Jump to content

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Bgdigital (talk | contribs) at 19:01, 15 August 2007 (→External links). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For the Canadian restaurant, see Baton Rouge (restaurant).
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Downtown Baton Rouge
Downtown Baton Rouge
Flag of Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Flag
Official seal of Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Seal
Nickname(s): 
Red Stick, Hollyrouge
Motto: 
Authentic Louisiana at every turn
Location of Baton Rouge in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana
Location of Baton Rouge in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana
CountryUnited States
StateLouisiana
ParishEast Baton Rouge Parish
Founded1699
Incorporated16 January 1817
Government
 • MayorMelvin "Kip" Holden (D)
Area
 • City79.1 sq mi (204.8 km2)
 • Land76.8 sq mi (199 km2)
 • Water2.2 sq mi (5.7 km2)  2.81%
Elevation
46 ft (14 m)
Population
 (2004)
 • City224,097
 • Density2,964.7/sq mi (1,144.7/km2)
 • Metro
751,965
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Websitehttp://www.brgov.com
Baton Rouge (upper left) lies along the Mississippi River, northwest of New Orleans.

Baton Rouge (from the French bâton rouge), pronounced /ˈbætn ˈɹuːʒ/ in English, and [[Media:BatonRouge.ogg|/bɑtɔ̃ ʀuʒ/]] in French, is the capital and the second largest city in Louisiana behind New Orleans. The effects of Hurricane Katrina have, at least temporarily, 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. 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.

The Greater Baton Rouge population is approximately 700,000. The effects of Hurricane Katrina temporarily accelerated the metro's population in mid to late 2005, though the early estimates of soaring past 1 million have since been refuted. Joachim Singelmann, an LSU sociologist who directs the Louisiana Population Data Center, said Baton Rouge's metro area probably never topped 200,000 new people.

Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, and port center of the American South.

The Baton Rouge region, like that of other capital cities in the United States, is called the "Capital Area."

History

French period (1699-1763)

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.

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)

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)

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 Fullwar 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. 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)

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)

The Civil War (1860-1865)

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 (see main article: Battle of 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 War Between The States, and the city still has many structures that predate the Civil War

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

Capitol Building.

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.

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 heavily impacted 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, and churches around the city were sometimes serving two hot meals per day for whoever could come. B'nai Israel Synagogue opened its doors to evacuees with its emergency shelter, the only synagogue in the region to do so. 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, which they won.

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.

Multiple funds erupted in the city for donations, including the Baton Rouge Area Foundation's Katrina funds for evacuees living in Baton Rouge.

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.[1][2] There were a total of 56 homicides in 2006.[3]

Geography and climate

Baton Rouge is located at 30°27′29″N 91°8′25″W / 30.45806°N 91.14028°W / 30.45806; -91.14028Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (30.458090, -91.140229).Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 204.8 km² (79.1 mi²). 199.0 km² (76.8 mi²) of it is land and 5.7 km² (2.2 mi²) 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. Even though snow is almost unheard of, the last snowfall took place in 2004; the snow took only hours to melt.

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 censusTemplate:GR 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/mi²). There were 97,388 housing units at an average density of 489.4/km² (1,267.3/mi²). 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.

File:RiverRoad ariel lg.jpg
RiverPlace Condominiums
JP Morgan Chase Building and Riverside Tower
Name Stories Height
RiverPlace Condominiums (groundbreaking between June and September) 36
Louisiana State Capitol 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 Hwy., around the Baton Rouge Country Club.
  • Oak Hills Place -Bordered by Bluebonnet Blvd to the west, Perkins Road to the north, and Highland Road to the south. South of the Mall of Louisiana.
  • Broadmoor - Founded in 1950, Broadmoor is a very nice, well established neighborhood with many fine examples of Mid-Century Modern Architecture. Florida Blvd. is to the north, Airline Hwy. is to the west, Old Hammond Hwy. to the south, and Sharp Rd. is to the east. Broadmoor is host to a dedicated civic association that concentrates on neighborhood preservation as well as beautification. Because of the neighborhoods' geographical location within the center of the City of Baton Rouge, the Broadmoor Resident's Association adopted the slogan: "Broadmoor, The Heart Of Baton Rouge" ©2005 (Used by permission).
  • Scotlandville - The largest section of north baton rouge, and also one of the most high crime areas in the city. It was once incorporated as a city, before being annexed by Baton Rouge, and also the area 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

Media

Greater Baton Rouge is well served by television and radio. The market is the 93rd largest Designated Market Area (DMA) in the United States, serving 322,540 homes or 0.290% of the U.S. population.

Television

Major television network affiliates serving the area include:

KPBN 11, KZUP 19, WBTR 41, also operates as independent stations in the area, and 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. 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

Education

East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools, the city's school district, is one of the area's largest school districts. Baton Rouge school district is one of the largest low performing school district in Louisiana. It contains approximately 90 individual schools: 56 elementary schools, 16 middle schools, and 18 high schools.

Private Schools

State Schools

Colleges and Universities

Tiger Stadium at Louisiana State University

Infrastructure

Health and Medicine

Baton Rouge is served by a number of hospitals and clinics:

Utilities

Electricity services for Baton Rouge are provided by Entergy, and DEMCO. Waste pickup is provided by Allied Waste Services, formally BFI.

Transportation

Interstate 10 crossing the Mississippi River

Roads

Baton Rouge is connected by the following major routes: I-10 (Capital City Expressway via the Horace Wilkinson Bridge), I-12 (Republic of West Florida Parkway), I-110 (Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway), Airline Highway (US 61), Florida Boulevard (US 190) (via the Huey P. Long Bridge), Greenwell Springs Road (LA 37), Plank Road/22nd Street (LA 67), Burbank Dr. & Highland Rd.(LA 42), Nicholson Drive (LA 30), Jefferson Highway (LA 73), Louisiana Highway 1 (LA 1) and Scotland/Baker/Zachary Highway (LA 19). The business routes of US 61/190 run west along Florida Blvd. from Airline Hwy. to River Road downtown. The routes also run along River Rd., Chippewa Street and Scenic Highway from Chippewa to Airline. US 190 joins US 61 on Airline Hwy from Florida Blvd. to Scenic Hwy, where the two highways split. US 190 continues westward on Airline to the Huey P. Long Bridge while US 61 heads north on Scenic Highway.

The street numbering system (which covers the majority of the parish) is centered on the intersection of River Road and North Blvd. adjacent to the Old State Capitol downtown. North Blvd. is the north-south origin line for addresses out to Foster Drive; Florida Blvd. acts as the origin out to the Livingston Parish line. The Mississippi River acts as the east-west address origin line north to approximately Thomas Road, where US 61 (Scenic Highway, Samuels Road) acts as the origin from there northward; and also south to Terrace Street, where Highland Road acts as the origin from there southward. The cities of Baker and Zachary use this system for their east-west streets, but base their origin point for north-south roads at Thomas Road.

Proposed Loop

There were plans of extending I-110 to a northern,southern, and western loop/bypass for the Baton Rouge area.

More recently, a circumferential loop freeway has been proposed for the greater Baton Rouge metro area due to increasing congestion on the existing through-town freeways and the lack of a freeway quality bypass. The proposed loop would pass through the outlying parishes of Livingston, Ascension, West Baton Rouge, and Iberville, as well as northern East Baton Rouge Parish.

Airport

The metropolitan area is served by Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, located in north of Baton Rouge, between Baton Rouge and Baker.

Proposed Light Rail

Recently, many have proposed extending New Orleans's public transit system by adding light rail routes from downtown along Airline Highway through the airport to Baton Rouge.

There were plans to also create a light rail line, starting in downtown, going down Florida Boulevard, and then ending in Denham Springs, but the idea didn't go over well due to funding and concern of too small a population.

Bus

Public transit is provided by the Capitol Area Transit System (CATS). The public transportation system is highly criticized as low performing and not averaging enough riders to continue to be successful in the Baton Rouge area. Area leaders recently took part in an all day ride of the Baton Rouge buses to determine what the problem was and many say the problem is hours long waits for the buses, CATS management say that there are not enough riders to put more buses on the line and won't receive any funding until more people start riding the bus consistently.

When there was a massive increase in population immediately following Hurricane Katrina, RTA buses from New Orleans were brought into Baton Rouge to supplement CATS. The LA Swift is a free bus service that runs from Baton Rouge to New Orleans which was created after Hurricane Katrina at a time when Baton Rouge had a large number of displaced residents and it helped displaced residents return to New Orleans to gut their homes, get jobs, leisure, live for good, etc. The funding for the buses were set to cease in late 2006 but was extended until June 2007.

There are plans to create a BRT system.

Bike

An already completed bike path atop the levee in Baton Rouge could extend all the way to New Orleans, an estimated $33 million project.
It has come under fire for its length and being unnecessary. “But you could travel the whole 110 miles in about six hours at a moderate pace of about 17 miles per hour,” Bruce Wickert (cyclist, heads the local Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee) criticized.

Notable inhabitants, past and present

Sports figures

Entertainers

Politicians

Military commanders

Intellectuals

Sister cities

After a visit to the Republic of China (Taiwan), Mayor-President Kip Holden unveiled plans to pursue a sister city agreement with a second Taiwanese city, Taipei.

See also

References

  1. ^ "2005 Murder Rate in Cities". 2005. Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite web}}: Text "publisher: infoplease.com" ignored (help)
  2. ^ "Baton Rouge Crime Statistics for 2005". 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite web}}: Text "publisher: brgov.com" ignored (help)
  3. ^ "Baton Rouge Crime Statistics for 2006". 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite web}}: Text "publisher: brgov.com" ignored (help)
  4. ^ "General Growth Properties". 2006. Retrieved 2006-08-23. {{cite web}}: Text "publisher: generalgrowth.com" ignored (help)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Authorities

News sources

Template:Mapit-US-cityscale

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baton_Rouge,_Louisiana&oldid=151443284"