Louisiana | Photo of the Day

[dimebag1980]

Oh yea!

Can you imagineTiger Stadium if the proposed plans of making the upper level a horshoe and adding another upper-deck behind an enzone, or maybe even both become a reality? 125,000+ crazy LSU fans in Death Valley on a Saturday night! And what's scary is that LSU could have a football staduim with a capacity of over 145,000, and still have people on the waiting list for tickets!

You can't be serious... that's the proposal? They just expanded the place, didn't they?

That place is truly amazing, and Baton Rouge is a very lucky city to have a college stadium of that magnitude. We have 50,000-seat Indy Stadium, although I guess that's good considering we don't even have a major school in this area.

But Tiger Stadium is truly an amazing place.

[richyb83]

Ye ask, ye shall recieve . Nice stuff their Nate, some serious zoom ?

I noticed with the pic behind the staduim, to the right of the LSU sign, the 7th and 8th floor of one of the Southgate Towers ! The next phase calls for a condo of 18-stories, you can probably look into Tiger Stadium from the top floor ! Imagine that. Someone else said 16-floors; not too sure ?

LSU is trying to take the common-man out of te equation concerning season tickets. Funds/donations/sur-charges, whatever it's called , it's getting expensive !!!

[NCB]

You can't be serious... that's the proposal? They just expanded the place, didn't they?

It's being looked over and studied by LSU and TAF I believe. They just put on a new west deck(which you can see in the above photo, though it's on the right side in the photo) which added abour 3000 seats to the capacity. And I agree, Tiger Stadium is an amazing place, with great history, atmosphere, fans, and tailgating! I love it.

[dimebag1980]

...you can probably look into Tiger Stadium from the top floor ! Imagine that.

Now that would be cool! Who wouldn't pay a pretty penny for that kind of action!? A pair of binoculars for the finer details and you're set.

[NCB]

Ye ask, ye shall recieve . Nice stuff their Nate, some serious zoom ?

I noticed with the pic behind the staduim, to the right of the LSU sign, the 7th and 8th floor of one of the Southgate Towers ! The next phase calls for a condo of 18-stories, you can probably look into Tiger Stadium from the top floor ! Imagine that. Someone else said 16-floors; not too sure ?

LSU is trying to take the common-man out of te equation concerning season tickets. Funds/donations/sur-charges, whatever it's called , it's getting expensive !!!

Thanks! I didn't have to use all of my zoom on that pic, but I know it was at least half. And the LSU season tickets are definately getting expensive, but for the most part, the loyal LSU fans just keep paying and donating so that things like building a new Alex Box Stadium,(currently under construction) completely renovating and upgrading the PMAC, putting a new west deck on Tiger Stadium, and possibly even adding 20,000+ more seats to Death Valley can be done.

[dimebag1980]

Thanks! I didn't have to use all of my zoom on that pic, but I know it was at least half.

that would have been full zoom on my camera, since mine zooms to 6x and yours to 12x.

And the LSU season tickets are definately getting expensive, but for the most part, the loyal LSU fans just keep paying and donating so that things like building a new Alex Box Stadium,(currently under construction) completely renovating and upgrading the PMAC, putting a new west deck on Tiger Stadium, and possibly even adding 20,000+ more seats to Death Valley can be done.

Amazing. I really don't know what else to say... just amazing. I'm really surprised Shreveport has a bowl game and Baton Rouge doesn't. But I believe the days are numbered for Shreveport's I-Bowl. They still don't have a title sponsor, and without one I'm not sure they could even make it through this year. They played last year's game completely without a title sponsor and it was a financial wreck.

[Mith242]

Nice pics Nate.

It is odd about the bowl situation. Maybe historically speaking people thought Baton Rouge was too close to New Orleans for them to have a bowl. Hopefully Shreveport will be able to do something and not lose their bowl. Especially when it seems like new bowls are being added.

[NCB]

^Yea the fact that Baton Rouge is only 70 miles away from New Orleans, which is already one of the very few cities to host two bowl games plays a major role in Baton Rouge not having a bowl game. And I really hope Shreveport is able to keep the I-Bowl, it's good financially,(if they can get a title sponsor) national exposure, tourism, etc. That, and Louisiana is one of the few states of its size to host 3 bowl games, we're up there with states with much higher populations like Texas, California, and Florida, which is nice.

[richyb83]

They just added three more Bowls(one for Birmingham !)...that's 31. 62 teams ! I love all the Bowls as much as anyone, but when a team is playing .500 Football with records of 6 and 6 (they are going back to 12-game regular season), that's not very impressive for all Bowl Team.

The competition in the SEC is second-to-none ! When the Tennessee's and Florida's did all their upgrading, soon LSU had no choice but to do the same.

Edited April 29, 2006 by richyb83

[NCB]

Hey guys, have any of you ever heard of a book called "Lost Louisiana?"

It's filled with around 250 photos from around Louisiana dating back to the first photograph ever taken in Louisiana in 1844 to the early stages of WWII. It's just amazing. And it doesn't focus mostly on New Orleans or the larger cities, there are pictures from everywhere. Towns that were destroyed by hurricanes and floods in the early 1900's are in there, as are many pictures from across the state during the oil boom. There are pictures of old sporting events and locations, farming, logging, and all kinds of other industry's. Pictures of literally whatever you could think of are in this book. There are plenty of pictures of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Alexandria, and Monroe when they were all booming, as well as the smaller towns(including Covington, Mandeville, and Madisonville, which I really like looking at) across the state. I'm going to try to take pictures of some of the pictures in the book and see if I can post them to give you a taste of what's in there. Some of my favorite pictures are the aerials of Baton Rouge from the late 1800's/early 1900's and there is one photo of Canal Street in 1860 that I love.

Anyway, I don't want to sound like I'm trying to sell you the book, but I just wanted to let y'all know about it. It's quite fascinating and eerie to look at pictures from 1910 of booming towns that were comlpetely wiped off the map the next year by a hurricane, looking at the city you live in now in a picture taken 106 years ago, or even a picture of say downtown Shreveport with streetcars, and seeing how much has changed.

This is all I could find about the book on the internet

[NCB]

Ok guys, I took 13 pictures of the pictures in the book. Most of them are from larger cities, but I was trying to find the larger photos so that I didn't really have to zoom in. I'll post the photo, and then use the caption that is written next to it in the book. I'm sorry for the bluriness of some of the images, but some still came out alright.

At right,(now below) one of the earliest photographs of Canal Streetin New Orleans taken in the 1850's.

Another aerial of Baton Rouge showing more of the city in 1927.

Third Street looking north in Alexandria. Circa 1936.

The official opening of the Long-Allen Brige in Shreveport, October 1933. Senator Huey Long and Governor O.K. Allen are on the speaker's platform in the middle of Texas Street. The Louisiana State University Band is seated with backs to the camera.

Aerial view of Monroe, probably taken in the 1930's.

Canal Street in New Orleans, circa 1940's.

Bauer & Weil on Front Street in Alexandria was a center of commerce at the turn of the century.

Baton Rouge inaugurated its horse-drawn streetcar line in about 1890.

Left,(now below) Shreveport recieved its first electric streetcars on October 4, 1890, shown here at the corner of Texas and Market streets.

A dozen river packets load cotten at the wharf in New Orleans in 1859.

At right,(now below) the Old State Capitol displays its magnificence, prior to the Civil War.

And this is a caption not used in the book, this is the New State Capitol under construction in 1931.

I know most of these photographs were of bigger cities in somewhat later times, but most of the pictures of smaller towns from much earlier times were smaller, and it's very hard to get a clear image at that point, so I was looking for the larger photos. If my power doesn't go out later tonight(which I seriously doubt) I'll try to post some more photos.

Hope you liked these as much as I did!

Though most of the most interesting photo's are from earlier times, meaning they are smaller. I'll try my best to post some of them as well though.

[byrde]

Those old photo's are cool. Post more when you get a chance.

[richyb83]

Thanks for sharing those neat pics. The State Capitol looks a little crooked, ha

I guess they decided to chop-off those extensions of those turets on the Old State Capitol.

Canal Street was even cool back then ! "Main Street" Louisiana.

[dimebag1980]

They just added three more Bowls(one for Birmingham !)...that's 31. 62 teams ! I love all the Bowls as much as anyone, but when a team is playing .500 Football with records of 6 and 6 (they are going back to 12-game regular season), that's not very impressive for all Bowl Team.

The competition in the SEC is second-to-none ! When the Tennessee's and Florida's did all their upgrading, soon LSU had no choice but to do the same.

We're really getting into a serious "anyone can go to a bowl game regardless of how good or bad they are" situation and saturating the BCS. It takes the thrill out of bowl games, to be honest. But alas, there will always be games like the Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, etc.

[dimebag1980]

Ok guys, I took 13 pictures of the pictures in the book. Most of them are from larger cities, but I was trying to find the larger photos so that I didn't really have to zoom in. I'll post the photo, and then use the caption that is written next to it in the book. I'm sorry for the bluriness of some of the images, but some still came out alright.

.photos and captions snipped.

I know most of these photographs were of bigger cities in somewhat later times, but most of the pictures of smaller towns from much earlier times were smaller, and it's very hard to get a clear image at that point, so I was looking for the larger photos. If my power doesn't go out later tonight(which I seriously doubt) I'll try to post some more photos.

Hope you liked these as much as I did!

Though most of the most interesting photo's are from earlier times, meaning they are smaller. I'll try my best to post some of them as well though.

Awesome stuff, Nate. You da man! The State Capitol construction photo is really cool. Oh, and did you realize the importance of the oil wells on Caddo Lake? That is where the very first off-shore oil rigs were used.

[tombarnes]

Those old photos are fantastic! Please post more!

[NCB]

Canal Street was even cool back then ! "Main Street" Louisiana.

I would love to be able to travel through time and New Orleans' history. Canal Street's history is very interesting. It was named "Canal Street" because originally a canal was supposed to be dug in the middle of the street,(you can see this in the street's design in the pick from the 1850's) but that never happened. Instead, it is now said to be the widest street in America to be called "street" rather than avenue or boulevard.

If you look at pictures through time of Canal Street, you can see just how much has happened and changed there. I would love to see Canal Street as it was in the 1940's in person. The city had a greater population and population density then than it did in 2000, and at that point, Canal was the leading shopping destination for everyone in the area, with department stores lining the streets. The old streetcars where still there, as were most of the old 12+ streetcar lines that New Orleans had, all of the old street level lit up signs were there, as were many other things that have been gone for decades. Canal Street, IMO, is an example of a great part of New Orleans, that could've been even better if so many things hadn't been replaced for more modern things.

BTW, you guys can expect a Canal Street thread, filled with pictures of the past, present, and hopefully future, along with history, soon.

[NCB]

Awesome stuff, Nate. You da man! The State Capitol construction photo is really cool. Oh, and did you realize the importance of the oil wells on Caddo Lake? That is where the very first off-shore oil rigs were used.

I didn't know that, Brian! Thats a huge deal!

Those old photos are fantastic! Please post more!

Coming up! If you guys will be online in about 20-25 minutes, they should be on then!

[dimebag1980]

I didn't know that, Brian! Thats a huge deal!

I was certainly impressed when I first found that out. Oil City is where the majority of all the oilexploration has occurred on Caddo Lake over the years. They have an oil museum there but I've never stopped in. Oil City, to myself and most other people, is just a stop off La. Hwy. 1 between Shreveport and Texarkana.

Coming up! If you guys will be online in about 20-25 minutes, they should be on then!

After 10:00 pm, I'm usually glued to this place until I get so tired I have to pry my butt from this chair and go to sleep.

[NCB]

Ok here are a few more, I'm sorry it took so long, it takes awhile to take pictures of the pictures in the book, upload them, copy the captions, and then post them. Actually I really wasn't expecting to have power after this storm rolled through.

Alexandria's Front Street in 1891

The oldest surviving photograph in existense taken in Louisiana. It shows a part of Canal Street in New Orleans with horse-drawn coaches and trees recently planted. Taken in 1844-46.

The caption in the book says "The original St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans, circa 1850's." But that can't be correct as the original St. Charles Hotel I belive burned down in 1837, the second hotel was then built on the same sight, and I believe this is in fact the second hotel. This hotel was later destroyed as well, and the third hotel was completed in 1904. The third hotel stayed there until 1983, when it was demolished so that Bank One Center, New Orleans' second tallest skyscraper could be built.

The street is filled with mud in this turn-of-the-century photograph of New Iberia. The Hotel Frederic is at right.

Canal Street in New Orleans looking west from Clay Statue, circa 1888.

Christmas Eve in 1900 on Main Street in Opelousas

Main Street in Baton Rouge in 1901

A rare photograph of Bayou Sara, a town on the Mississippi River near St. Franciscville destroyed by the floods of the river. Circa 1919.

Lafayette's Gordon Hotel. No date.

An unusual view of Baton Rouge taken in 1912 from the USS Nebraska, shows the record high water of the Mississippi River.

Canal Street in New Orleans. Circa 1920's.

Haynesville during the oil boom of the 1920's. Haynesville doesn't seem to be booming much anymore, it has a population of 2,679, and is located in Claiborne Parish very near the LA/AR border.

I tried to get pictures of some of the smaller photos, so that is why most of them are very blurry. More to come!

[dimebag1980]

Oh, wow.... I didn't realize you were taking photos of photos in a book! I just assumed you were getting these online.

This gives me ideas... I have two books I'd love to do that with: a book about the tornado that leveled the vast majority of Bossier City back in '78 and a book called 'Shreveport in Vintage Postcards.' The postcard book is very similar to the book you're looking at, except it's just Shreveport.

May I ask what book you're taking photos of? Maybe I've seen it at Barnes & Noble.

By the way... thanks. These pictures are awesome. And I had no idea about Canal Street's name... I just assumed it was named that because of all the canals existing in New Orleans. A canal would look cool running down that street, but the street cars are awesome.

Edited April 30, 2006 by SBCmetroguy

[NCB]

May I ask what book you're taking photos of? Maybe I've seen it at Barnes & Noble.

Check out the post I made above the first set of historic pictures for info on the book.

[dimebag1980]

Check out the post I made above the first set of historic pictures for info on the book.

My bad. I even almost said in that same post, "If you already posted this, sorry... I missed it."

And to think, I was talking smack about people not knowing which building was the Wyndham when I obviously couldn't read to save my life.

[NCB]

And to think, I was talking smack about people not knowing which building was the Wyndham when I obviously couldn't read to save my life.

Haha, we all have our moments.

[Mith242]

Nice old pics Nate. I've had a hard time finding many books on my city.