Wandering Browns

Old Louisiana State Capitol Huey Long liked his buildings new and modern. Obviously this castle-looking state capitol did not cut it and so he had the new capitol building built. I was planning on just admiring the outside, going to lunch and moving on to our next activity, but Landon rushed inside before we could stop him. I'm glad he did! This side looks like a cathedral This gothic structure looks like what I think a Medieval castle should look like. Or a cathedral with the gorgeous stained glass. This building was originally built in the 1850s after the state capitol of Louisiana was moved to Baton Rouge. It was used as a prison and garrison during the Civil War. While being sued as a garrison, it caught fire several times and by the time the Civil War was over, it was just an empty shell. In the 1880s it was renovated and the stained glass dome and spiral staircase were added. It was used a the state capitol building until the new state capitol building was built...

Louisiana state capitol building Downstairs elevator bank with golden doors This 30-story art-deco tower was also a creation of Huey Long. He wanted the capitol building to be iconic and different, and I'd say he delivered on both of those things. We came in on the bottom floor because Landon was asleep in the stroller. The elevator bank was really neat down there, and it was just a foreshadowing of what was to come! Once we got up to the first floor, we were wowed by the main room. It had a display with every flag ever to be flown over Louisiana- which is a lot of flags from many different countries! The ceiling was really neat as were the marble accents. Main front hall Unfortunately for Huey Long, he was also assassinated in the building that he had built. He was a Senator and had amassed lots of political enemies. An area doctor rushed him as he left an office in the back hall of the main floor of the building, and shot him in the side. The doctor was immedia...

Old Governor's Mansion I don't think I have even visited the capitol building of California, much less the Governor's mansion. However, Louisiana's political history is so interesting that we just had to check out these buildings. This mansion was built in 1930 by Huey Long. He was elected governor, and then complained that the old(er) governor's mansion was too old and outdated. He asked for money from the legislature to make improvements to the house or build a new one, but the legislature said no. So he waited until they had a recess, got prison inmates to knock down the old mansion, and then said he needed money to build a new mansion because he didn't have a place to live! The legislature tried and failed to impeach him, and the mansion was built. He fashioned it to look like the White House because he was convinced that he would live there in Washington D.C. someday.  Grand entrance! When I tried to open the front doors, they were locked. I ...

Nottoway plantation is the largest antebellum plantation left standing in Louisiana. It is very unique because it was not ransacked and burned during the Civil War. It was completed in 1859 for the Randolph family. Before building the mansion, they lived nearby and he owned a large sugar cane plantation. After having eight children, the family grew out of the house they were living in, and so the Nottoway mansion was commissioned. It is named after Nottoway county, Virginia where John Randolph was from. He advised the architect from New Orleans to make it the most grand mansion he could and to spare no expense. The process of designing and preparing for building the mansion took around 7 years, and whole cypress logs had to be soaked for 4 years to become pliable enough to bend to make the circular rotunda section of the building. The building is made out of solid cypress logs and bricks made by the slaves at the plantation- both materials made the building resistant to termites....