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Started By
Message
bring back Catfish Town
Posted on 5/2/16 at 7:37 pm
Posted on 5/2/16 at 7:37 pm
Kip should make it happen
9
Posted on 5/2/16 at 7:39 pm to prplhze2000
CSB
Posted on 5/2/16 at 7:52 pm to prplhze2000
Like people aren't catfished enough these days.
Posted on 5/2/16 at 7:54 pm to prplhze2000
It's been tried about 10 times. It's dead. Get used to it.
Posted on 5/2/16 at 8:16 pm to prplhze2000
I walked through the old Catfish Town going to the Belle once....repeat, once! Talk about a shithole that area of town is and probably the shittiest, most dirty casino I have ever been in.
This post was edited on 5/2/16 at 8:19 pm
Posted on 5/2/16 at 8:23 pm to prplhze2000
If I recall Catfish town wasn't much of anything.
Posted on 5/2/16 at 8:24 pm to prplhze2000
What the hell is catfish town
Posted on 5/2/16 at 8:27 pm to Commandeaux
quote:
What the hell is catfish town
It was the worlds largest Catfish Aquarium. In Baton Rouge. The whole thing was under a big glass enclosure with catfish swimming around. There was a restaurant underneath it and you could pick your own catfish, they'd catch it right in front of you and then cook it.
Posted on 5/2/16 at 8:29 pm to fr33manator
The sign off of I-10 at government always said "catfish town" in that direction turn left.
Posted on 5/2/16 at 8:32 pm to Commandeaux
It was the first attempt to "bring back" downtown BR, which had been in gradual decline throughout the 70's as shopping moved out towards Cortana and Bar Marche.
They took a bunch of old brick warehouses near the river and renovated them, and then built a big glass atrium between them. The idea was to create a sorta downtown mall (like Union Station in St. Louis). The problem was, it was opened just in time for the great oil crunch of the mid 80s. Downtown basically was shuttered and has only just started to recover the last 8 years. I remember going in the mid 90s when it was on its last legs, but not long after, catfish town was no more.
The Belle of Baton Rouge Casino took over the space and made it a giant atrium for their casino where they have a bar, a buffet, and a stage for concerts, but it's all pretty sad and pathetic. A massively failed execution of an idea that really was about 30 years ahead of its time.
However, if we're going to bring back an extinct dinosaur of BR's downtown past, give me the Kingfish!
They took a bunch of old brick warehouses near the river and renovated them, and then built a big glass atrium between them. The idea was to create a sorta downtown mall (like Union Station in St. Louis). The problem was, it was opened just in time for the great oil crunch of the mid 80s. Downtown basically was shuttered and has only just started to recover the last 8 years. I remember going in the mid 90s when it was on its last legs, but not long after, catfish town was no more.
The Belle of Baton Rouge Casino took over the space and made it a giant atrium for their casino where they have a bar, a buffet, and a stage for concerts, but it's all pretty sad and pathetic. A massively failed execution of an idea that really was about 30 years ahead of its time.
However, if we're going to bring back an extinct dinosaur of BR's downtown past, give me the Kingfish!
This post was edited on 5/2/16 at 8:35 pm
Posted on 5/2/16 at 8:48 pm to BabyTac
Have you ever been to New Orleans?
Posted on 5/2/16 at 9:11 pm to kingbob
It didn't have the atrium when first built. It was about 20 years ahead of its time though.
My mom still has her sign from the shop she had there in our attic. Sold LA gifts on consignment from local artists. I know the first Coffee Call and original Byronz were in there too.
You're right though, it's depressing what that casino did to the area.
Previous TD thread
LINK
My mom still has her sign from the shop she had there in our attic. Sold LA gifts on consignment from local artists. I know the first Coffee Call and original Byronz were in there too.
You're right though, it's depressing what that casino did to the area.
Previous TD thread
LINK
This post was edited on 5/2/16 at 9:20 pm
Posted on 5/2/16 at 9:14 pm to The Cool No 9
quote:
The sign off of I-10 at government always said "catfish town" in that direction turn left.
Yes, indeed. Probably the most Baton Rouge sign in all of Baton Rouge.
Posted on 5/2/16 at 9:18 pm to LSUTigersVCURams
I worked at a store in catfish town while in college. Good times were had.
Posted on 5/2/16 at 9:35 pm to TigerRob20
quote:
I know the first Coffee Call and original Byronz were in there too.
Nope on both counts. Coffee Call's original location was Village Square, opened before Catfish Town. Original Byronz was on S Eugene at Government St.
Posted on 5/2/16 at 9:37 pm to Asgard Device
Is it fair to say it was basically like Perkins Rowe minus the movie theatre and condos/apts?
Posted on 5/2/16 at 9:42 pm to LSUstudent2006
More locally owned places and not really many national retailers like Perkins Rowe.
Posted on 5/2/16 at 10:03 pm to LSUstudent2006
quote:
Is it fair to say it was basically like Perkins Rowe minus the movie theatre and condos/apts?
No, not at all. Perkins Rowe is a cash grab development that lacks character and has more hoodlums. Catfish Town was mostly local shops and had an ecclectic mix of regulars that hardly bought anything. Kids would come during field trips and that would be the busiest we got. All the employees at the various shops had secks with each other and weed was everywhere. There was a cop that would "fake arrest" new employees for a good laugh. I lost my virginity on the levee after a shift and once Mike Maggio threw a plate of pasta at me only to have it smash on the wall behind me.
Plus, Cortana Mall was still pretty hopping back then and Bon Marche was still open, I think.
This post was edited on 5/2/16 at 10:06 pm
Posted on 5/2/16 at 10:08 pm to kingbob
My understanding is that weekday evening events such as live music shows in the atrium started becoming successful. Music clubs were planned for the venue.
City Father (a-k-a Ossie Brown) said "we can't have these young people having fun and possibly [gasp] drinking al-kee-hawl in our beloved downtown" and that was the quick end to Catfish Town.
City Father (a-k-a Ossie Brown) said "we can't have these young people having fun and possibly [gasp] drinking al-kee-hawl in our beloved downtown" and that was the quick end to Catfish Town.
Posted on 5/2/16 at 10:08 pm to prplhze2000
Sounds like a REALLY cheap strip club
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