Saved!

Today due in great part to the Foundation’s long standing efforts, our citizens enjoy many historic gems. Community leaders and elected officials now share a greater awareness of the critical importance of our landmarks. It’s the catalyzing work of the Foundation that spearheads initiatives such as the Heidelberg Hotel/Capitol House "comeback" and the restorations along Third Street. Recent victories include the creation of a Historic Preservation Commission and passage of a demolition ordinance. Over the years from 1963-2004, the Foundation has protected Magnolia Mound, the Louisiana State Capitol, the Pentagon Barracks, Historic Highland and Magnolia Cemeteries, the classic LSU campus buildings, Spanish Town and Beauregard Town Historic Districts, and most recently the Old Governor’s Mansion. The work of safeguarding our patrimony is never ending and certainly never complete.

Kress and Welsh and Levy

Long before shopping malls invaded our midst, residents of Baton Rouge ventured downtown to purchase necessities. Two major players in the downtown shopping experience were the S.H. Kress five-and-dime store and Welsh and Levy. These two buildings, located at Third and Main Streets, provided generations of Baton Rougeons with a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Following their closures, these gems of architecture were poorly adapted into office buildings and later sat abandoned, and, as so many other historic buildings, awaited the wrecking ball that was sure to come. Plans to destroy the buildings to create surface parking lots were hotly protested among preservation leaders and eventually the creation of the Downtown Demolition Ordinance prohibited this action from taking place. In 2006, the two buildings were purchased by local developers who have begun work to adaptively restore both buildings for mixed use, including office space, retail space, and residential units. Completion is expected later this year.