LOUISIANA - Extraordinary Capitol City! - Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Looking down N 4th Street towards the State Capitol with beautiful St. Joseph Cathedral on the right
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
The Capital city of Louisiana is situated along the banks of the muddy Mississippi. The name "Baton Rouge" is derived from the reports of the Sieur d'Iberville expedition that passed this way in 1699. These explorers noticed a "Red Pole" (which is what Baton Rouge means in French) that the Indians had sunk into the ground on a bluff that marked the dividing line between two bands hunting lands. 316 years later, Baton Rouge is a thriving metropolis with a population of over 228,000. There is a large levee along the bank of the Mississippi River and a nice red brick river walk with benches you can sit on to observe the sunset over the river and the Horace Wilkinson Bridge which carries I-10 across the river. Baton Rouge is home to one of the largest oil refineries in the world. The Sprawling Exxon-Mobil facility can be seen from the 27th floor observation deck of the Louisiana State Capitol building which by the way, is a 34 story Art Deco style skyscraper and at 450 feet tall, the tallest State Capitol in the Nation. When I visited this city I enjoyed walking the riverfront where there are Casinos moored that look like giant old steamboats. The wonderfully restored USS Kidd Destroyer is also a permanent fixture on the waterfront. I walked down the levee to the river bank and when I looked back at the concrete levee I noticed the words "Baton Rouge" in large red letters and the French "Fluer-de-lis" emblem in between the two words. When I turned my attention back to the river I watch numerous tugs pushing barges full of products destined for ports upstream and down the river. These little workhorses growled loudly as they dug into the river to push a mess of barges many times their size. My stop in Baton Rouge was very brief but if you are ever transiting Louisiana on Interstate 10 make sure that you plan some time to explore this fascinating place as there are dozens of interesting things to see.

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