• Historic Shreveport-Bossier Index •

Historic Sites

The state capitol building in Baton Rouge is the tallest state capitol building in America, standing 450 feet tall.

Downtown Shreveport

CNB Building – 509 Market St.
Built in 1910 to house Commercial National Bank. This was the tallest building in the city when completed in 1911.
Caddo Parish Courthouse – 501 Texas St.
This is the third courthouse to occupy this site since 1860. First courthouse on site served as Louisiana’s Confederate Statehouse during the Civil War.
Central Station – 1025 Marshall Street
Built in 1910 for Arkansas-Saint Louis & Southwestern Railroad. Only surviving passenger railroad terminal in the City of Shreveport.
Central Fire Station – 801 Crockett Street
Built in 1922. In continued use until 2004.
Cross Bayou – North boundary of Downtown Shreveport
One of Shreveport’s most historic waterways. On the south bank, near its mouth, was the
Cane-Bennett Building – 616 Commerce St.
Believed to have been built in 1838; rebuilt with original walls following fire in 1868.
Downtown YMCA – 400 McNeill St.
Built in 1925, this site was the former location of Edward Jacobs mansion, one of the city’s most important 19th century residences.
First Commercial Gas Well Site – 90 Market Street
In 1870 natural gas was accidentally discovered near this spot by American Well Works, which was digging a 961-foot water well for the Shreveport Ice Plant.
First United Methodist Church – Common at the head of Texas Street
Neo-Classical Revival style building built in 1912.
Holy Trinity Church – Fannin & Marshall Streets
Established in 1856, Five priests lost their lives in the Great Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1873 and are commemorated in stained glass windows here.
Hutchinson Building – 504 Texas St.
Originally built in 1910 to house Hutchinson Brothers Department Store.
Holy Cross Church – 875 Cotton Street
Built in 1905 as St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.
Harrison Building – 519 Spring Street
Built c. 1865 by Mayor Martin Tally. Served as first Federal Courthouse for the Western District of Louisiana. Also home to Elliot Electric Co. and Harrison Tobacco Co.
Jefferson Hotel – 907 Louisiana Avenue
Built in 1922 as a railroad hotel-Union Depot stood across the street.
Long-Allen Bridge – Connects Shreveport to Bossier from Texas St. downtown Noted for Governors Huey P. Long and Oscar K. Allen, under whose administrations it was built. Officially dedicated by Huey P. Long in 1933.
Lee Hardware Company – 710 Edwards Street
Built in 1898 by Taylor Wholesale Grocers and Cotton Factory.
Municipal Auditorium – 705 Elvis Presley Avenue
Begun in 1926 and completed in 1929. Considered the finest example of Art Deco brickwork in Louisiana. Home of the Louisiana Hayride from 1948-1960.
Old Municipal Building – 724 McNeil Street
Built in 1924 to house the Police Department and City Court. Excellent example of Neo-Classical/Federal architecture.
Old B’Nai Zion Temple – 802 Cotton Street
Built in 1914. Ten stained glass windows are by Lafarge.
Princess Park – Fairfield at Common Street
Established as “City Park”, this was Shreveport’s first public park.
Spring Street Historical Museum – 525 Spring St.
Built c. 1865 as Tally’s Bank. Contains original bank vault.
Shreveport Water Works Museum – 142 N. Common St.
Built in 1887 as the city’s first waterworks and enlarged in 1911. Contains original equipment in working order and still serves downtown, Agurs and Barksdale AFB. This is the only example of it’s kind remaining in the United States, according to the Smithsonian.
Shreve Memorial Library – 424 Texas St.
Built in 1911 as the Federal Court House and Post Office.
Slattery Building – 509 Marshall St.
Construction began in 1923. Was the tallest privately owned structure in Louisiana when dedicated on Aug. 18, 1924.
Strand Theatre – 619 Louisiana Ave.
Built in 1925. The Strand was the flagship theatre of Saenger Amusement, a forerunner of Paramount Pictures, Corp.
Scottish Rite Cathedral – 725 Cotton Street
Built in 1915. This building is Shreveport’s finest example of Beaux-Arts style.
Ward Building – 525 Marshall St.
Built in 1914 and commonly called the Caddo Commission Building.
Wray-Dickinson Building – 308 Market St.
Built in 1911 to house Wray-Dickinson Motor Car Co., one of the nations first Ford dealerships. Noted for elaborate terra cotta embellishments.

Ledbetter Heights

Allendale Fire – 1500 block of Garden Street at corner of Pierre Avenue
On September 4, 1925, the most disastrous fire in Shreveport’s history erupted when a hot water heater exploded. Although Fire Station Number Four was located across the street, a broken water main had rendered it helpless to fight the blaze. A total of nine city blocks and 194 homes were destroyed. Over 1000 were left homeless but no lives were lost.
Antioch Baptist Church – 1057 Texas Avenue
Romanesque Revival style building completed in 1903.
Austin Place Houses – 700 block Austin Place
The Hauser House, built 1867, The Cooke House, c. 1870, The Dalzell House, c. 1870. Austin Place was originally known as Christian Street.
Bridges-McKellar House – 1324 Oakland Street
Built in 1885. This house is believed to be the city’s first house with a forced-air central air conditioning system. There is also a large cistern for water storage at the rear.
Central School – 1627 Weinstock Street
Built in 1917 as Central Colored High School.
Christian-Hamel House – 740 Austin Place
Built c. 1883 at the corner of Christian (Austin Place) & Jewell Streets), this is an important example of Queen Anne cottage architecture.
Calanthean Temple – 1000 block Texas Ave. at head of Austin Place
Built in 1923 by the Court of Calanthe, an early black woman’s organization. Roof garden at top of building was used for dances.
Freeman & Harris Café – 317 Pete Harris Drive
Began operation in 1921. This was the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Shreveport and the oldest continuously operating African-American owned restaurant in the United States when closed in 1994.
Logan Mansion – 725 Austin Place
Built in 1897 by Lafayette R. Logan, a beer and ice manufacturer, this is one of the finest remaining Queen Anne Victorian houses in the city.
Ogilvie-Wiener House – 728 Austin Place
Designed for grocer W.B. Ogilvie and built in 1896.
Old Galilee Baptist Church – 854 Williamson Street
Founded in 1877. Dr. Martin Luther King led voting rights workshops here in 1958 and 1962. Caddo school desegregation also had it’s birth here.
Sprague Street Row – 1100 block of Sprague Street
Group of six Victorian cottages built c. 1890.
Saint James Methodist Church – 850 Hope Street
Built in 1911 to house Central Christian Church.
Saint Paul’s Methodist Church – 1001 Pierre Avenue
Previous St. Paul’s church building was built in 1889 and located on Caddo Street in the low lying area which it gave it’s name: St. Paul’s Bottoms. Gothic Revival style building constructed in 1926.
Texas Avenue Row – 800 block of Texas Avenue
Preserved commercial block dating from between 1899 and 1917. Many early ethnic businesses operated here, including black, Jewish, Chinese and Arab merchants.

Highland, South Highlands, Broadmoor & Fairfield Ave.

530 Kirby Place – 530 Kirby Street
Built c. 1859 as a farmhouse. This is probably Highland’s oldest remaining home. Moved to present location in 1922.
A.C. Steere School – 4009 Youree Drive
Built as Broadmoor School in 1929. Expanded in 1938.
Barret Place – 2524 Fairfield Avenue
Built in 1908 by Lt. Gov. Thomas C. Barret.
Bliss-Hoyer House – 902 Robinson Place
Built in 1912 for planter Abel Bliss and wife Nettie.
Coates Bluff – East Olive and Youree Drive
This is the site of the settlement of Coates Bluff. First area post office was located here in April of 1838.
Centenary College – 2911 Centenary Blvd.
Relocated to Shreveport in 1906-1908. The oldest private liberal arts college West of the Mississippi River.
C.E. Byrd High School – 3201 Line Avenue
Built in 1925 as New Shreveport High School. Renamed for prominent local educator Dr. Clifton Ellis Byrd.
Dodd House – 601 Ockley Drive
Now called “Medjoy”. Built in 1929 as Dodd College President’s residence.
Dodd College Campus – 500 block of Ockley Drive
A private junior college for women, operated on this site from 1926 to 1942. Two original buildings remain.
Davidson House – 654 Wichita Street
Built in 1899 and one of Shreveport’s finest remaining Victorian homes.
Eglin House – 1743 Irving Place
Built in 1900 by the grandfather of Gov. John McKeithen.
Files House – 2650 Fairfield Avenue
Built in 1921. An outstanding example of pure Mediterranean Revival style.
First Presbyterian Church – 900 Jordan Street
Present sanctuary built in 1925. Unusual curved pews are a noteworthy feature of the sanctuary.
Fire Station Number Five – 660 Stoner Avenue
Built in 1905 as Highland’s first fire station and one of Shreveport’s first firehouses outside the downtown area. In 1925, it provided water to fight the great Allendale fire.
Hawthorne-Moore House – 437 Boulevard St. Built in 1917. Beatrice Hawthorne Moore, the first woman ever elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives, grew up here. Now an operating museum.
Henry Walker, Sr. House – 906 Wilkinson Street
Built in 1923 by attorney Henry Clay Walker, Sr. and wife Zoe. This house is a near mirror image of his sons house at 2610 Fairfield Ave.
Huey P. Long House – 305 Forest Avenue
Built in 1924, for Huey P. Long, Governor of Louisiana. Long’s initials are incorporated into the cast iron balcony above the front entrance.
Josh Logan Home – 902 Prospect Avenue
Childhood home of Broadway Theatrical Producer Josh Logan, noted for “South Pacific” and “Mister Roberts”.
Land House – 2221 Fairfield Avenue
Built c. 1870 for State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Land. His son-in-law, Gen. Leon Jastremski was a longtime mayor of Baton Rouge. One of the oldest surviving Fairfield Avenue houses, if not the oldest.
Lewis House – 675 Jordan Street
Built in 1898. This is one of the few remaining large Victorian homes in Highland.
Line Avenue School – 1800 Line Avenue
Built in 1904. One of only five know N.S. Allen designed buildings remaining in Shreveport.
Kings Highway Christian Church – 806 Kings Hwy.
Built in 1925 and one of Shreveport’s premiere examples of Romanesque/Byzantine Revival styles.
Moore House – 3101 Fairfield Avenue
Built in 1921. The house was willed to the City of Shreveport following Moore’s death in 1957.
Mabry House – 1540 Irving Place
Built in 1902 by William Mabry of Goldstein & Mabry Grocery Co. Later divided into apartments and presently a restaurant, the house if extremely well preserved with most original interior details still intact.
Morgan House – 657 Jordan Street
Built in 1909. Acquired by Arthur and Gladys Morgan, founder of Centenary College Art Department.
Masonic Temple – 1805 Creswell Street
Built in 1937. One of Shreveport’s best examples of the Modern Style.
Marston House – Fairfield Avenue & St. Vincent Avenue
Considered one of the city’s most important examples of Tudor Revival style architecture.
Noel Methodist Church – 520 Herndon Street
Founded as a mission church in 1906, the present building was built in 1913. When completed, this was the city’s largest church.
Old Agudath Achim Synagogue – 1707 Line Avenue
Built in 1938. Example of an award-winning style of Art Deco.
Old Highland Hospital – 1006 Highland Avenue
Built in 1917 on the site of a defensive battery during the Civil War.
Pleasant Hall – Built in 1909. Formerly the residence of Gov. Ruffin G. Pleasant and his wife.
Pine Wold – 2745 Fairfield Avenue
Begun in 1903 by lumberman T.M. Jones. Remodeled in 1919 by oilman J.P. Evans. Architect Ed Neild, Sr. later used interior moldings from this house as models for the same in the White House expansion under President Truman. The Property was originally part of Mighty Haag Circus wintering grounds. Circus Elephant Trilby is buried somewhere on the site.
Robinson Place – 2611 Fairfield Avenue
Built in 1911 by Dr. George Robinson. Fifth Street was renamed Robinson Place in 1910 and the stone columns at Fairfield and Robinson were erected then. Later, the home of Douglas Lee of the Lee Hardware Company and his wife Lucille.
Roy House – 912 Kings Hwy.
Built in 1925 by oilman R.O. Roy.
Snyder House – Designed in 1902.
This house, which once had a wide front porch, is the last remaining residence on Fairfield North of Olive.
South Highlands Fire Station – Line Avenue & Oneonta Street
Built in 1928. Designed in Bavarian Gothic style to blend in with the neighborhood.
Sewall House – 1705 Irving Place
Built in 1899 by John Sewall, grandson of Capt. Charles A. Sewall, Army Engineer who helped Captain Shreve clear the Red River logjam.
Slattery House – 2401 Fairfield Avenue
Built in 1903 another of the five known Allen designs remaining in Shreveport.
Symphony House – 2803 Woodlawn Street
Built in 1827 at 304 McNeil Street by railroad man Robert Lindsay. Moved to present site in 1956.
Saint John Berchman’s Cathedral – 929 Jordan Street
St. John Berchman’s was constructed in 1928 and consecrated on January 16, 1929.
Saint George Greek Orthodox Church – 1719 Creswell Avenue
Built in 1938.
Trimble House – 2700 Fairfield Avenue
Completed in 1929 and a pristine example of the Georgian Revival style.
Thornhill Manor – 857 Robinson Place
Built c. 1856. Surrounding estate was subdivided in 1874 giving name to Thornhill Avenue and Thornhill Place.
Woman’s Department Club – 802 Margaret Place
Built in 1925. The interior contains a spacious second floor auditorium.
Fort Humbug – Youree Drive and Stoner Avenue
Formerly Ft. Turnbull. Built by the Confederacy to defend Shreveport, then the state capitol.
Walker House – 2610 Fairfield Avenue
Built in 1923. Later, this was the residence of Coca Cola Bottler Zehntner Biedenharn.

Shreveport Proper

Caddo Agency House – Flournoy Lucas & Ellerbe Road
This is the site where the Caddo Indians ceded about a million acres to the United States for $80,000 on July 1, 1835. By this treaty, the Indians also gave Larkin Edwards, interpreter and friend, a 640-acre tract that is now the site of downtown Shreveport.
Louisiana State Exhibit Building – 3015 Greenwood Road
Built in 1937. Frescoes cover the main entrance. Painted in 1938, the frescoes are believed to be the oldest frescoes in the United States and the only ones in Louisiana.
Pioneer Heritage Center – LSUS Campus off Kings Hwy.
This center boasts Caspiana House, built in 1856 and The Thrasher Cabin, a “dogtrot” log cabin built c. 1835.

Bossier Parish

Arnold-Tidwell House – 390 West Linton Rd., Benton, La.
Built before 1857 on a land grant. Also once known as “Home Place”, it is one of only three known antebellum homes remaining in Bossier Parish.
Ashpoint Plantation – 9167 Hwy. 71 South
Built c. 1855 and remodeled in 1871 to it’s present appearance. Moved c. 1923 to present site from original location closer to river.
Barksdale AFB – Barksdale Blvd. at S’port Barksdale Hwy., Bossier City
Originally Barksdale Field, the largest airfield in the world, at the time. The site was donated to the federal government by the city of Shreveport, despite being in Bossier Parish. Formally opened February 3, 1933.
Elysian Grove Plantation – Foot of Texas Bridge Bossier City side.
During the greater part of the 19th century, near this location, stood “Elysian Grove” plantation, owned by Mary Cane. Mrs. Cane was a prominent businesswoman and landowner in Bossier and Caddo parishes. After her death, the main house was razed in the 1920’s.
Fort Smith Site – 777 Bearkat Drive, Bossier City
Fort Smith stood on this site during the Civil War, one of five forts built to defend the city of Shreveport, then the Confederate capitol of Louisiana.
Glover’s Tavern Site – Center of town in Plain Dealing
Near this spot stood Glover’s Tavern where Jim Bowie lodged en route to the Alamo in 1836. One of Bowie’s brothers is believed buried near the Red River in an unmarked grave. His sister, Martha Sterritt, is believed to be buried at Shreveport’s Oakland Cemetery.
Henry McDade House – Hwy. 157, Haughton, La.
Built c. 1927. This modified dogtrot-style is an example of early 20th century owners-builders.
Hughes House – 414 Sibley St., Benton, La.
Built c. 1840. At this house on November 26, 1860, representatives of Bossier Parish voted to secede from the Union, form a free state and organize a military company for defense.
Little Bee Bend Plantation – 5545 Palmetto Rd., Benton, La.
Residence of author Roark W. Bradford, who wrote many of his works here.
Old Bossier City Municipal Building – 630 Barksdale Blvd., Bossier City
The cornerstone was laid on November 26, 1926. A fine example of the Spanish “hacienda” style adapted for public buildings. The second floor still contains jail cells.
Oakland Plantation – 4846 Sligo Road
Built in 1832 and remodeled in 1848. The Skannal family operated five plantations totaling over eight thousand acres from this house.
Paul Lawrence Home – 211 S. Elm St., Haughton, La.
Built in 1883 after earlier home on site burned down. Residence of Dr. Paul Lawrence, respected physician who made house calls for over 50 years despite the loss of a leg in the Civil War.
Salem Baptist Church – 19620 Hwy. 157, Redland, La.
Founded November 23, 1844. Rocky Mount if probably the oldest community in Bossier parish, having been settled c. 1843.
Scopena Plantation – Hwy. 71, West side north of Taylortown
One of the oldest operating plantations in Northwest Louisiana. Established on a land grant from the period of French domination. Scopena was the childhood home of Governor Charles “Buddy” Roemer.
Shed Road –
Originally a nine mile long covered roadway, construction began in 1872 to allow a dry overland route from the inner parish to the river. Completed in 1880, Shed Road was the nation’s first non-planked covered roadway.
Taylortown Tower – Hwy. 71 at Hwy. 157, Taylortown, La.
All that remains of the old Methodist Church of Taylortown is the bell tower which is located in the pasture east of the sign. Built c. 1905, it was part of a Gothic-style church. The church burned in the 1940’s.

Outer Parishes

Keithville Methodist Church – 11145 Old Mansfield Rd., Keithville. Built in 1903-1904. The Bell of the church came from the Teer family plantation in Coushatta, La.
Trees City Office and Bank – 207 Land Ave., Oil City
Built in 1910 at Trees, La. Trees Oil Company founded Trees City in 1909.
Vivian Railroad Station– 100 N. Front St., Vivian. Now Vivian Depot Museum. Kansas City Southern built this railroad station for the town of Vivian in 1921.
Arizona Cotton Factory Chimney
In operation from 1867-1875, a group of prosperous Claiborne Parish farmers led this Parish into the Industrial Revolution by building a cotton factory a few miles east of Homer, La. The chimney is on private property but visible from State Hwy. 806. Homer, La.

Greenwood

Dunn House – SE corner of W.70th and Nixon Streets
Built c. 1840. Used as a hospital for Confederate wounded following The Battle of Mansfield in 1864. Several soldiers who died here are buried on the grounds.
Flournoy-Wise House – 9152 Bois d’Arc Lane
Built c. 1842 by Dr. Jacob Wise, a Greenwood physician and his wife, Louise. Their son, one of the attending physicians, fell victim to yellow fever while tending the sick during the epidemic of 1873.
King Home – Built c. 1842. Probably built as a “dogtrot” style house, although it’s been altered through the years. Still retains many elements of it’s original appearance.
The Cedars – 7207 Nixon Street
Built c. 1850. Constructed of hand hewn timbers. The home takes it’s name from the cedar trees which surrounded it, several of which remain.
Trosper House – 7078 Magnolia Street
Built in 1910. Outbuildings said to be built of wood from first house.