new capitol building constructed to demonstrate the change in the political scene of Louisiana that his election marked from one dominated by the wealthy to a more populist controlled one. He wanted a modern skyscraper rather than a traditional building and, to ensure that his political opponents had no say in the design, he used funds he alone controlled to pay for the design in 1930. He then pushed construction funding through the legislature and, though elected to the U.S. Senate in 1930, refused to take his seat until 1932, when construction was complete and his political opponents had no chance of coming back into power. In 1935, Long was assassinated while walking through the halls of the Capitol. He is buried under the only major statue in the gardens, which represents Long, that surround the Capitol.
After touring the Capitol, I had to head to the meeting. I was impressed by the staff and the offices, which were in an historic school building that has just been renovated as office space. All of the candidates for the position were there, so I had an opportunity to size up my competition.
Following lunch, I decided to drive around Baton Rouge, just exploring the area. While most of the area felt like a typical city surrounded by suburbs, I was pleasantly surprised by a new urbanist development I stumbled on, Perkins Rowe. I really liked this development with its narrow streets lined by shops, restaurants, and offices with residential units on the upper floors. I really liked Perkins Rowe and would love to live here if I got the job.
I made my way back downtown after my explorations to my hotel. I checked in and decided to wander around the downtown area.
I headed to the Old Governor's Mansion, which Huey Long had built in 1929 while he was governor. Long directed that the house be designed to look like the White House, leading to speculation that he intended to run for President in 1936. The house, which does look like the White House, served as the Governor's Mansion until 1963, when a new mansion was built closer to the Capitol.
I continued to wander around downtown, passing some beautiful old buildings, like the Old Post Office, which is now a private club, and the house where Marquis de Lafayette stayed while in Baton Rouge during his tour of the United States in 1824. While walking around, I stopped at the Visitor's Center and asked for a recommendation for dinner downtown. I also stopped at a local bar for a drink, totally enjoying Baton Rouge in the late afternoon.
I ate dinner across the street from the hotel, at the Capital City Grill, one of the places recommended by the Visitor's Center. I had the seafood pasta, which was very nice.
After dinner, I walked down to the Riverfront, passing by the Museum of Arts and Sciences and walking out over the landing near City Hall. I was impressed by Baton Rouge, despite the fact that there was little activity around the downtown area at night.
The drive from Lafayette to Baton Rouge was boring, with most of the highway being elevated over bayous, rivers, and swamps. There just was not much to see.
I arrived in Baton Rouge with a couple of hours to spare, so i made my way to the State Capitol, a monument to Louisiana Governor Huey Long. Long wanted to have a new capitol building constructed to demonstrate the change in the political scene of Louisiana that his election marked from one dominated by the wealthy to a more populist controlled one. He wanted a modern skyscraper rather than a traditional building and, to ensure that his political opponents had no say in the design, he used funds he alone controlled to pay for the design in 1930. He then pushed construction funding through the legislature and, though elected to the U.S. Senate in 1930, refused to take his seat until 1932, when construction was complete and his political opponents had no chance of coming back into power. In 1935, Long was assassinated while walking through the halls of the Capitol. He is buried under the only major statue in the gardens, which represents Long, that surround the Capitol.
After touring the Capitol, I had to head to the meeting. I was impressed by the staff and the offices, which were in an historic school building that has just been renovated as office space. All of the candidates for the position were there, so I had an opportunity to size up my competition.
Following lunch, I decided to drive around Baton Rouge, just exploring the area. While most of the area felt like a typical city surrounded by suburbs, I was pleasantly surprised by a new urbanist development I stumbled on, Perkins Rowe. I really liked this development with its narrow streets lined by shops, restaurants, and offices with residential units on the upper floors. I really liked Perkins Rowe and would love to live here if I got the job.
I made my way back downtown after my explorations to my hotel. I checked in and decided to wander around the downtown area.
I headed to the Old Governor's Mansion, which Huey Long had built in 1929 while he was governor. Long directed that the house be designed to look like the White House, leading to speculation that he intended to run for President in 1936. The house, which does look like the White House, served as the Governor's Mansion until 1963, when a new mansion was built closer to the Capitol.
I continued to wander around downtown, passing some beautiful old buildings, like the Old Post Office, which is now a private club, and the house where Marquis de Lafayette stayed while in Baton Rouge during his tour of the United States in 1824. While walking around, I stopped at the Visitor's Center and asked for a recommendation for dinner downtown. I also stopped at a local bar for a drink, totally enjoying Baton Rouge in the late afternoon.
I ate dinner across the street from the hotel, at the Capital City Grill, one of the places recommended by the Visitor's Center. I had the seafood pasta, which was very nice.
After dinner, I walked down to the Riverfront, passing by the Museum of Arts and Sciences and walking out over the landing near City Hall. I was impressed by Baton Rouge, despite the fact that there was little activity around the downtown area at night.