Does Huey haunt this downtown tunnel? Sponsored by Hilton Capitol Center

The Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center has re-opened our legendary tunnel space. Shortly after the Heidelberg Hotel, now the Hilton Capitol Center, was built in 1928, the Interstate Hotel Company decided to build an adjunct hotel, The King Hotel, now Hotel Indigo, to support the ever-expanding economy.

Roy L. Heidelberg operated the hotels along with Joe C. King. It made sense to also build a tunnel to connect and service the two hotels.

The tunnel provided the staff and guests of both hotels the opportunity to go to and from without the need of exiting the buildings at the street level. Several newspaper articles from that time described the tunnel as a “Peacock Alley,” which referred to the colorful tile that adorned the walls of the tunnel that lead into the basement of each hotel.

As a notable location of prominent political activities and figures, our hotel was even the temporary State Capitol as well as one of Huey P. Long’s places of business. He set up shop in several of our suites and conducted his deals in the Hunt Room (Kingfish Lounge). It is also rumored that he made good use of the tunnel to evade the media and sneak away to visit his mistress across the street at the King hotel.

When asked if Huey “haunts” the tunnel area, we can confirm that there has been a shadowy figure seen in the tunnel very recently as activity in the area has increased. Could Huey be trying to rendezvous with his mistress? Plan your private event and maybe you can ask for yourself!