Old Louisiana State Capitol
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The Old Louisiana State Capitol is a building in Baton Rouge, Louisiana that served as the Legislature building before the current capitol tower was built. It is built to both look like and function like a castle and has lead some locals to call it the Louisiana Castle or the Castle of Baton Rouge; though most people just call it the old capitol building. It should be noted that when someone says "Old State Capitol" in Louisiana they are probably talking about this building and not the two towns that were formerly the capital city; New Orleans and Donaldsonville.
In 1846, the Louisiana state legislature in New Orleans decided to move the seat of government to Baton Rouge. As in many states, representatives from other parts of Louisiana feared a concentration of power in the state's largest city. In 1840, New Orleans' population was around 102,000, fourth largest in the U.S. The 1840 population of Baton Rouge, on the other hand, was only 2,269.
New York architect James Dakin was hired to design the new Capitol building in Baton Rouge, and rather than mimic the federal Capitol Building in Washington, as so many other states had done, he conceived a Neo-Gothic medieval castle overlooking the Mississippi, complete with turrets and crenellations. In 1859, the Capitol was featured and favorably described in DeBow's Review, the most prestigious periodical in the antebellum South. Mark Twain, however, as a steamboat pilot in the 1850s, loathed the sight of it, "It is pathetic ... that a whitewashed castle, with turrets and things ... should ever have been built in this otherwise honorable place." (Life on the Mississippi, Chapter 40)
Today the Old State Capitol is a museum. Numerous events are held there including an annual ball wherein the participants re-enact dances and traditions of French culture while wearing traditional 18th and 19th century dress. It is arguable the only true castle in North America according to the most traditional sense of the word. It is located in downtown Baton Rouge within walking distance to the new state capital tower and all of the many culturally significant buildings there. Some of these include the old Louisiana Governor's mansion, The Louisiana Arts and Science Museum, St. Joseph's Cathedral and the newly built and wildly acclaimed Shaw Center.
The museum inside the Old Louisiana State Capitol houses many displays concerning political history in Louisiana. It is also the place where the gun that killed Huey Long in stored on display. To see photos from inside the building you can go to the following link for some fun pictures. Baton-Rouge-Guide.com
