The Old State Castle - er Capitol by grandmaR
We drove down to the old capitol building, which looks (as Bob remarked) like a castle. It was closed when we were there. Even from the outside it was an interesting building to photograph. It is Christian Gothic Revival and it has Medieval features, such as twin crenelated, octagonal towers. Mark Twain called this Capitol a "sham castle" and laid the blame for such architecture at the feet of Sir Walter Scott who had "run the people mad" with his "medieval romances."
The original state capitol was in New Orleans until about 1847. The state house was designed by James Harrison Dakin. Dakin referred to his design as "Castellated Gothic" because the decoration was cast-iron - both cheaper and more durable than other building materials used at the time.
In 1862, when Union Admiral David Farragut captured New Orleans, Baton Rouge was occupied by the Union troops and the Old Louisiana State Capitol caught fire twice. The empty, gutted shell was abandoned. But by 1882 the state house was totally reconstructed by architect and engineer William A. Freret, who installed the spiral staircase and stained glass dome. The refurbished state house remained in use until 1932, when Huey Long convinced the legislature to build him a new capitol building.
Today the old Capitol is a museum of political and governmental history. I understand that you can stand at an old podium and push a button to see a video and follow the teleprompter of famous speeches from any number of 20th century Louisiana governors, including Huey Long and his even more infamous brother, Earl Long. It is open Monday-Saturday, 10:00am to 4:00pm, Sunday 12:00pm to 4:00pm. There is a fee for admission
On the lawn outside there is a pink obelisk to Henry Watkins Allen (third photo) who was a Civil War Confederate Brigadier General, and who served as Governor of Louisiana in 1864. After the war, he was unwilling to live in the United States so he went to Mexico with other exiles and died there. His body was brought back and buried here in 1885