bluff2085

True...there's a lot of stigma around "August 29." Hard to believe its been almost a year. Everybody has a Katrina story, most of them are not pleasant to retell, but looking back on it, I thought I might share a couple stories that aren't so bad. --September 2, 2005: Baton Rouge hotels were at 100% occupancy. A desperate but very attractive reporter from the Miami Herald walked up to my fraternity house with 50 bucks cash and asked if she could stay the night. We said yes. --September 5, 2005: I would have been in class, but the hurricane caused LSU to cancel school for 10 or so days. So instead I was playing football on the parade grounds and ended up breaking my wrist in 3 places. Thanks to Katrina I have a 3 inch titanium plate in my wrist connected to my bone with 6 metal screws. There's gotta be a thousand stories like these out there...

This is the frat-party, everybody-get-drunk-and-sing-along song that LSU is fortunate to have. The univ. of Alabama has lynyrd skynyrd and we have Garth Brooks. And don't forget Janis Joplin's flat tire in "bobby mcgee,'' which was busted in Baton Rouge on the way to New Orleans...

This photo of uptown Houston immediately reminded me of a pic I came across on ssc.com, which was taken in Dallas, another "big-time" Texas city. Aside from the height, not too many similarities b/t the Bank United building and the high rise shown below. The way the freeways seem to hug these 'scrapers just caught my attention in both shots.

The off-campus housing in BR is exploding. I'm more interested in the development going on in Northgate, since I live in that area, and it's within walking distance of campus. The Southgate area is cool too...can't wait to see that 18 story Southgate tower go up! But as far as off-campus neighborhoods go, my favorite is the area around the Perkins/Christian St. intersection (next to the overpass). There are countless houses/apts/condos in the area occupied by students, and there are several bars/restaurants in the area w/in walking distance. It's on the other side of the lakes from LSU, though, so it's good walk to class. Most people just ride bikes or drive.

Both are beautiful buildings, though they both exude a level of flawlessness and symmetry that I don't care for, like they are untouchable or something...just my opinion. The key tower looks very atlanta-ish...not a bad thing. Maybe it's just the spire. The boa tower in charlotte has an LA-east feel to it. At the same time, boa is far more recognizable as an icon for charlotte than key tower is for cleveland. Take your pick, it's a coin toss.

This picture reminds me of 2 other cylindrical towers; the Best Western Landmark hotel (best western pic) in Metarie, and the Bellevue apts (bellevue apts pic) in Memphis. Richyb, I have to disagree with you. If anything, these buildings are reminiscent of the 1970s what-not-to-do design. At least the Fairfield tower in Shreveport has inset balconies. But with that said, high rises like these are basically rights-of-passage endured by many American cities 30+ years ago. The Slattery building in Shreveport, the capitol in BR, the Hibernia tower in NO; these are towers I cherish and wish every city had. That doesn't mean towers like the Fairfield aren't special. I'm just saying they're more like bumps along the road; they can still inspire nostalgia for the city in which they were built, so in that respect, they are iconic just the same.

Thanks to richyb for posting (in another forum) this website... LASM and Planetarium Another reason to get downtown! The website (posted above) shows that The Wall is playing this month at the Planetarium--every Sat. at 7pm. Not trying to impose on anyone, but for PF fans, this is a must see! Not too many cities out there are offering this experience. Laser-light shows can be boring, but rest assured, this one is not! Tonight's showing is the last for the month...I wish I was in town!

Nice shot, Richy. SBC, check this out next time you're in downtown BR and have the time. I left the tour with much respect for the crew after seeing their living conditions. Cramped! Rooms no larger than 1600sq. had over 100 beds (triple-bunked). Showers limited to 30 seconds. I won't ruin it for you--there is much more. Watch your head if you're over 6ft tall. I'm 6'4 and ducked my way through the tour.

Here's a pic of Kirby-Smith from Emporis: Kirby Smith Hall You can see it coming down the I-10 bridge along with the bell tower and Tiger Stadium. As far as the dorms go, uninviting and isolated are words I would use to describe them. Also, not really a good place to study. That's just my opinion though, I didn't live there and some say they like living in Kirby Smith. I'm looking forward to seeing something in its place!

Thanks for posting that, Richy...been hearing about these projects for awhile now. It's exciting to see a real announcement. Since about march the renderings for the Union addition have been up in the Union. They are nice! ....The article's dead-on about the demand for parking on campus.

Not to be cliche', but it seems like black-on-black crime in New Orleans is pretty high. (read: the 5 kids shot yesterday). Also, the same article posted by SBCmetroguy noted that many of the perpetrators ultimately became homicide victims themselves. This suggests that crime in N.O. is HIGHLY isolated and pretty much dependent upon what neighborhood you live in (i.e., uptowners are safe if careful...) What can be done about this? New Orleans had 1400+ police officers before Katrina. I know the numbers have gone down, but seriously, get on the streets and stop this bullsh!t. 5 kids in one day is out of control.

Richy, not a problem! Thanks for posting those. I was thinking earlier how similar the skylines of these two cities are. Both skylines are spread out as far as tall buildings go. Also, both skylines are very striking aesthetically. Many have criticized Atlanta's skyline for its lack of density. I think the overall beauty of ATL's 'scrapers more than makes up that. Atlanta wins judging by height and overall number of tall buildings. But this match-up resembles the Pitt vs. Denver contest. Frankfurt doesn't have as many tall buildings, but its skyline is definitely enough to be comparable. And Frankfurt has an old,old school European density that you typically don't see in American cities. Also, Frankfurt has a slight edge in architectual variety, with the new modern talls spaced between a number of century-old structures in the 50-100 ft. range. I pick Frankfurt.

^those are nice match-ups, richyb. I like the midwest one. I've been throwing around another match-up between Atlanta, GA and Frankfurt, Germany. When I have time I'll try to follow up with some skyline shots for these 2 cities.

richy, excellent shot. The Chase towers have quite an earthly look to them.

Pittsburgh?

I really like the grass in the foreground, also--something about this pic just screams "Louisiana!" Nice shot, man!

Nate, no worries, keep 'em comin man! Was this taken from the Wyndham garage? Just curious.

Very good match-up and a tough decision. The Aegon Center is beautiful. Humana building is one of my favorite 30-ish story buildings anywhere...classic Michael Graves. These 2 Louisville 'scrapers make it tough to pick Nashville, but I gotta give music city the edge. Even though the 600+ ft. figure for Bellsouth is misleading, this is a VERY impressive building at only 33-stories. Also, Nashville's building density does not compare to that of Louisville's, but its skyscraper density is more noticeable. That's why I give Nashville the edge, as it has several more buildings in the CBD over 350ft.

The closest New Orleans has come to 300 murders in this decade was in 2003 when the city had 274 official homicides. True, the city was on pace to eclipse that figure in 2005, but since crime rates went down after Katrina, the number of homicides for the year ended up somewhere around 215. This figure is still nowhere near the record-breaking 421 homicides recorded in 1994. EDIT: As far as 2006 goes, the relatively low number of homicides so far makes even 200 murders for the year unlikely

like you said, regardless of who has the better chicken, Cane's is definitely of the "gotta-have" variety...esp. if alcohol is involved.

richyb, thanks for the info. Here's the LSU Rural Life Museum/Burden Plantation that you are talking about via google: map. Evidenced by the map is the "shoelace" approach to road construction that has plagued BR for many years. My girlfriend says it gives Baton Rouge character. I'm not sure but BR's natural topography may have come into play.

Man this picture is sharp. Very professional!

Autozone Park in Downtown for the Memphis Redbirds (Cardinal's AAA):

Baton Rouge will have its fair share of theaters, but Citiplace will still be overcrowded! It just draws from a much bigger demographic than the other theaters. For those living on campus and the surrounding areas (southdowns, garden district, etc), as well as for those in the heavily populated areas north of downtown (Plank Road area), Citiplace is by far the most convenient theater. I've learned to avoid Citiplace on the weekends because the congestion is a real pain. While all the new theaters out east (Rave, Tinsletown, etc) are nice, I think we need a theater between LSU and downtown, if not just downtown. I heard there used to be one near Mckinley High School, but that it closed down as the neighborhood went into decline. A theater in this area would be a welcomed addition, not to mention it would relieve some of the overcrowding at Citiplace. This is just my opinion, but a theater placed strategically close to LSU would do AWESOME business, if anything, b/c it would give those who'd otherwise have to deal with College Ave traffic another option.

neighborhood grocer/deli in Spanish Town, with state capitol in the background: a couple of the new capitol office buildings with the 25-story One America Place behind them. Taken from the front yard of a house in Spanish Town.