Shreveport, Louisiana

Shreveport
—  City  —
Shreveport Skyline
Shreveport is located in Louisiana
Shreveport
Location of Shreveport in Caddo Parish, Louisiana
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Louisiana
Parishes Caddo, Bossier
Founded 1836
Incorporated 20 March 1839
Government
 - Mayor Cedric Glover (D)
 - City Council
Area
 - City 117.8 sq mi (305.1 km2)
 - Land 103.1 sq mi (267 km2)
 - Water 14.6 sq mi (37.8 km2)  12.39%%
 - Metro 2,698 sq mi (6,987.8 km2)
Elevation 144 ft (43.9 m)
Population (2000)
 - City 200,145
 - Density 1,940.5/sq mi (749.2/km2)
 - Metro 562,910
Time zone CST (UTC-6)
 - Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
Area code(s) 318
Website http://www.shreveportla.gov
Red River bridge connecting Shreveport with Bossier City as photographed from the Clyde Fant Parkway

Shreveport is the third-largest city and the principal city of the third largest metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Louisiana, as well as being the 109th-largest city in the United States.

It is the seat of Caddo Parish[1] and extends slightly in several places along the Red River (most notably at Wright Island, the Charles and Marie Hamel Memorial Park, and Bagley Island) into neighboring Bossier Parish. Bossier City is separated from Shreveport by the Red River. The population was 200,145 at the 2000 census, and the Shreveport-Bossier City Metropolitan Area population exceeds 375,000.[2] The Shreveport-Bossier City Metropolitan Statistical Area ranks 122nd in the United States, according to the United States Census Bureau[3]

Shreveport was founded in 1836 by the Shreve Town Company, a corporation established to develop a town at the juncture of the newly navigable Red River and the Texas Trail, an overland route into the newly independent Republic of Texas and, prior to that time, into Mexico.[4]

Shreveport is the commercial and cultural center of the Ark-La-Tex, the area where Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas meet. Many people in the community refer to the two cities of Shreveport and Bossier City as "Shreveport-Bossier".

Contents

History

Early settlers

The Shreve Town Company was established to launch a town at the meeting point of the Red River and the Texas Trail. The Red River was cleared and made newly navigable by Captain Henry Miller Shreve, who commanded the United States Army Corps of Engineers. A 180-mile (289 km) long natural logjam, the Great Raft, had previously obstructed passage to shipping. Shreve used a specially modified riverboat, the Heliopolis, to remove the logjam. The company and the village of Shreve Town were named in Shreve's honor.[5]

Shreve Town was originally contained within the boundaries of a section of land sold to the company by the indigenous Caddo Indians in the year of 1835. In 1838, Caddo Parish was created from the large Natchitoches Parish (pronounced "NACK-a-tish") and Shreve Town became the parish seat. Shreveport remains the parish seat of Caddo Parish today. As other states, except Alaska, have counties: Louisiana has parishes. In essence, they are the same. On March 20, 1839, the town was incorporated as "Shreveport." Originally, the town consisted of sixty-four city blocks, created by eight streets running west from the Red River and eight streets running south from Cross Bayou, one of its tributaries.

Shreveport soon became a center of steamboat commerce, mostly cotton and agricultural crops. Shreveport also had a slave market, though slave trading was not as widespread as in other parts of the state. Steamboats plied the Red River, and stevedores loaded and unloaded cargo. By 1860, Shreveport had a free population of 2,200 and 1,300 slaves within the city limits.

Civil War

"The Old and the New": Tall monument in Shreveport's historic Oakland Cemetery, which dates to 1847, is seen with the distant Regions Bank Tower, the city's tallest building, behind it.

During the American Civil War, Shreveport was the capital of Louisiana from 1863–1865, having succeeded, first, Baton Rouge, and then Opelousas after each fell under Union control. The city was a Confederate stronghold throughout the war and was the site of the headquarters of the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederate Army. Isolated from events in the east, the Civil War continued in the Trans-Mississippi theater for several weeks after Robert E. Lee's surrender in April 1865, and the Trans-Mississippi was the last Confederate command to surrender, on May 26, 1865. Confederate President Jefferson Davis attempted to flee to Shreveport when he left Richmond but was captured in Irwinville, Georgia en route.

Throughout the war, women in Shreveport did much to assist the soldiers finding mostly far to the east. Historian John D. Winters in his The Civil War in Louisiana writes, accordingly:

"The women of Shreveport and vicinity labored long hours over their sewing machines to provide their men with adequate underclothing and uniforms. After the excitement of Fort Sumter, there was a great rush to get the volunteer companies ready and off to New Orleans. . . . Forming a Military Aid Society, the ladies of Shreveport requested donations of wool and cotton yarn for knitting socks. Joined by others, the Society collected blankets for the wounded and gave concerts and tableaux to raise funds. Tickets were sold for a diamong ring given by the mercantile house of Hyams and Brothers. . . .[6]

A Confederate minstrel show gave two performances to raise money for the war effort in Shreveport in December 1862. The Shreveport Ladies Aid Society announced a grand dress ball for April 6, 1863. That same month students at the Mansfield Female College in Mansfield in De Soto Parish presented a vocal and instrumental concert to support the war.[7]

Map of Shreveport in 1920
Skyline of Shreveport in 1953
Shreveport Municipal Auditorium, home to the "Louisiana Hayride" from 1948 to 1960.
Shreveport's riverfront casino district

The Red River, which had been opened by Shreve in the 1830s, remained navigable throughout the Civil War. However, water levels got so low at one point that Union Admiral David Dixon Porter was trapped with his gunboats north of Alexandria by the lack of clearance. By 1914, disuse, along with the rise of the railroad, again resulted in the river becoming unnavigable. In 1994, navigability was restored by the United States Army Corps of Engineers with the completion of a series of lock-and-dam structures and a navigation channel. Today, Shreveport-Bossier City is again being developed as a port and shipping center.

Twentieth century

By the 1910s, Huddie William Ledbetter - also known as "Lead Belly," a blues singer and guitarist who eventually achieved worldwide fame - was performing for Shreveport audiences in St. Paul's Bottoms, the notorious red light district of Shreveport which operated legally from 1903-1917. Ledbetter began to develop his own style of music after exposure to a variety of musical influences on Shreveport's Fannin Street, a row of saloons, brothels, and dance halls in the Bottoms. Bluesmen Jesse Thomas, Dave Alexander, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd and the early jazz and ragtime composer Willian Christopher O'Hare were all from Shreveport.

Shreveport was also home to the "Louisiana Hayride" radio program, broadcast weekly from the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium. During its heyday from 1948–1960, this program spawned the careers of some of the greatest names in American music. The Hayride featured names such as Hank Williams, Sr. and Elvis Presley, who made his broadcasting debut at this venue.

In 1963, headlines across the country reported that Sam Cooke was arrested after his band tried to register at a "whites-only" Holiday Inn in Shreveport.[8] In the months following, Cooke recorded the civil rights era song, A Change Is Gonna Come. The avant-garde noise punk band The Residents was formed in Shreveport in 1969.

The coming of riverboat gambling to Shreveport in the mid-1990s spurred a revitalization of the downtown and riverfront areas. Many downtown streets were given a facelift through the "Streetscape" project, where brick sidewalks and crosswalks were built and statues, sculptures, and mosaics were added. The Texas Street Bridge was lit with neon lights, that were met with a variety of opinions among residents.[9]

Shreveport was named an All-American City in 1953, 1979, and 1999.[10]

General Motors

Shreveport is home to Shreveport Operations, a General Motors plant that is slated to close before or during the year 2012. The plant currently produces the Hummer H3, Hummer H3T, Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, and the Isuzu i-Series.

Geography

Shreveport has several cemeteries, with Forest Park, on St. Vincent Avenue, being one of the largest in the state.

Landscape

Shreveport sits on a low elevation overlooking the Red River. Pine forests, cotton fields, wetlands, and waterways mark the outskirts of the city.

Climate

Shreveport has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen climate classification Cfa). Rainfall is abundant, with the normal annual precipitation averaging nearly 47 inches (1.2 m), with monthly averages ranging from less than 3 inches (76 mm) in August to more than 5 inches (130 mm) in May. Severe thunderstorms with heavy rain, hail, damaging winds and tornadoes occur in the area during the spring and summer months. The winter months are normally mild, with an average of 35 days of freezing or below-freezing temperatures per year, with ice and sleet storms possible. Summer months are hot and humid, with maximum temperatures exceeding 90 degrees an average of 91 days per year, with high to very high relative average humidity, sometimes exceeding the 90 percent level.

Climate data for Shreveport, Louisiana
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °F (°C) 56.2
(13.44)		 62.0
(16.67)		 69.7
(20.94)		 76.6
(24.78)		 83.2
(28.44)		 89.8
(32.11)		 93.3
(34.06)		 93.4
(34.11)		 87.6
(30.89)		 78.3
(25.72)		 66.8
(19.33)		 58.5
(14.72)		 76.3
(24.61)
Average low °F (°C) 36.5
(2.5)		 40.3
(4.61)		 47.2
(8.44)		 53.8
(12.11)		 62.7
(17.06)		 69.9
(21.06)		 73.4
(23)		 72.3
(22.39)		 66.4
(19.11)		 55.0
(12.78)		 45.3
(7.39)		 38.3
(3.5)		 55.1
(12.83)
Precipitation inches (mm) 4.60
(116.8)		 4.21
(106.9)		 4.18
(106.2)		 4.42
(112.3)		 5.25
(133.4)		 5.05
(128.3)		 3.99
(101.3)		 2.71
(68.8)		 3.21
(81.5)		 4.45
(113)		 4.68
(118.9)		 4.55
(115.6)		 51.30
(1,303)
Snowfall inches (cm) 0.9
(2.3)		 0.4
(1)		 0.1
(0.3)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0.1
(0.3)		 0.3
(0.8)		 1.8
(4.6)
Avg. precipitation days 9.7 8.1 9.7 8.2 9.6 8.6 8.1 6.5 6.9 7.4 8.9 9.7 101.4
Avg. snowy days 0.5 0.5 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 1.2
Source: NCDC [11]

Neighborhoods

Historic residence of late Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Thomas Charles Barret at Fairfield and Prospect
Walker House on Fairfield Avenue was once the home of the Coca-Cola bottler Zehntner Biedenharn.
Bliss-Hoyer House, built by Abel and Nettie Bliss, was later the home of Ewald Max Hoyer, the first mayor of Bossier City.

Shreveport encompasses many different neighborhoods and districts. Below is a list of the various areas in Greater Shreveport.

  • Acadiana Place
  • Allendale
  • Anderson Island
  • Blanchard
  • Broadmoor
  • Broadmoor Terrace
  • Caddo Heights
  • Cedar Grove
  • Centenary Area
  • Cherokee Park
  • Cooper Road/MLK Area
  • Cross Lake
  • Ellerbe
  • Fairfield Heights
  • Forbing
  • Glen Iris
  • Greenwood
  • Greenbrook
  • Highland
  • Hollywood
  • Hollywood Heights
  • Ingleside
  • Jackson Square
  • Jewella-South Park
  • Hyde Park
  • Keithville
  • Lakeside
  • Ledbetter Heights or The Bottoms
  • Long Lake
  • Lynbrook
  • Madison Park
  • Mooretown
  • North Highlands
  • Parkside
  • Pines Road
  • Pierremont
  • Pierremont Place
  • Pierremont Ridge
  • Provenance
  • Queensborough
  • Shreve Island
  • Shreve City
  • South Broadmoor
  • South Highlands
  • Southern Hills
  • Southern Trace
  • Spring Lake
  • Stoner Hill
  • Sunset Acres
  • Towne South
  • Stoner Hill
  • University Terrace
  • Waterside
  • West End
  • Western Hills
  • Wright Island

In the Highland section, along Fairfield Avenue, more than a half dozen homes have been designated as historic. These include residences once occupied by Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana Thomas Charles Barret, who served early in the 20th century; a Broadway director, Joshua Logan; a former governor and wife, Ruffin Pleasant; a physician and developer, George W. Robinson; a Coca Cola bottler, Zehntner Biedenharn; the first mayor of Bossier City, Ewald Max Hoyer, who took office in 1907; and a major real estate owner, John B. Slattery, whose home is one of five remaining structures in Shreveport designed by the noted architect N.S. Allen.[12]

Demographics

As of the census[13] of 2000, there were 200,145 people,[14] 78,662 households, and 50,422 families residing in the city limits. The population density was 1,940.5 people per square mile (749.2/km²). There were 86,802 housing units, at an average density of 324.9/km² (841.6/sq mi). The racial makeup of the city was 50.80% African American, 46.66% White, 0.79% Asian, 0.31% Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.55% of the population. From 1990 to 2000, the city's white non-Hispanic population declined from 53.6% to 45.9%, a -15% (-7 percentage point) decline. By 2004, among all groups, Shreveport lost 0.8% of its 2000 census population.

Shreveport-Bossier City MSA
Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1970 336,000
—
1980 376,789 12.1%
1990 376,330 −0.1%
2000 392,302 4.2%

There were 78,662 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.3% were married couples living together, 21.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.12. Population ages ranked as follows: 26.9% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. The city ranks third in the nation of cities over 100,000 population with significant gender disparity: for every 100 females there were only 87.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were just 82.1 males. According to 2005 FBI statistics, Shreveport ranks 18th in overall crime rate among cities of 100,000-250,000 persons, with a murder rate of 19.6 per 100,000 population.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,526, 72.4% of the national median of $42,148, and the median income for a family was $37,126. Males had a median income of $31,278 versus $21,659 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,759. About 18.7% of families and 22.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.3% of those under age 18 and 16.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

U.S. Courthouse in Shreveport.

Founded in 1836 and incorporated in 1839, Shreveport is the parish seat of Caddo Parish. It is part of the First Judicial District, housing the Parish courthouse. It also houses the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal, which consists of nine elected judges representing twenty parishes in northwest Louisiana. A portion of east Shreveport extends into Bossier Parish due to the changing course of the Red River.

The city of Shreveport has a mayor-council government. The elected municipal officials include the mayor, Cedric Glover, and seven members of the city council. Glover, a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, is the first African American to hold the position. Shreveport became a majority black city in the 2000 census.

Under the mayor-council government, the mayor serves as the executive officer of the city. As the city's chief administrator and official representative, the mayor is responsible for the general management of the city and for seeing that all laws and ordinances are enforced.

Economy

Shreveport was once a major player in United States oil business and at one time could boast Standard Oil of Louisiana as a locally based company. The Louisiana branch was later absorbed by Standard Oil of New Jersey. In the 1980s, the oil and gas industry suffered a large economic downturn, and many companies cut back jobs or went out of business, including a large retail shopping mall, South Park Mall, which closed in the late 1990s and is now Summer Grove Baptist Church. Shreveport suffered severely from this recession, and many residents left the area.

Today the city has largely transitioned to a service economy. In particular, the area has seen a rapid growth in the gaming industry, hosting various riverboat gambling casinos, and was second only to New Orleans in Louisiana tourism before Hurricane Katrina. Nearby Bossier City is home to one of the three horse racetracks in the state, Harrah's Louisiana Downs. Casinos in Shreveport-Bossier include Sam's Town Casino, Eldorado Casino, Horseshoe Casino, Boomtown Casino, and Diamond Jacks Casino (formerly Isle of Capri). The Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau is the official tourism information agency for the region. The bureau maintains a comprehensive database of restaurants, accommodations, attractions and events.

In May 2005, the Louisiana Boardwalk, a 550,000 square foot (51,000 m²) shopping and entertainment complex, opened across the Red River in Bossier City, featuring outlet shopping, several restaurants, a 14-screen movie theater, a bowling complex, and a Bass Pro Shops.

Shreveport Convention Center

A new 350,000-square-foot (33,000 m2) convention center was recently completed in downtown Shreveport. It includes an 800-space parking garage. An adjoining 12-story Hilton Hotel opened in early June 2007. The city's direct construction and ownership of the Hilton Hotel has been a controversial issue as to the proper use of public funds. The Shreveport Convention Center is managed by SMG.

The Shriner's Hospital for Children,now at the corner of Samford Ave and Kings Highway, was the first of its kind in the United States, having been established in 1922.

Shreveport is also a major medical center of the region and state. The Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport operates at expanded facilities once used by the former Confederate Memorial Medical Center. Major hospitals include Christus Schumpert, Willis Knighton, and Shriners Hospital for Children.

As of November 2008, the recent excitement about the Haynesville Shale has been a boon to Shreveport and the surrounding areas. Many new jobs in the natural gas industry are expected to be created over the next few years and local residents are enjoying large bonuses for signing mineral rights leases up to $25,000 per acre. However, the recent economic turndown has resulted in a lower market price for natural gas and slower-than-expected drilling activity. The city itself stands to profit by leasing the mineral rights on public lands in the near future as neighboring municipalities have already done.

Film industry

Tax incentives offered by the state government have given Louisiana the third largest film industry in the country, behind California and New York, and lead to its nickname of "Hollywood South."[15] Shreveport is no exception and has seen a number of films made in the city. Facilities include sound stages, the State Fair of Louisiana Fairgrounds Complex, and the Louisiana Wave Studio, a computer-controlled outdoor wave pool.[16]

Selected movies shot in Shreveport include:

Additionally, episodes of several television series have been shot in Shreveport and the surrounding area, including The Unit, True Blood, and The Gates.

Education

Centenary College entrance
Martin Luther King statue near Southern University at Shreveport
The former "Line Avenue School" now houses part of the Northwestern State University nursing program in Shreveport.

Caddo Public Schools is a school district based in Shreveport. The district serves all of Caddo Parish. Diesel Driving Academy offers commercial driver's license training at its campus in Shreveport.

Its founding superintendent was Clifton Ellis Byrd, a Virginia native, who assumed the chief administrative position in 1907 and continued until his death in 1926. C.E. Byrd High School, which was established in 1925 on Line Avenue at the intersection with East Kings Highway, bears his name.

Ayers Career College is a Shreveport based college that offers career training in the medical and HVAC fields.[17]

Shreveport has several colleges, including the Methodist-affiliated Centenary College (founded at Jackson, Louisiana, in 1825; relocated to Shreveport in 1908) and Louisiana State University at Shreveport, which opened as a two-year institution in 1967. It became four-year in 1976. Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport, the only medical school in northern Louisiana, opened in 1969. Shreveport also has one of the largest nursing schools in northern Louisiana, the Northwestern State University College of Nursing.

Southern University, Shreveport (SUSLA), offers a two-year associate's degree program. (The four-year institution, which is historically black, is in Baton Rouge.)

Founded in 1973, Louisiana Baptist University and Theological Seminary is also located in Shreveport at 6301 Westport Avenue.

Since July 2007, Shreveport has also been home to a local Remington College campus. This location offers both diploma and degree programs, and is active in the Shreveport Community.[18]

Churches

First United Methodist Church on Texas Street in downtown Shreveport. The sanctuary dates to 1913.

Shreveport has churches of all denominations and sizes. At the head of Texas Street is the large First United Methodist Church, established at that site in 1884. The current sanctuary dates to 1913. The church is pastored by Pat Day. Among its former pastors were D.L. Dykes, Jr., and John E. Fellers. The fiberglass steeple of the church fell onto a passing car during a severe thunderstorm in 2009, and has yet to be replaced.

A second Methodist congregation is named for J.S. Noel, Jr. The church was begun as a mission in 1906. Methodist layman James Noel and his wife, Fannie, provided financially for the church in its early year. The congregation decided to name the church for the Noel's late son. Like First United Methodist, it opened in the current sanctuary in 1913 and grew rapidly. A fire gutted the building in 1925, and only a portion of the loss was covered by insurance. The members expanded their ranks and rebuilt at the 500 Herndon location. The current Noel Memorial pastor is Flint Shea.[19]

Holy Trinity Catholic Church built in Romanesque revival style
The Episcopal St. Mark's Cathedral on Rutherford Street.

The large Holy Trinity Catholic Church located downtown was founded in 1858. Five priests died of yellow fever in 1873. The current sanctuary in Romanesque revival style architecture dates to 1896.[20]

A large First Baptist Church was once pastored by Monroe E. Dodd, an early radio minister and founder of the former Dodd College for Girls. Former Governor Jimmie Davis, a Shreveport city commissioner too, taught history for a year under Dodd's tutelage.

Other large Baptist congregations include Calvary Baptist, Broadmoor Baptist and Summer Grove Baptist. The latter was previously pastored by Wayne L. DuBose, now a Baptist denominational officer. Westview Christian Church is an independent Christian church that serves the area as well with members from diverse denominational backgrounds.

Particularly striking in size and architecture is St. Mark's Cathedral, an Episcopal congregation at 908 Rutherford Street in the Highland section of Shreveport. St. Mark's dates its establishment to the first religious service held in Shreveport in 1839.

The Jewish community dates to the organization of Congregation Har El in 1859, which later became B'nai Zion Temple, today the city's Reform congregation and largest synagogue. Agudath Achim, founded in 1905, as an Orthodox congregation is today a traditional Jewish synagogue. Rabbi Foster E. Kawaler is the current rabbi, is focused on rebuilding the congregation, which dwindled in size during the second half of the twentieth century. Shreveport, historically, has had a large and civic-minded Jewish community and has elected three Jewish mayors.[21]

Sports

Shreveport and Bossier City share an Arena Football League team, the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings.

Shreveport and Bossier all share a Central Hockey League team, the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs.

Baseball in Shreveport has an extensive past. The current team is a Minor League Baseball team known as the Shreveport-Bossier Captains. Baseball teams in Shreveport have gone through 8 different name changes and 7 different leagues all since 1895.

Shreveport's rugby team, the Shreveport Rugby Football Club, was founded in 1977, making it the oldest continuously competing sport team in Shreveport. It is a member of USA Rugby and participates in the Texas Rugby Football Union.

Shreveport is the home of the Shreveport Aftershock of the Independent Women's Football League. The Aftershock play in the Midsouth Division of the Eastern Conference of the IWFL. The home field for the Aftershock is Independence Stadium.[22]

Shreveport had an expansion team of the defunct World Football League, the Shreveport Steamer, in 1974. They played in State Fair Stadium (now known as Independence Stadium) from September 1974 until October 1975. The Steamer were originally from Houston Texans and moved to Shreveport in September 1974. In 1974 they had a record of 7-12-1 and in 1975 5-7. Shreveport also had a Canadian Football League football team in the mid-1990s known as the Shreveport Pirates. Bernard Glieberman, a Detroit real estate developer, owned the Ottawa Rough Riders and in 1994, sold the team and then purchased the expansion franchise that ultimately wound up in Shreveport. He was allowed to take a handful of Ottawa players with him, including quarterback Terrence Jones. However, the Pirates were another American CFL team that ultimately became unsuccessful. Their first victory did not come until the 15th week of their initial season, and in 1995, all their victories were against Canadian teams. By 1996 the team had folded up.

Shreveport is the birthplace, home, or former home of several American football stars and other noteworthy sports figures, among them:

Shreveport was mentioned as a potential city to house the NFL's New Orleans Saints in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. It was passed over in favor of the much larger San Antonio and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, though the Saints ended up remaining in New Orleans. The Saints did play a game in Shreveport against the Dallas Cowboys during the 2006 NFL preseason.

Shreveport has hosted the NCAA postseason Independence Bowl since 1976.[23]

Visual and performing arts

The historic Strand Theatre
Statue of Elvis Presley, who made his radio debut at the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium.

Shreveport is home to several theatres, museums, and performing arts groups including the following:

Events and tourism

Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras celebrations in Shreveport date to the mid-nineteenth century when krewes and parades were organized along the lines of those of New Orleans. Mardi Gras in Shreveport did not survive the cancellations caused by World War I, however. Attempts to revive it in the 1920s were unsuccessful and the last Carnival celebrations in Shreveport for decades were held in 1927. Mardi Gras in Shreveport was revived beginning in 1984 with the organization of the Krewe of Apollo. The Krewes of Gemini, Centaur, Aesculepius, Highland, Sobek, Harambee, and others, followed during the next decade and a half. The first krewe to revive parading was Gemini in 1989. Today, Mardi Gras is again an important part of the cultural life of the Shreveport metropolitan area.[24]

Recreation and attractions

Louisiana Boardwalk in Bossier City.
Riverwalk Park and Texas Street Bridge crossing over the Red River.

Media/press

KSLA-TV, CBS affiliate, is the oldest television station in Shreveport. Established in the former Washington Youree Hotel in 1954, it was moved to Fairfield Avenue in the early 1970s.

Shreveport is served by a variety of print publications. The major daily newspaper serving the Shreveport-Bossier and Ark-La-Tex area is the Shreveport Times. Its headquarters are located in downtown Shreveport near Interstate 20. A second major paper, the afternoon Shreveport Journal, ceased publication in 1991.

Other smaller non-daily newspapers in the area include The Shreveport Sun, the Caddo Citizen. Bossier City is served by the daily Bossier Press-Tribune. The Barksdale Warrior is the weekly newspaper of record for the Barksdale Air Force Base. In addition alternative publications include, The Forum Newsweekly, City Lights, and SB Magazine.

Twice annually, North Louisiana History, the journal of the North Louisiana Histrorical Association, is published in Shreveport.

Shreveport and Bossier City are served by two major cable television systems: Shreveport is served by Comcast and Bossier City is served by Suddenlink.

Shreveport is home to several radio stations, particularly KWKH and KEEL, having reputations beyond the city. The three commercial television outlets are KSLA-TV, CBS, founded in 1954; KTBS-TV, ABC, founded in 1955, and KTAL-TV, arrived in Shreveport in September 1961 as the NBC station. KTBS was an NBC station, with occasional ABC programs, from 1955–1961, when it switched affiliation to ABC. KTAL, formerly known as KCMC of Texarkana, was a CBS outlet prior to conversion to NBC, when it began to cover Shreveport as well as Texarkana. Don Owen (born 1930), a member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission from 1984–2002, is also a former news anchorman on KSLA.

Military installations

Barksdale Air Force Base is located in Bossier Parish across the river from Shreveport, which donated the land for its construction in the 1920s. Named for pioneer army aviator Lt. Eugene Hoy Barksdale and originally called Barksdale Army Air Field, it opened in 1933 and became Barksdale Air Force Base in 1947. Headquartered here are the 8th Air Force, 2d Bomb Wing, and 917th Wing. The primary plane housed here is the Boeing B52 Stratofortress. In earlier years, the base was the home to other famous planes, including the B-47.

Shreveport is home to the 2-108th Cavalry Squadron, the reconnaissances element of the 256th Infantry Brigade. Three of the squadron's four cavalry troops are located at 400 East Stoner Avenue in a historic armory known as "Fort Humbug". This was named due to the Confederate Army burning logs to look like cannons and placing them along the Red River. This caused Union ironclad ships sailing north on the Red River to be tricked into turning back south.[25]

Transportation

Highways and roads

Shreveport's past reflects the need for mass transit and public roads. As far back as the 1870s, residents used mule-drawn street cars that were converted to electric-motorized cars by 1890. Commuter rail systems in Shreveport flourished for many decades, and rail car lines extended out to rural areas. In 1930, trolleys and rail cars began to be replaced by buses, although motor buses did not finally replace all trolley service until the 1960s. In the 1960s, the Interstate Highway System came to the area with the construction of Interstate 20.

The local public transportation provider, SporTran, provides moderately extensive bus service throughout Shreveport and Bossier City. Sportran operates seven days a week on seventeen bus routes (five night routes) from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m., with no night service on Sunday.

Shreveport interstate intersections

The highway system has a cross-hair and loop freeway structure similar to that of Texas cities like Houston and Dallas. The loop consists of The Outer Loop Freeway Interstate 220 on the north and The Inner Loop Freeway, Louisiana Highway 3132 on the south, forming approximately an 8-mile (13 km) diameter semi-loop around downtown. Another loop is formed by the Bert Kouns Industrial Loop, (Louisiana Highway 526) and circles further south bisecting Interstate 49.

Shreveport lies along the route of the proposed Interstate 69 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) superhighway that will link Canada, the U.S. industrial Midwest, Texas, and Mexico.

Airports

Shreveport is served by two airports. The largest is Shreveport Regional Airport (SHV), established in 1952, and is served by Allegiant Air (to Las Vegas), American Airlines (to Dallas/Ft. Worth), Continental Airlines (to Houston) and Delta (to Atlanta and Memphis). The smaller airport, Shreveport Downtown Airport (DTN), was built in 1931 and is located north of the Downtown Business District along the Red River. It is currently a general aviation/reliever airport, but was originally Shreveport's commercial airport.

Notable residents

For Shreveport's many notable sports figures, see separate list in "Sports," above.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  2. ↑ "Shreveport city, Louisiana United States Census". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=shreveport&_cityTown=shreveport&_state=04000US22&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010. Retrieved 2008-10-09. 
  3. ↑ Census 2000 Ranking Tables for Population for MSAs. Retrieved 2010-07-17.
  4. ↑ Brock, Eric J.. "Shreveport History". Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce. http://www.shreveportchamber.org/history.php. Retrieved 2008-06-10. 
  5. ↑ Brock, Eric J. (2006). "Shreveport: a Brief History". City of Shreveport, Louisiana. http://www.ci.shreveport.la.us/history.htm. 
  6. ↑ John D. Winters, The Civil War in Louisiana, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1963, ISBN 0-8071-0834-0, p. 41
  7. ↑ Winters, p. 211
  8. ↑ "Negro Band Leader Held in Shreveport". The New York Times. 1963-10-09. 
  9. ↑ Notice from City of Shreveport regarding bridge repairs
  10. ↑ "Past Winners of the All-America City Award". National Civic League. http://www.ncl.org/aac/past_winners/past_winners.html. 
  11. ↑ "NCDC: U.S. Climate Normals". http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim20/la/168440.pdf. 
  12. ↑ Material taken from historic markers in Highland section of Shreveport
  13. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  14. ↑ "Census 2000 Data for the State of Louisiana" (town list), US Census Bureau, May 2003, C2000-LA Census.gov.
  15. ↑ Kamenetz, Anya (September 2007). "The Short, Shady History of Hollywood South". Fast Company (Mansueto Ventures LLC) (118). http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/118/the-short-shady-history-of-hollywood-south.html. Retrieved 2008-10-09. 
  16. ↑ "Sound Stages/Infrastructure". City of Shreveport, Louisiana. http://www.ci.shreveport.la.us/pictures/soundstages.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-09. 
  17. ↑ Ayers.edu
  18. ↑ Remingtoncollege.edu
  19. ↑ Noelumc.org
  20. ↑ Historical marker, Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Shreveport
  21. ↑ Brock, Eric J.: The Jewish Community of Shreveport. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing Co., 2002
  22. ↑ "Shreveport Aftershock - Schedule". Shreveport Aftershock. http://www.shreveportwomensfootball.com/ssp/schedule. Retrieved 2008-01-05. 
  23. ↑ Schreveport the granddaddy of bad bowl games Yahoo! News
  24. ↑ Brock, Eric J.: "Mardi Gras Grows, But Fizzled Earlier." The Times. 1996-02-17
  25. ↑ Brock, Eric J.: Eric Brock's Shreveport. Gretna: Pelican Publishing Co., 2001

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