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Hey Brian, you do what you gotta do. Day by day since Nate went to DC things in the Louisiana forum have really slowed down. I have also noticed many other forums on UP have slown down too(not all). I guess alot of people must be going on vacations this time of year ?

I think having Barksdale right next to where you live is cool. Does it get loud with all the aircraft/activity going on around there ?

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Hey Brian, you do what you gotta do. Day by day since Nate went to DC things in the Louisiana forum have really slowed down. I have also noticed many other forums on UP have slown down too(not all). I guess alot of people must be going on vacations this time of year ?

I think having Barksdale right next to where you live is cool. Does it get loud with all the aircraft/activity going on around there ?

I made my post in the Shreveport City profile thread over there. I just didn't want to take away from your thread here.

I have definitely noticed how slow it's gotten and I do know many people are on vacations. Two who I know more personally than most would be Nate and Rod (Mith242.) With us not having these two guys around, things have definitely slowed down.

I actually grew up 1 mile off the Base, and to be honest, while it's loud you do get used to it. It's just like living right next to railroad tracks. And yes, before buying this house I lived in a very cheaply-constructed apartment complex that was built right next to some very busy railroad tracks. I eventually got used to that just as I did the B-52s.

Now I live just off the East Reservation of the base. While I still hear an occasional plane going over, I'm mostly out of their flight pattern now. Instead, now I live less than 1 mile from one of the nation's largest nuclear stockpiles, which is kept out here on the East Res. I also live 5 miles or less west of the only black powder plant in North America. Yikes! :D

PS... good to see you still posting daily!!!

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

^Definitely good,although it seems like a long way to ride a bike. Of course, I'm kind of lazy, so it's probably not as long as I make it out to be.

It is not very hard to ride 2.5 miles. My 4 year old rides the levee with me. From Florida street, down to Skip Bertman and then back. 5 miles is not difficult on a bike.

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Yeah, 2.5 miles on a bike really isn't tough at all. I try to run about 2.5 miles a day, 3 or 4 times a week, and I'll tell you on a bike it's like nothing. I ride the Saint Tammany Trace every so often, and it extends all they way from outside of Covington across all of Saint Tammany Parish and into Mississippi. I've never riden the entire thing, but I know many people that do it regularly.

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For sure. I used to have a bicycle route that I rode many days of the week, which was 17 miles round-trip. That was a bit tiring, but up until about 10 miles it was fine. 2.5 miles is nothing. Of course I say that, but if I got up on my bike today I bet I couldn't do it anymore without dropping dead.

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Hey, good to see yall in the BR forums today. More activity than usual.

Between LSU and Downtown is a blighted/ghetto type neighborhood called South BR. The largest restoration project in the city's history has gotten underway with new libraries(need to get a pic) and re-built schools. But trust me, there is ALOT to do.

The Nicholson Drive corridor is somewhat nicer with tree-lined median and Magnolia Mound Plantation, still some blighted area. The Red Stick Condo's are near completion. The old delapadated shopping center and condemned hotel properties have been purchased. I expect this area to be transformed in a few years.

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It was built in the mid-late 1970s as the Baton Rouge Hilton by a colorful Baton Rouge businessman named T. D. Bickham. The hotel never did terribly well, going in and out of bankruptcy a couple of times. Finally, it was sold and re-flagged as a Marriott. I don't know, but I think it is finally doing better financially. There was a nightclub/disco there called TD's, named, of course, for Mr. Bickham. We never stayed there, but did go to the restaurant on occasion. I don't remember anything too special about the restaurant. It would have been much better downtown, but downtown wasn't exact;ly flourishing when this was built.

I would like to correct the post from TomBarnes concerning the history of the Baton Rouge Hilton (now the Baton Rouge Mariott).

The hotel was not built by T. D. Bickham, nor did it go in and out of bankruptcy a "couple of times". The hotel was built in the middle 1970's by a company controlled by Jules B. Leblanc, III. Mr. Le Blanc and his family, at the time, were a politically well connected family. His father, sister and one brother were all lawyers and members of a old time prominent Baton Rouge family. Mr. Le Blanc still resides in Baton Rouge and practices law.

The Hilton was one part of a planned commercial development called Corporate Square. In addition to the Hilton the development included a small upscale mall, several office buildings and the Louisiana National Bank's (now Chase) operations center. Mr. Leblanc's company filed bankrupty and the mortgage holder of the hotel ended up with the property.

My late father, T. D. Bickham, Jr., through a closely held family coroporation, purchased the hotel from the mortgage holder in 1980. Eventually this family coroporation purchased several more properties in the develepment including the mall, two of the office buildings and some vacant land adjacent to the hotel. The hotel underwent extensive rennovations after the Bickham purchase. With the exception of the first year of operation under the Bickham ownership, the hotel was quite profitable.

My father died in 1982 and the family continued to operate the hotel for many years thereafter. It was only sold when the family was made an offer that we could not refuse due to the amount of profit that was to be made on the property. The new owners (a management company) immediately sold the property to another party and it became the Mariott shortly thereafter.

Over the years the Bickham Company sold off the other properties in the Corporate Square development with the exception of the vacant land adjacent to the hotel which is still owned by the Bickham family.

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Wow, thanks Dennis and welcome to Urban Planet. Very interesting indeed.

I like the name Corporate Square (called now?) and remembered it being a mall when I was a kid. My Dad worked at Steinberg's Sporting Goods. I also remember when Corporate Blvd. was a 3/4 mile long dead-end to the woods. Of course Corporate Blvd. is now extended to Old Hammond Hwy. And now the hottest piece of undeveloped property in the middle of BR(Corporate Square >west; Old Goodwood> north;I-10 Bocage>southeast) . Now that's quickly filing up with CitiPlace, Condo's, upscale neigborhood and new Towne Center. A new Business Park and Hotel will be between all this too.

That's always been an impressive developed area. A major business district about 4 miles from the CBD. They had an 8-story & 6-story office building, and some other large ones too. At 22-stories the Maroitt is BR's tallest hotel. I always wondered why the hotel was not downtown along our riverfront? I recently took pics of this area I will post soon. :thumbsup: But the location is ideal being at the I-10/12 Split and not too far from LSU. I like the way to turn the corner at 10/12 and all the sudden you see the Mariott.

Corporate Square combined with CitiPlace and new Towne Center have made the corridor an Uptown type of enviroment.

Hey Dennis, it sure has been good to see downtown BR come back.

Edited by richyb83
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They upgraded the Baton Rouge articles on Wikipedia again. :D For one they put a lot more buildings in the tallest buildings column. They also added an artcile about RiverPlace Condominiums. I don't think it's right, but it would still be nice if it was.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RiverPlace_Condominiums

Edited by dan326
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Thanks Dan. What confusion there is on RiverPlace. Dang Hurricanes! It's joined an impressive project's list on wiki.

People forget the State Capitol is at a higher elevation than RiverPlace. Even at 36-stories+ 3 level parking RiverPlace would rival( be very close) in height to the Capitol. Not automatically taller. As it stands? 30-stories will still be very nice, but that would keep the Capitol with the tallest title between Houston and New Orleans.

Edited by richyb83
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Actually, it looks like we've had other people come in and edit the "Tallest Buildings" page as well. I had added a few new projects, building heights, etc. and it seems someone else came in and added many of the other projects. Either way, glad to help with what I can, guys! :thumbsup:

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