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Baton Rouge, LA
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Baton Rouge (French: Bâton Rouge in English, and 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.
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.
The Baton Rouge region, like that of other capital cities in the United States, is called the "Capital Area."
HistoryFrench 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 LSU campus 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 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.
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 crenelations. 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. 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.
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.
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, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast with failed levees flooding much of New Orleans and areas of Mississippi. 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.
CrimeWith the exception of murder, all other major crimes reported to Baton Rouge police in 2007 were down compared with 2006, according to statistics released in January 2008. Compared with 2006, the number of major crimes in 2007 dropped 8 percent, statistics show. Crimes against people — murder, rape, robbery and assault — fell 12 percent compared with 2006. Crimes against property — burglary, larceny, arson and motor vehicle theft — declined 7 percent. The number of people killed each year in the city between 2000 and 2006 has ranged from 41 to 58 but murder rose 29 percent from 56 in 2006 to 72 last year. The number of murders in 2007 is two shy of a 1993 high of 74.
Geography and climateBaton Rouge is located at (30.458090, -91.140229).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 79.1 square miles (204.8 km²), of which, 76.8 square miles (199.0 km²) of it is land and 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²) 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.
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.
Tallest buildingsBaton 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.
Baton Rouge Buildings
Baton Rouge and EnvironsNeighborhoods 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 - 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. 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 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 - Known as Cortana Mall until the opening of the Mall of Louisiana, this shopping center 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.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 - 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.MediaGreater 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.
TelevisionMajor television network affiliates serving the area include:
2 WBRZ (ABC) 9 WAFB (CBS) 21 WBRL (The CW) 27 WLPB (PBS) 33 WVLA (NBC) 39 WBXH (MyNetworkTV) 44 WGMB (FOX)
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.
PeriodicalsThe 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 College: KLSU-FM (91.1) Country: WYPY-FM (100.7), WYNK-FM (101.5), WTGE-FM (107.3) Contemporary: WQCK-FM (92.7) Gospel/Christian: WJFM-FM (88.5), WPAE-FM (89.7), KPAE-FM (91.5),WTQT-LP (94.9), WXOK-AM (1460), WPFC-AM (1550) Hits: KRDJ-FM (93.7), WFMF-FM (102.5), WCDV-FM (103.3) Jazz: WBRH-FM (90.3) Oldies: KBRH-AM (1260) Public Radio: WRKF-FM (89.3) Rock: KRVE-FM (96.1), WDGL-FM (98.1), WNXX-FM (104.5), KNXX-FM (104.9), KYRK-FM (104.1) Sports: WSKR-AM (1210), WIBR-AM (1300) Talk: WJBO-AM (1150), WPYR-AM (1380) Urban/Urban Contemporary: WEMX-FM (94.1), KQXL-FM (106.5) Variety: KKAY-AM (1590)EducationPrimary and secondary schoolsPublic schoolsEast 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.
Louisiana State University operates the Louisiana State University Laboratory School, a K-12 school.
The state of Louisiana directly operates two special schools for children with disabilities:
Louisiana School for the Deaf Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired
Private Schools Parkview Baptist School University Laboratory School (LSU) Southern University Laboratory School St. Joseph's Academy The Dunham School Redemptorist High School Episcopal High School Catholic High School St. Michael the Archangel High School (formerly Bishop Sullivan High school) Baton Rouge Christian Classical School Runnels School Most Blessed Sacrament School St. Thomas More School St. Jude the Apostle School Sacred Heart of Jesus School St. Louis King of France School Our Lady of Mercy School St. Jean Vianney School St. George School St. Aloysius School Gables Academy St. Luke's Episcopal Day School Christian Life Academy Cypress Heights Academy
Colleges and Universities Louisiana State University Southern University Baton Rouge Community College Our Lady of the Lake College Baton Rouge General Medical Center School of Nursing Baton Rouge General Medical Center School of Radiologic Technology Louisiana Technical College (Baton Rouge campus) Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Culinary Institute ITI Technical College University of Phoenix (Baton Rouge campus)InfrastuctureHealth and MedicineBaton Rouge is served by a number of hospitals and clinics:
Baton Rouge Clinic - 7373 Perkins Road Baton Rouge General Medical Center Mid-City - 3600 Florida Boulevard Baton Rouge General Medical Center Bluebonnet - 8585 Picardy Avenue Benton Rehabilitation Hospital - 7660 Convention Street Earl K. Long Medical Center (LSUMC) - 5825 Airline Highway HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital - 8595 United Plaza Boulevard HealthSouth Surgi-Center - 5222 Brittany Drive Lane Memorial Hospital – Zachary, Louisiana. Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Treatment Center - 4950 Essen Lane Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center - 5000 Hennessy Boulevard Ochsner Medical Center - 1700 Medical Center Drive Sage Integra Hospital Baton Rouge, a rehabilitation hospital - 8225 Summa Avenue St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - 7777 Hennessy Boulevard Surgical Specialty Centre 8080 Bluebonnet Blvd Vista Surgical Hospital - 9032 Perkins Road Womans Hospital - 9050 Airline Highway
UtilitiesElectricity services for Baton Rouge are provided by Entergy, and DEMCO. Waste pickup is provided by Allied Waste Services, formally BFI.
National GuardBaton Rouge is home station to the 769th Engineer Battalion a units that has recently had units deployed to Iraq and Afganistan. The armory located near the Baton Rouge Airport houses three company sized units. These are: 769th HSC (headquarters support company); 769th FSC (forward support company); and the 927th Sapper Company. Other units of the battalion are located at Napoleonville (928th Sapper Company); Baker, Louisiana (926th MAC mobility augmentation company); and Gonzales, Louisiana (922nd Horizontal Construction Company).
The 769th Engineer Battalion is part of the 225th Engineer Brigade which is headquatered in Pineville, Louisiana at Camp Beauregard. There are four engineer battalions and an independent bridging company in the 225th Engineer Brigade which makes it the largest engineer group in the US Army Engineer Corps.
Notable inhabitants, past and presentSports figures Seimone Augustus, WNBA guard for the Minnesota Lynx (b. 1984) Brandon Bass, NBA Power Forward for the Dallas Mavericks (b. 1985) Billy Cannon, former All-American and 1959 Heisman Trophy winner (b. 1937) Michael Clayton, NFL wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (b. 1982) Glen Davis, forward for the Boston Celtics David Dellucci, MLB outfielder for the Cleveland Indians (b. 1973) Warrick Dunn, NFL running back for the Atlanta Falcons (b. 1975) Chad Durbin, MLB pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies (b. 1977) Alan Faneca, NFL guard for the Pittsburgh Steelers (b. 1976) Randall Gay, NFL cornerback for the New England Patriots (b. 1982) Darryl Hamilton, MLB outfielder for various clubs (b. 1964) Fred Haynes (1946-2006), LSU football great, 1964-1968 Russ Johnson, major league infielder (b. 1973) Lolo Jones, American track and field athlete Stefan LeFors, NFL quarterback for the Carolina Panthers (b. 1981) Travis Minor, NFL running back Jonathan Papelbon, MLB pitcher for the Boston Red Sox (b. 1980) Carly Patterson, Olympic gold medalist (b. 1988) Bob Pettit, Basketball Hall of Famer (b. 1932) Andy Pettitte, MLB pitcher for the New York Yankees (b. 1972) Bobby Phills, former professional basketball player (d. 2000) Ben Sheets, MLB pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers (b. 1978) Marcus Spears, NFL defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys (b. 1982) Jim Taylor, Football Hall of Famer (b. 1935) Tyrus Thomas, NBA forward for the Chicago Bulls (b. 1986) Reggie Tongue, NFL safety for the Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets, and Oakland Raider Kevin Windham, professional motocross racer Reggie Torbor, NFL Linebacker for the New York Giants (b.1981) Mickey Marshall, BMX AM's rider
Entertainers Wes Brown, actor We Are Marshall, Glory Road, Beach Girls. Donna Douglas, actress from The Beverly Hillbillies (b. 1933) Wesley Eure, actor/author John Fred, singer, best known for the song Judy in Disguise (With Glasses) (1941-2005) Dale Houston, singer, best known for the song I'm Leaving It Up To You (1940-2007) Randy Jackson, musician, record producer, and American Idol judge (b. 1956) Chris Thomas King, American blues musician and actor (b. 1962) Lil Boosie, rap artist (b. 1983) Reiley McClendon, actor (b. 1990) John McConnell, actor, radio personality (b. 1958) Cleo Moore, actress (d. 1973) Elemore Morgan, Jr, landscape painter and photographer (b. 1931) James Paul, Conductor Emeritus of the Baton Rouge Symphony (b. 1940) Tabby Thomas, blues musician and club owner (b. 1929) Pruitt Taylor Vince, character actor (b. 1960) Webbie, rap artist (b. 1985) Shane West, actor (b. 1978) Lynn Whitfield, actress C-Loc, rap artist Max Minelli, rap artist (b.1980) Trent Dawson, actor from As the World Turns (b.1971) John Mese, actor (b.1963) Cameron Richardson, Actress, Adrift (b.09/11/1979)
Politicians Jesse Bankston (b. 1907), centenarian president of Louisiana Public Broadcasting; longterm member of the Democratic State Central Committee; former confidant of Earl Kemp Long James H. Boyce (1922-1990), Caterpillar Company industrialist and chairman of the Louisiana Republican Party, 1972-1976 Jack Breaux, first Republican mayor of a Louisiana community, mayor of Zachary in East Baton Rouge Parish from 1966 until his death in 1980 Overton Brooks, former Louisiana Democratic U.S. representative from 1937-1961, representing the Shreveport district (d. 1961), D James H. "Jim" Brown, former state senator, secretary of state, and state insurance commissioner (b. 1940), D Theo Cangelosi, (1911-1992), former state representative, lawyer, banker, gubernatorial advisor, D Carl Crane, state representative from Baton Rouge since 1984, R Charles H. Dillemuth (1912-1989), real estate businessman for whom the "Charles H. Dillemuth Humanitarian of the Year Award" is named; congressional candidate in 1960, civic leader, R Jeff Fortenberry, U.S. representative from Nebraska (b. 1960), R Clark Gaudin, attorney and first Republican state representative from East Baton Rouge Parish since Reconstruction (b. 1931), R Kip Holden, Mayor-President of East Baton Rouge Parish (b. 1952), D Louis E. "Woody" Jenkins, former Louisiana state representative and three-time U.S. Senate candidate (b. 1947), R Donald Ray Kennard, Louisiana state representative from East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes since 1976, R Elmer Litchfield, sheriff of East Baton Rouge Parish from 1983 to 2006 (b. 1927), R Chuck McMains, former state representative and Baton Rouge lobbyist, R Henson Moore, U.S. representative from Sixth Congressional District, 1975-1987, R Robert Fred "Bob" Odom, state agriculture commissioner, 1980-2008, D Dan Richey, former state legislator and political consultant (b. 1948), R Buddy Roemer, former governor and Baton Rouge businessman (b. 1943), R Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council (b. 1963), R Zachary Taylor an American military leader and the twelfth President of the United States(1784 – 1850), W Sandra Thompson, environmentalist and former director of the Atchafalaya Basin Project, R David Treen, former Louisiana governor (b. 1928), R
Military commanders Robert H. Barrow, 27th Commandant for the USMC from 1979-1983 (b. 1922) John A. Lejeune, Marine Corps general (d. 1942)
Intellectuals Ed Cullen, Baton Rouge Morning Advocate columnist, National Public Radio essayist, author of Letter in a Woodpile Margaret Dixon, first woman managing editor of the Morning Advocate (1949-1970), crusader for prison reform and assistance to the mentally ill Mike Dunne (1949-2007), environmental reporter for the Morning Advocate Stephan Kinsella, American intellectual property lawyer and libertarian legal theorist (b. 1965) Lars Kestner, author John LaPlante (1953-2007), Capitol Bureau chief for the Morning Advocate Eugene Wigner, Nobel Prize-winning physicist and emeritus professor at Louisiana State University Joe Giaime, physics professor at LSU, head of the LIGO Livingston ObservatorySister cities Aix-en-Provence, France Cordoba, Mexico Taichung, Taiwan Port-au-Prince, Haiti 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.
External links Official Baton Rouge Government Web Site Baton Rouge Retrospective: history in photographs and postcards
Authorities Baton Rouge Police Department Louisiana State Police Baton Rouge Guide
News sourcesThe Advocate (Baton Rouge) WBRZ WAFB WVLA WGMB
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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By winegrrl
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at 9:44AM May 29, 2008
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