Downtown Hostel
Spring 2015
Downtown Baton Rouge is filled with opportunities for urban renewal, particularly through infill projects. A proposal for a mixed-use development including a hostel, bar, and Laundromat creatively provides refuge for visitors while also connecting them with the city's famed political history.
The city’s history and beginnings were influenced by rural Louisiana. The agricultural influences were reinforced with the election of Huey P. Long, a commoner whom was elected governor and immediately carried out political change. Large governmental buildings were constructed, as was new infrastructure, such as a highway that connected Baton Rouge to New Orleans. With new political power and influence, however, came political corruption. Governor Long and his agents ensured money to build the grand new capitol building and statewide infrastructure, but funds to fuel personal projects were hidden from state officials and the public. With this came a type of decay of the city of Baton Rouge. A city of grandeur slowly drifted to a dark period of crime and blight. Businesses began to close and poverty ensued in local neighborhoods.