fla_tiger

.....just kidding about the tower guys, but it would look better than what is now there. A couple of shots of construction progress on Direct General's new home out Florida @ the new Central Thruway: seems that they revised the entrance design a bit from the rendering.

You're both right guys, that tower is completely out of place Downtown. Here are a couple of ideas that may improve it's looks..... (photos courtesy of wilkipedia)

I came across this during a recent weekend in Houston.....

Right, it is the Sacred Heart Catholic Church at Main @ N.22nd. located nearby is this obilisk in the historic National Cemetary.

Italy? Spain? No. Baton Rouge...can anyone guess what this beautiful tower is?

I remember the original sign in front of the Krispy Kreme on Plank @ Hollywood had a revolving neon star that could be seen from Airline to Evangeline.

Maybe it is wishful thinking, but any through traffic that uses LA 10 from I-49 over the Mississippi to access I-55, as little as it seems could help in deceasing volumes on the interstates in BTR (Hopefully). Beautiful sunrise photo Lamar, and great view, where was that shot taken?

Here are a couple of images of the beautiful John J Audubon Bridge and a link to its webpage: http://www.timedla.com/blog/audubon/ This new crossing will be part of the LA 10-Zachary Taylor Parkway, although not to interstate standards, it will connect I-49 with I-55 and provide a much needed northern by-pass of traffic laden I-10 and I-12 through Baton Rouge.

It not uncommon for a state's two largest cities to have a "rivalry". It has been going on over in Texas for years between Dallas and Houston. What makes the NO-BTR different is the extremely close proximity of the two cities. I agree with richeyb that Katrina has made us all more familiar with the other and yes there have been problems, but very few, if any, state could have handled the unprecedented damages caused by that disaster.

Glad you like Lamar! I think it is an office for an old Mom & Pop type motel. I noticed that Hwy 61 is being expanded from a 2 lane country road to a 4 lane divided road for most of its length north of St Francisville, even on the Mississippi side. The sections south of Port Hudson towards BTR are already existing. I feel the big "crimp" will be how to widen the road through or around St Francisville because of the beautiful tree canopy and existing development.

photo of banner on the LaCap Building in DT Baton Rouge shows the true feelings that so many share.

while not in Baton Rouge, or even Louisiana, this little gem is just north of the stateline on US 61 between St Francisville and Natchez (two of my favorite smaller cities).

in front of New Orleans' Union Passenger Terminal

shot of sculpture adjacent to New Orleans' Union Passenger Terminal

Lamar, is that in Port Allen? ie. with the bridge and light standards in the distance, it looks like an area near the soccer/baseball fields on the west side where my sister sponsored a Heartwalk benefit recently.

Perkins Rowe: UPDATE Perkins Rowe Aerial photo in local suburban newspaper's story on the mixed use development. A Sunday drive and photos of the amazing amount of ongoing construction at Perkins Rowe... Wells Fargo Building retail fronting on Bluebonnet, including one of seven new Starbuck's to open this year in southern areas of city. residential above retail location of future Town Square future home of The Fresh Market, sort of Whole Foods of the South.

nice shots Thunder...... looks like you enjoyed your visit, and by the looks of your plate, lunch too, lol!

I read somewhere that the Florida Boulevard corridor is now being considered for design specifics to signs and landscaping similar to those being done in the Mid-City/Government Street area. I feel this is a positive start. It is disturbing to see this vital corridor slip into decline, especially with the high traffic volumes the street still carries. We grew up with Florida as the major player in its heyday. The area has some amazing buildings with styles unique to that area. I will post some photos as soon as I download from my digital and copy them to Photobucket. Now my PS rant> Why did DOT/City remove the lush landscaping in the medians along Florida between Airline and Foster only to let the weeds take over? Wasn't the unattractive Orange barricades at Sherwood @ Florida suppose to be a six month trial to see if they were effective and then be replaced with permanent medians? This was 2 years ago and they are still there. Sometimes I think the DOT/City encourages decline with their stupid decisions!

Speaking of Mid-City, the entire block across from Circa 1857 at Government @ 19th has been razed. Anyone hear of what is going up here?

interesting article in the TP: NASA Michoud to turn Louisiana into hotbed of space-related assembly. Employment now at 2000, will increase as the Michoud Assembly Facility is retrofitted for its multitasking role in producing the next generation of NASA's spacecraft link to the story in the TP- http://www.nola.com/business/t-p/index.ssf....xml&coll=1 This summer the National Aeronautics and Space Administration will choose a company to build the rocket for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, a manned space capsule that will take astronauts to the moon and perhaps on to Mars. Work on the Ares I rocket -- which will be assembled locally at the Michoud Assembly Facility -- promises to aid the economic recovery of eastern New Orleans by preserving hundreds of high-paying jobs as the facility's work on the space shuttle program begins to wind down. The Ares I, just one of many projects that will be under way at Michoud in the coming decade, also signals a step toward NASA's new plan for the facility. By 2016, NASA expects to have transformed Michoud from a site that concentrates on assembling one spacecraft component under the direction of a primary government contractor to one that is working on multiple projects for the space agency simultaneously and possibly under the direction of several different contractors, said Patrick Scheuermann, Michoud's chief operating officer. NASA has already determined that in addition to Ares I, all of the spacecraft in the so-called Constellation program, which encompasses a fleet of next-generation launch vehicles, will be assembled at Michoud. Designating Michoud as a primary spacecraft assembly site saves NASA money by relieving each of its contractors of the costs of maintaining individual assembly plants. The move also promises to turn Louisiana into a hotbed of spacecraft-related assembly as NASA contractors and subcontractors migrate to the area. The Michoud plant has been part of the space program since 1961, when NASA began producing the Saturn booster rocket there. For the past 30 years the Michoud plant, under the direction of Lockheed Martin, has concentrated on building external fuels tanks for the space shuttle. This year the Michoud plant will ship out five tanks, the most it has delivered in a decade, Scheuermann said. For the past several years Michoud has shipped about three tanks a year. But NASA plans to phase out the shuttle, and Michoud's work on the external fuel tank is expected to wind down by 2010. Still, NASA officials say the agency's presence in the metro area is here to stay, despite the city's post-Hurricane Katrina obstacles. Last week 120 NASA managers came to New Orleans for a quarterly meeting on the Constellation program, and about half of them visited Michoud, where workers already are making improvements to the site so that it will be ready for the new projects it is expected to house, Scheuermann said. The plant was damaged by Katrina's wind and rain but stayed dry during the hurricane thanks to a dedicated group of staffers who stayed behind, plus a diesel-powered pump station that kept the buildings and surrounding land dry. Michoud workers are now installing stronger roofs on buildings to better withstand storms, planning a second pump to keep the plant dry in case of another major hurricane, and preparing the factory for its first refitting in decades. The Orion crew vehicle and the Ares I rocket will be the first of the new projects worked on at Michoud, but the Constellation program also involves other spacecraft and a successor rocket known as the Ares V. Michoud now employs 2,000 people. the sprawling 832 acre complex located in New Orleans East NASA is located off I-10 and I-510 in New Orleans East http://www.lockheedmartin.com/michoud/

I feel that this type of development is long overdue in NO East. I also have fond memories of The Plaza, but it no longer attracted shoppers. Too bad the Hornets couldn't come to an agreement with the city and state over their practice facilty, they may have played an integral part of the new development.

Louisiana Thunder QUOTE "there's no easy explanation for it {sodEmoji.|} i've just been feeling sexy lately" I like your pics Louisiana Thunder, but hey slow down on that Viagra, dude!

interesting reading from the TP over the weekend. Any thoughts? Market Street Power Plant The huge site is just upriver from the Crescent City Connection between the popular Warehouse District and established Garden District neighborhoods. 1894 lithograph of the Market Street Power Plant Entergy New Orleans has sold one of its oldest, and perhaps most iconic, pieces of property to a Miami developer who has said he will redevelop the vacant Market Street Power Plant for public use, possibly including a museum, concert hall and shops. The land surrounding the building would be used for residential development. Market Street Properties LLC, managed by Michael Samuel, paid Entergy New Orleans $10 million for the huge turn-of-the-century brick plant and surrounding property on Jan. 16. The plant began generating electricity in 1905 and has been out of operation since 1973. The complex as it exists today, revealing evidence of 34 years of inactivity. This redevelopment is very promising because of its desirable location along the River near the Convention Center and opposite a very large new condominium sector.

I really enjoyed my visit to the Bass Pro in Bossier City a few weeks back. Cannot wait to visit the one in BR, and to think we will have a Cabela's too. Only a few cities have both , and all have larger populations. This is great for BR. I like the excitement that the Louisiana Boardwalk has added to the Riverfront up in SBC.

LaCaretta's on Government near Westmoreland is an excellent authenic Mexican restaurant, a BR spin-off of the original over in Hammond.