Louisiana State Capitol

The Louisiana State Capitol is the first thing a Baton Rouge visitor should do, because everything else in the city makes more sense afterward. Governor Huey Long wanted a statement building, and he got one: a 34-story limestone tower, roughly 450 feet tall, finished in 1932 after a remarkably fast build. It remains the tallest state capitol in the country and one of the great Art Deco public buildings anywhere. You climb a monumental stair of 48 steps, each carved with the name of a state in the order it joined the Union, and step into Memorial Hall, a soaring marble space with bronze doors and aluminum details. Guided and self-guided visits are free, and the building is a working seat of government, so you share the corridors with legislators, lobbyists and school groups. The headline experience is the observation deck on the 27th floor, reached by elevator after a security screen. On a clear day the view runs across the Mississippi, the USS KIDD in its berth, the LSU campus and the petrochemical stacks that explain the economy of the river corridor. Docents point out the old Capitol, the Governor's Mansion and the gardens below. Inside you can also visit the House and Senate chambers when they are not in session, look for the bullet marks in the marble near the spot where Long was shot in 1935, and read the exhibits on Louisiana's long and colorful political history.

The building rewards a slow hour. Memorial Hall is the showpiece, clad in marble and metalwork, while the corridors on the first floor are lined with bas-reliefs showing the state's history in aluminum, a metal that was still glamorous in the 1930s. The Senate and House chambers can be viewed when legislators are away, and the marble and brass are worth the detour even for people who care little about politics.

Outside, the Capitol Gardens run to the back of the building, where a statue of Huey Long stands over the grave of the man who built the place and was killed inside it, a story told in detail on the Kingfish podcast tour covered in this market.

Practical notes help. Expect an airport-style security check at the door, bring a photo ID, and know that hours are weekday daytime hours with a more limited weekend schedule, so confirm before you go. Tours run on a regular schedule and often fill with student groups on weekday mornings, so late morning and early afternoon can be quieter. The deck can close for weather or maintenance.

Parking is easiest in the lots around the grounds, and the Capitol sits within walking distance of the Old State Capitol, the Capitol Park Museum and downtown restaurants, so you can combine them into a half-day civics walk. Photography is welcome, and the best exterior shots are from the long axis in front of the stairs in early morning light.

Pair the visit with the Old State Capitol, the Gothic Revival castle that housed the legislature before Huey Long's tower, to see how the state's self-image changed from riverboat Romanticism to Depression-era modernism in less than a century. Families do well here because it is free, indoors and air-conditioned, and children enjoy the elevator and the view.