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Catfish Town 35th Anniversary
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:03 pm
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:03 pm
May marks the 35 year anniversary of the opening of Catfish Town, a downtown Baton Rouge development project hyped to the moon as the next big thing which would put Baton Rouge on cultural par with NOLA. It quickly crashed in spectacular, Hindenburg-esque fashion.
Part of Catfish Town was redeveloped into what is now the Belle of Baton Rouge atrium.
Part of Catfish Town was redeveloped into what is now the Belle of Baton Rouge atrium.
This post was edited on 5/1/19 at 12:07 pm
13
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:06 pm to Draconian Sanctions
25?
I thought Catfish Town had it's insanely brief start in the mid-80s?
I thought Catfish Town had it's insanely brief start in the mid-80s?
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:07 pm to Draconian Sanctions
Never understood why it didn’t work out. People have been wanting to galvanize downtown for decades now.
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:07 pm to cleeveclever
Youre right, it’s 35. frick I am old.
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:08 pm to Draconian Sanctions
quote:
Youre right, it’s 35. frick I am old.
I was thinking no way that place was opened when I was a teenager. I remember it as a kid.
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:11 pm to Paul Allen
quote:
Never understood why it didn’t work out.
The word I remember was:
A: Opened right before the oil crash
B: They catered too much to families who didn’t want to go downtown rather than adults.
C: They allowed you to take drinks out of establishments (though not outside Catfish Town) for awhile and when they decided to crack down on this it killed the vibe.
This post was edited on 5/1/19 at 12:13 pm
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:11 pm to Paul Allen
My dad used to take me to Steinberg's right near there fairly often and we'd go eat pizza at the Pastime.
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:13 pm to Draconian Sanctions
Mamacita’s Mexican 
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:14 pm to Paul Allen
quote:Nobody ever went there because it was always too crowded.
Never understood why it didn’t work out.
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:14 pm to fallguy_1978
quote:
Steinberg's
GOAT
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:19 pm to Draconian Sanctions
quote:
The word I remember was:
A: Opened right before the oil crash
B: They catered too much to families who didn’t want to go downtown rather than adults.
C: They allowed you to take drinks out of establishments (though not outside Catfish Town) for awhile and when they decided to crack down on this it killed the vibe.
That sounds about right. I remember it was a huge deal when it opened. So much so, that I recall taking a school field trip there for some opening ceremony, when I was in grade school.
Even in the early days, there just never seemed to be many people there and (as an OT poor), I seem to recall to the shops catering to a higher-end clientele. Just never seemed like much was going on.
Also, it's important to note how absolutely dead BR downtown was at that time. So Catfish Town had to be a destination because unless you were going to see the Ice Capades at the Centroplex, there wasn't much else reason to be downtown.
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:31 pm to Draconian Sanctions
There were a bunch of restaurants and specialty stores. Louies on the Levee, the Catfish Town Pub, Coffee Call a high end French joint and a bar or two mixed in with those local kinda shops.
It was packed for the three months and then cratered. I think I worked there six months before I saw it wasnt gonna last. LSU football weekends were jammed though. I recall a ND game with a goal line stand that was a great weekend.
I was a junior in high school. frick.
It was packed for the three months and then cratered. I think I worked there six months before I saw it wasnt gonna last. LSU football weekends were jammed though. I recall a ND game with a goal line stand that was a great weekend.
I was a junior in high school. frick.
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:32 pm to danfraz
Hung out with this guy I worked with who we went and saw Pink Flamingos with Divine at the Varsity when it was still a movie theater.
Both of us were deeply disturbed.
Both of us were deeply disturbed.
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:34 pm to fallguy_1978
quote:
we'd go eat pizza at the Pastime.
The best oyster po-boy back in the day, and long neck Falstaff beer
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:37 pm to Draconian Sanctions
It’s gonna be Yuge ! Wait until we get the US Olympic Festival later this Summer . Baton Rouge is going to be on the map baby! Any day now they will build a loop and by the mid 90s we will be on fire!
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:40 pm to Draconian Sanctions
quote:
C: They allowed you to take drinks out of establishments (though not outside Catfish Town) for awhile and when they decided to crack down on this it killed the vibe.
And they repeated the same mistake years later and killed whatever vibe 3rd Street had going.
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:50 pm to Loungefly85
Is Third Street going to be able to get that vibe back?
Posted on 5/1/19 at 12:53 pm to Draconian Sanctions
Are you talkin bout “Patfish Town”?
No one ever said that.
quote:
Catfish Town, a downtown Baton Rouge development project hyped to the moon as the next big thing which would put Baton Rouge on cultural par with NOLA.
No one ever said that.
Posted on 5/1/19 at 3:52 pm to Jimbeaux
Yes they did
Posted on 5/1/19 at 4:00 pm to Lsupimp
National Sports Festival
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