Districts
Districts are places that are specialized for one primary use or activity. The Districts are Baton Rouge Landing, specialized for visitors, the Old State Capitol, specialized for culture and education, the State Capitol District, and the Central Business District, specialized for entertainment and retail.
The Catfish Town District
This District is a visitor destination. It encompasses the glazed Atrium at Baton Rouge Landing, the Naval Museum, the Centroplex, the Louisiana Arts and Science Museum, the Riverfront Plaza, and the two municipal parking garages. It is centered on the curve of River Road, a situation that contributes to its failure to coalesce into a successful visitor destination. The redesign of this high-speed curve into a traditional square would restore pedestrian continuity and form a setting for the Columbus Memorial. [Curve has been redesigned.]
There exists an immediate opportunity, perhaps the last, to achieve this redesign. Three buildings are about to be added to this district: a conference center, a hotel, and a planetarium, one on each side of the curve. The building activity thus generated could include the improvement of the existing buildings and the creation of the square.
The Old State Capitol District
This District includes the Old State Capitol and the Auto Hotel with an extension eastward on North Boulevard. This district is anchored by the educational and cultural aspects of the newly renovated Old State Capitol. It will be expanded by a renovation and addition to the Auto Hotel to become an arts condenser for the disparate organizations in Baton Rouge. A second building may provide a focus for the arts. There is sufficient open land to accommodate buildings for interested and appropriate organizations. The imminent refurbishment of the adjacent Heidelberg Hotel will add to the vitality of this district.
The State Capitol District
Although not officially part of this report, the existing State Capitol Complex Master Plan is an important contributor to the revitalization of the Downtown. It supports the Downtown by sharing use of two proposed garages on North Street: the East Garage and the West Garage. These important parking resources make possible the development of the Central Business District, as well as the Seventh Street Corridor. It is envisioned that this is a “holding” chapter to be completed by the planners of the State Capitol Complex Master Plan in compatible format so that Baton Rouge will have a single reference for all of its Downtown plans.
The Central Business District
This is to be the principal retail and entertainment district of the Downtown. It is anchored by the west capitol parking garage, on a trajectory that delivers pedestrians south onto Third Street, concluding at the Auto Hotel on Lafayette Street. The parking garage itself is designed to be lined with shopfronts that “bridge” pedestrian continuity from the State campus to Third Street. A principal destination for this trajectory must be a multiplex cinema that will support restaurants, bars, cafes and nightlife in general. Shops, including national tenants, will follow. The commercial possibilities of the Central Business District are supported by the Gibbs Commercial Study. (See Commercial Development)