re: Living downtown as a new grad

Little Rock actually is about the same size. Greenville is much smaller, and that is a nice looking downtown from the pictures.

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I wasn't here but white flight must have absolutely gutted BR.

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It wasn't just "white flight", it was also the oil crunch of the 80's.

50 years ago, Baton Rouge's downtown was a thriving shopping district filled with antique stores, boutique clothing shops, and home to one of the largest department stores in the South, Goudchaux's.

First, the completion of I-110 ran right through the edge of downtown, cutting off Goudchaux's from the rest. That neighborhood slowly began to deteriorate as it was cut off from the rest of downtown.

Second, Cortana Mall was built in the 1970's out in what was then the suburbs near Airline and Florida Blvd. Much of the retail traffic began to shift out to the new white suburbs rather than the old urban core. However, downtown hung in there until the 1980's and the oil crunch. Louisiana's economy basically came to a halt overnight. Goudchaux's shut down as the surrounding neighborhood completely deteriorated. The shops along 3rd street basically all shut their doors. The Catfish Town development quickly turned into a boondoggle of epic proportions. Downtown became a ghost town for the next 20 years.

Making matters worse was the federal desegregation order. Baton Rouge went from having one of the best public school systems in the state to one of the worst in the country. White flight was triggered in an "all hands on deck" exodus from the city center. By the early 2000's, even the area around Cortana Mall had become crime-ridden, causing the construction of a new mall, The Mall of Louisiana, to be built along I-10. Drawing development further and further away from the urban core.

In the late 90's, the state government began a building campaign to bring more state offices back downtown. With this meant more foot traffic for restaurants. Downtown went from 1 restaurant to 3, then 5, then 15. Expansions at the Rivercenter meant more conventions. Renovations to buildings brought more office space. Spanish Town became a hip neighborhood for young government employees and lawyers to live. Improvements to the Louisiana Arts and Science Museum brought more families and students on class field trips.

Hurricane Katrina brought a population boom to the city, and with it, more demands for housing and entertainment options. More importantly, it brought more car traffic, causing some people to boomerang back from the suburbs to neighborhoods closer to downtown, like Capitol Heights, Southdowns, and the Garden District.

The Shaw Center brought more cultural events downtown. More festivals were added like Fest-for-All, Earth Day, Jambalaya Jam, and the Blues Festival. Baton Rouge Mardi Gras expanded adding more krewes and parades downtown.

Finally, about 10 years ago, bars started to open up downtown catering to the happy hour crowd. Live After 5 started up as another initiative to keep workers downtown after work to patronize the budding bar scene. The bars and music venues slowly grew in number and size. The south side of downtown, called Beauregard Town, went from being a poor, rundown neighborhood, to a trendy spot filled with law offices and young professionals.

Finally, there's a new grocery store downtown, a real one, and new apartments and lofts opening up every day. I have seen the change in my lifetime.

The new Nicholson Corridor project should help to bridge the gap between LSU and downtown. The proposed Mid-City streetcar and BR-NOLA commuter rail will help to gentrify the short stretch separating downtown from Capital Heights and the Garden District.

Old South Baton Rouge ghetto is rapidly shrinking, all to downtown's benefit.

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kingbob

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Excellent post.

Baton Rouge has finally put the collapse of it's main industry behind it and they are taking steps to diversify. I'd like to see a similar focus on redeveloping and improving other parts of the city similar to the progression seen downtown over the past 12 years.

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Thanks for the history lesson kingbob! My first BR experience was staying at the Hilton downtown for a job interview in 2006

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You should have seen it in 2002/2003. That historic old hotel was abandoned with smashed in windows. Nothing was open past 5pm. I think Poor Boy Lloyd's and Frost top may have been two of only a handful of downtown restaurants to have survived the 1980s/1990s.

It's definitely night and day from that time now. I knew they were doing well when they started building new hotels and condominiums....but the addition of a grocery store is a huge milestone. The IBM facility and the jobs it brings to the region is huge for both the state and the city. It being downtown is a huge bonus. Hopefully they land a couple of more projects like that over the next decade.

Go for it. You'll be within walking distance of everything you need. Get a monthly rate at one of those parking garages.

Downtown BR has actually turned out to be pretty nice. The people I know that live there enjoy it.