225BatonRouge.com - Blogs

I can go so many ways with this week’s Marissa Explains It All. It just leaves itself open. But since my family reads this, I’ll attempt to exercise some restraint. Rest assured, though, that I could take this much further. The celebrations and libations are mostly over, so let this blog remind you where you (probably) are: Baton Rouge. If you have any probing questions about Baton Rouge, shoot them here.

Question: Where did Baton Rouge come from?

Answer: Concrete.

Whoa. I’m not talking about the entire city. I’m just talking about the words “Baton Rouge” and the accompanying fleur de lis on the side of the levee downtown. You can see it on Google’s satellite map, just off River Road between Laurel Street and Florida Street. I hadn’t noticed it⎯shame on me⎯until eating lunch last week on the levee.

The letters were added to the riverfront as part of a $3 million federal levee stabilization project completed in 1994 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. As proposed by the Downtown Development District, part of the funds were used for beautification including the letters, walkways, lighting, seating and tiered steps. The letters were originally created using colored concrete and are repainted as needed, with another coat coming in the near future. “It was the first opportunity for Baton Rougeans to get to the levee and promenade up and down the levee,” says Davis Rhorer, DDD’s executive director. Promenade they do, but that’s not all. Use your own imagination here, but let’s just say some people surely put the multiple o’s in Baton Rouge. And sometimes, they even leave evidence. Come on, Baton Rouge, let’s pick up the stick! Thanks to Davis Rhorer at DDD for his concrete knowledge.