New downtown Baton Rouge shop spotlights Louisiana movie history

Louisiana Film Channel is opening a retail shop at the company’s headquarters on Third Street in downtown Baton Rouge.

The channel is a streaming service focused on films, TV and live events with a Louisiana connection. Owner Lucas Fry says the retail store, which he plans to open on Labor Day, is an extension of the brand, offering thousands of posters, photos and other memorabilia related to Louisiana film.

“We curated [the selection] over the last two years from different collectors around the world,” Fry says.

The collection ranges from new material to items that date back more than a century, Fry says. That includes memorabilia from the first Tarzan movie, filmed in Morgan City in 1917, and from the opening of Vitascope Hall in New Orleans, which dates back to 1896 and is thought to be the world’s first permanent, for-profit movie theater.

Walk-in customers can scan a code and shop online later, Fry adds.

The shop will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week starting Monday, he says.

This story originally appeared in an Aug. 30 issue of Daily Report. To keep up with Baton Rouge business and politics, subscribe to the free Daily Report e-newsletter here.