Commercial Development: History
In proposing and developing a retail strategy for Baton Rouge, it is essential to understand why the downtown developed as it did, and why retail was located on Third Street.
Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana and sits on the eastern bank of the Mississippi, 230 miles upstream from the Gulf of Mexico. Originally settled by explorers and traders, Baton Rouge quickly established itself as an important port along the Mississippi. By 1805, two residential towns were established within Baton Rouge, Spanish Town and Beauregard Town. As a result, a small commercial district developed between the two towns along the bank of the Mississippi.
By 1850 Front Street (currently known as River Road) was a vital walking riverfront. Commerce developed along Front Street and the perpendicular Main Street, linking Spanish Town to the Military barracks closer to the river. A neighborhood market was located at North Boulevard and Third Street, which served Beauregard Town. By this time the wharf at the river moved from the base of Main Street to the base on Florida Street. Interestingly, the relocation of the wharf to Florida Boulevard established Florida Boulevard as a major retail corridor. Even a century later, Florida Boulevard continues to be the center of retail development with the Bon Marche Mall and the Mall at Cortana.
As the rail lines arrived in Baton Rouge in the 1880’s, commerce moved to Third Street and continued east on Main, leaving Front Street to develop as an industrial corridor. Residential development began to fill in on Second (currently Lafayette Street). By 1900, Third Street was the center of the retail activity, due in large part to its higher elevation, as the levees were not yet constructed. At this time, the wharf was located at the base of Main Street, along with a ferry dock connecting Baton Rouge to Port Allen and the western United States.
Between 1950 and 1965, the Third Street retail corridor was at its peak. Shoppers were able to walk along the covered arcades to such shops as Sears, J. C. Penny’s, Daltons, Kress, and Rosenfield’s department stores. The Paramount, Hart, and Louisiana theaters were the entertainment anchors of the day, and restaurants such as Piccadilly Cafeteria drew both shoppers and office workers. Above the storefronts, residential apartments and offices filled the second, third, and fourth floors.
Third Street retail began to decline in the late 1960’s and 1970’s as consumers moved away from the Central Business District. Delmont Village developed along Plank Road north of the city in 1960, and with it, retail districts began to leave downtown Baton Rouge and develop around the new neighborhoods. In the 1960’s retail made a significant shift out of the CBD and settled east along Florida Boulevard to the Bon Marche Shopping Center. Florida Boulevard continued to prosper for the next twenty-five years attracting strip plazas, big box retailers and the Mall at Cortana in 1976.
By the mid 1980’s, nearly all major retailers had left the CBD.
The population continued to shift and move south along Interstate 10, with it followed the retail centers at College Drive. Most recently, the shift continues to move south away from the downtown with office parks developing at Essen Lane and the new Mall of Louisiana at Interstate 10 and Bluebonnet.