Baton Rouge vs. Shreveport

[dimebag1980]

^You've really been active since you joined, supkof! Right now your averaging nearly 17 posts per day!

Not bad I suppose. But expect that to level off some once sales pick back up at work. I've spent more time online than normal, simply because we're in the first week of the new fiscal year right now and that's always a slow time. All our sales are pushed through at the end of a fiscal year to make our annual numbers, and the beginning of a new year is always extremely slow. BUT I'll always be around... this is a cool place and "supkof" will be here for a long while, God willing.

[NCB]

Not bad I suppose.

Not bad at all!

[dimebag1980]

Yep , Tom ! I felt the same way about Shreveport being an extension of Texas. Last summer while in Shreveport , a Dallas Cowboy was on the cover of the Football magazines over there. Here in BR ,the NO Saints are on the covers of the magazines !

Then there is that big Lone Star Flag in Shreveport near the airport Holiday Inn too .

Is there really a Texas flag flying at the Airport Holiday Inn? Now is that actually the Airport Holiday Inn, or the other Holiday Inn just across the Inner Loop from there? There are two right there, and while I'm not disputing that there's a Texas flag there, I have just never noticed it. Next time I'm out that way I'll have to look. There's a Chinese restaurant out there that my wife and I love... and when we feel like driving 40 minutes to go to it, we do. We may even do it this weekend, depending on what the doctor tells me on Friday.

I agree that Shreveport is very similar to Texas, but it has its Louisiana culture as well. It's kind of a strange mix, but I think it's cool... it has its own flavor... kind of like Lake Charles. It's quite a mix of two prominent cultures in this area: Texas and Louisiana.

[bigboyz05]

You know what if NW Louisiana was it's own state it could be called Texiana, Tex from Texas and iana from Louisiana.

[dimebag1980]

You know what if NW Louisiana was it's own state it could be called Texiana, Tex from Texas and iana from Louisiana.

Yeah but then we'd be a copycat Texarkana.

[richyb83]

I sure am glad Shreveport is in Louisiana . I have heard it said that many, not from our State, thinks of Louisiana as New Orleans and it's suburbs . Most people probably do not feel that way , it just seems that way sometimes. I was born in the 70's and remembered time to time that New Orleans wanted to become it's own State , seperate from Louisiana . Had you ever heard this rumor ? I never thought it would happen .

[bigboyz05]

I don't know if you were asking me or not but, I've never heard of that rumor before.

[bigboyz05]

Hey Supkof, have you heard about the guy who shot at a school bus? Also, there was a story on the news about a Shreveport fire captain who had 4 DWI's who has decided to retire.

[dimebag1980]

Hey Supkof, have you heard about the guy who shot at a school bus? Also, there was a story on the news about a Shreveport fire captain who had 4 DWI's who has decided to retire.

Yeah... crime is still high here, but it's way down over recent years. The cops actually chased someone across the property, on foot, here at my office yesterday... and that's the second time that's happened here at my office in 2 years.

About the Shreveport fire captain... he should be in prison!! And it's scary where he was found driving drunk, because I drive that stretch of road all the time between Dixie Inn and Minden when I go from dinner in Dixie Inn to Wal-Mart in Minden.

[richyb83]

Yesterday I saw where a 58-year old High School principle in somewhere Bossier hepled himself to some funds to pay a gambling debt ?

BR ' crime seems down a little from the past . But it's still bad enough a local news channel has what they call "The Street Beat" to follow the everyday crime occurance .

[dimebag1980]

Yesterday I saw where a 58-year old High School principle in somewhere Bossier hepled himself to some funds to pay a gambling debt ?

BR ' crime seems down a little from the past . But it's still bad enough a local news channel has what they call "The Street Beat" to follow the everyday crime occurance .

Damn did that story make it statewide?

You know what's funny about that... you have to keep in mind that Bossier City is still a city of less than 70,000 people, so while I rarely ever see anyone familiar in Shreveport because it's so much larger, I often do see people in Bossier who I grew up with or knew in the past. This principal, Bud Dean of Bossier High School, was actually one of the assistant principals at Airline High School when I went there in the '90s. I hate to be so rude, but I couldn't stand the man. I understand this theft was to cover gambling debts. Well, I truly like to feel bad for some people, but that man made my high school days a nightmare by authorizing the school cop to keep an eye on my friends and I. They were constantly harassing us, just because we had long hair and were a bit rebellious. The fact is, we were teenagers... and he had zero tolerance for teenagers who actually acted like teenagers.

I suppose, though, I must let the past go and feel bad for the man. Afterall, I did graduate with his daughter and he was a family man and a U.S. Army soldier.

[dimebag1980]

Just pulled this thread back up to post this photo, since it applies to both Shreveport and Baton Rouge. This was when interstates 10 and 20 were first introduced to Louisiana, and here were the original signs for both freeways.

[baffroom]

I strongly prefer Shreveport, but then again I'm from there and much more familiar with it. My experience with Baton Rouge is limited -- I went to the LSU campus for Boys State back when I was a junior in high school, and also went to visit the old navy ship they have stationed there (the kitty hawk?). Anyway, the downtown area looked bad. LSU campus I thought was quite beautiful, though the parking/roads were pretty run down. Architecture and landscape at the LSU campus were awesome though. I wish I could've went there for school, but had to "settle" for LSU-S .

Anyway, I'm sure Baton Rouge has grown a lot from what I've read in the news, and I'm sure, much like Shreveport, it has much growth in the retail sector and various other sectors, as it's pretty diverse in ways Shreveport is not (it's a college town for one).

[dimebag1980]

Just pulled this thread back up to post this photo, since it applies to both Shreveport and Baton Rouge. This was when interstates 10 and 20 were first introduced to Louisiana, and here were the original signs for both freeways.

Did I have a brain fart when posting this or what!?

Here's the photo I was supposed to have posted before...

[NCB]

Anyway, I'm sure Baton Rouge has grown a lot from what I've read in the news, and I'm sure, much like Shreveport, it has much growth in the retail sector and various other sectors, as it's pretty diverse in ways Shreveport is not (it's a college town for one).

Yea, Baton Rouge is improving greatly, especuially the downtown area. Check out the Baton Rouge Growth and Development Thread in the Baton Rouge subforum to see everything that's going on!

BTW, the old navy cruiser that is stationed in Baton Rouge is the USS Kidd.

[ctiger69]

I would have to give the edge to Baton Rouge. However, both cities have their positives and look to be heading in the right direction.

Shreveport's downtown area currently destroys Baton Rouge's downtown. After Baton Rouge is finishing with their new buildings they probably will be close. Baton Rouge's population is much larger than Shreveport. Inside city limit's were very similar in size b/t the two cities, but Baton Rouge's Metro area is much larger. The gap in both urban and metro area has grown tremedously now after Katrina. Baton Rouge has LSU, which means great sports year round, and Baton Rouge is very close to New Orelans which is the best entertainment in the state. Shreveport on the other hand is doing a great job of spreading their city out which can allow the population to boom in the coming years. New subdivisons are popping up everywhere in Shreveport. The three interstates in Shreveport makes for great ability to travel through the city. Baton Rouge and Lafayette, for example, did not do a good job on expanding their cities as their population grew. The traffic in both these cites are awful. They give you the feel of living in a very big city when actually you are in a small to mid-size city. Bossier city traffic is awful too but it does not compare to Lafayette or Baton Rouge. I would love to see Shreveport add some new towers to down town to add some height to already a great looking skyline. Condo's seem to be the hot new item these days. A 70 story condo is being built in New Orleans and a 40 story is being build in downtown Baton Rouge. I would love to see a 30-50 story condo rise in Shreveport downtown.

With that being said, both cities are great.

[imaterry78247]

I would have to give the edge to Baton Rouge. However, both cities have their positives and look to be heading in the right direction.

Shreveport's downtown area currently destroys Baton Rouge's downtown. After Baton Rouge is finishing with their new buildings they probably will be close. Baton Rouge's population is much larger than Shreveport. Inside city limit's were very similar in size b/t the two cities, but Baton Rouge's Metro area is much larger. The gap in both urban and metro area has grown tremedously now after Katrina. Baton Rouge has LSU, which means great sports year round, and Baton Rouge is very close to New Orelans which is the best entertainment in the state. Shreveport on the other hand is doing a great job of spreading their city out which can allow the population to boom in the coming years. New subdivisons are popping up everywhere in Shreveport. The three interstates in Shreveport makes for great ability to travel through the city. Baton Rouge and Lafayette, for example, did not do a good job on expanding their cities as their population grew. The traffic in both these cites are awful. They give you the feel of living in a very big city when actually you are in a small to mid-size city. Bossier city traffic is awful too but it does not compare to Lafayette or Baton Rouge. I would love to see Shreveport add some new towers to down town to add some height to already a great looking skyline. Condo's seem to be the hot new item these days. A 70 story condo is being built in New Orleans and a 40 story is being build in downtown Baton Rouge. I would love to see a 30-50 story condo rise in Shreveport downtown.

With that being said, both cities are great.

I second that emotion Shreveport does need to build a hi rise condo downtown. I t seems like every city in the country is jumping on the condo craze, especially city with gaming

[dimebag1980]

I'm hoping this will come about eventually... but for now I'd be glad to see ANY condos developed downtown beyond the two small projects that are going on right now.

Maybe once they start developing up the Cross Bayou area that will come about, because I can envision a nice system of condo complexes along that stretch of waterway, very near the convention center hotel.

[louisianarush]

Baton Rouge metro is almost double Shreveport's. This is like comparing BR to NOLA. This is really not a fair vs. thread. Baton Rouge has some fantastic projects coming into play especially downtown. Baton Rouge has two large universities and the capital. Both are huge employment centers. Shreveport is a nice town and is quite pretty, but it is not quite up to the level of Baton Rouge.

[dimebag1980]

Baton Rouge metro is almost double Shreveport's. This is like comparing BR to NOLA. This is really not a fair vs. thread. Baton Rouge has some fantastic projects coming into play especially downtown. Baton Rouge has two large universities and the capital. Both are huge employment centers. Shreveport is a nice town and is quite pretty, but it is not quite up to the level of Baton Rouge.

[richyb83]

I like that Louisiana's largest cities New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and Lafayette all have their own unique identity. Each is located at good strategic points of the state too IMO.

BR and Shreveport can learn from each others strengths and weaknesses in becoming even better cities. Each have it's positives and negatives. Another way to look at actual population is..Shreveport and Bossier City are a combined 260,000 and Baton Rouge's urban proper is not much different than that. The big difference is the sprawl of Ascension and Livingston Parishes

What constitutes all that population for BR ?? I don't include St.Francisville as part of Greater BR. Just like it's hard to consider Covington as part of NOLA..eventhough it's called Greater New Orleans.

[NCB]

What constitutes all that population for BR ?? I don't include St.Francisville as part of Greater BR. Just like it's hard to consider Covington as part of NOLA..eventhough it's called Greater New Orleans.

[Trel-Ellis]

I will have to agree with SBC, because it all boils down to your personal opinion when comparing Baton Rouge and Shreveport. First of all they both have strengths that the other doesnt, For example shreveport has a much better skyline than BR, but in overall city size & total population, Baton Rouge is much larger. Baton Rouge has a more "big city" feel than Shreveport, but I've always wondered why Baton Rouge's skyline was so small, when the population is so large for its size. But if i had to choose 1 based on the skyline, it would definately be shreveport(for now). I'd say in about 5 to 8 years baton rouge's skyline would surpass it easily.....But not now