Shreveport, Louisiana
Texas Street Bridge over the Red River
Shreveport, Louisiana, is the third-largest city and the third largest metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Louisiana and the 99th-largest city in the United States. It is the seat of Caddo Parish. Bossier City lies across the Red River in Bossier Parish and the Shreveport-Bossier City Metropolitan Area population exceeds 375,000.
Shreveport is the commercial and cultural center of the Ark-La-Tex, the area where Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas meet. Some call it the "Gateway to East Texas;" others have observed that Shreveport sits on the border between the South and the West. The city exercises a great pull over this region. Many people in the community refer to the two cities of Shreveport and Bossier City, which are separated only by the Red River, as "Shreveport-Bossier".
History
Early settlers
The town was founded in 1836 by the Shreve Town Company, a development corporation established to start 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.
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. On March 20, 1839, the town was incorporated as "Shreveport". Originally, the town consisted of 64 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. Both slaves and freedmen worked on the river steamboats which plied the Red River, and as stevedores loading and unloading cargo. By 1860, Shreveport had a free population of 2,200 and 1,300 slaves within the city limits.
Shreveport, is west of Monroe, northwest of Alexandria and Baton Rouge. Note highways also connect to Bossier City, Natchitoches, Tullos, Minden, Ruston, Bastrop, and Tallulah.
During the U.S. Civil War, Shreveport was capital of Louisiana (1863-1865). The city was a Confederate stronghold 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 (May 26, 1865). Confederate President Jefferson Davis attempted to flee to Shreveport when he left Richmond but was captured in Georgia en route.
The Red River, opened by Shreve in the 1830s, remained navigable until 1914 when disuse, owing to the rise of the railroad, once again resulted in the river becoming unnavigable. In 1994, the Red River was restored to navigability by the 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, a.k.a. "Leadbelly" (1889-1949), 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 to 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.
Downtown Shreveport at night
Shreveport was also home to the "Louisiana Hayride" (radio program), broadcast weekly from the city`s Municipal Auditorium that, during its heyday from 1948 to 1960, 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 got his start at this venue).
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 various artistic statues, sculptures, and mosaics were added. The Texas Street Bridge was lit up with controversial neon lights, initially accompanied by a green laser which was eventually abandoned, as have been the lights.
Economy
Regions Tower, the tallest building in Downtown Shreveport
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 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 is second only to New Orleans in Louisiana tourism, pre-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 at www.shreveport-bossier.org
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 Shop.
A new 350,000 square-foot convention center was recently completed in downtown Shreveport with an 800 space parking garage. An adjoining 12-story Hilton Hotel was recently completed and opened in early June 2007. The hotel has been extremely controversial in that while it is managed by Hilton Hotels, it is actually owned by the city and paid for with public funds. The Shreveport Convention Center is managed by SMG.
Shreveport has started a film industry with its very own sound stage and the largest wave pool for movie production.
Sports
Shreveport and Bossier City share an af2 arena football team, the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings, as well as 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 Sports. Baseball teams in Shreveport have gone through 8 different name changes and 7 different leagues all since 1895.
Shreveport had an expansion team, the Shreveport Steamer, of the defunct World Football League in 1974. They played in State Fair Stadium (now known as Independence Stadium) from Sept 1974 till October 1975. The Shreveport Steamer were originally the 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 professional football team in the mid-1990 under the CFL Canadian Football League know as the Shreveport Pirates. Bernard Glieberman, a Detroit real estate developer owned the Ottawa Rough Riders and in 1994, he 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 didn`t 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.
Shreveport was also mentioned as a potential city to temporarily house the NFL`s New Orleans Saints in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina, but was passed over for San Antonio and LSU Stadium. The Saints did play a preseason game here against the Dallas Cowboys during the 2006 NFL preseason.
Shreveport has a rugby team the Shreveport Rugby Football Club. It was founded in 1977 and participates in the Texas Rugby Football Union.
Shreveport is also home to an International Women`s Football League team. This team, the Shreveport Aftershock, was founded in 2006.
Media/press
The Shreveport Times
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. Other smaller non-daily newspapers in the area include The Shreveport Sun, the Caddo Citizen. Bossier City is served by the bi-weekly Bossier Press-Tribune. The Bombardier 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.
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 also is home to several radio and television stations that serve the metropolitan area.
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 Ave. in a historic armory known as "Fort Humbug".
Home Value Trends in Louisiana by Ashley Lichty
Don`t worry too much about the doom and gloom predictions you hear about the nation`s real estate market: home value prices are dropping, the bubble is bursting, housing`s not selling, etc. Looked at on a national level, the market is simply leveling out from the boom experienced the past few years. Besides, knowing how things are nationally and what the median home value for the nation is (221,900) isn`t going to help you when you decide to relocate.
Real estate is an investment and must be looked at as such. You want to invest somewhere your home value is sure to appreciate. By examining past home value and sales trends in a specific area, as well as that area`s economy, unemployment rates, job opportunities and tourist attractions, you can get a idea of whether home value prices are likely to rise or fall in that area. Areas with strong economies, low unemployment, plenty of jobs and lots of tourist attractions are more likely to have sharply increased home value appreciation.
That being said, there is one area in the U.S. that`s real estate market is still a bit of a mystery: Louisiana. With Hurricane Katrina driving so many people out of their homes and destroying still more homes (and consequently, home value), Louisiana has been focused on rebuilding itself and the New Orleans area in particular. Unlike any other state, Louisiana actually lost population in the past few years, with the 2006 census listing a population of 4,287,768 - several hundred thousand less people than in 2004, before Katrina. The state has been building back it`s economy and agricultural products such as seafood, cotton, soybeans, cattle, sugarcane, poultry and eggs, dairy and rice are being churned out as fast as possible. Also, industrial sectors are back in full swing of production, including chemical products, petroleum and coal, food processing, transportation equipment, paper products and tourism.
Even with the Katrina tragedy, Louisiana is still a center for tourism. Even a flooded, destroyed New Orleans brings in more tourists than many other areas in the U.S. The state can be broken down into 5 regions. Enjoy the world-famous New Orleans culture, music, food, architecture and love of life in the Greater New Orleans area. The most talked, sung and written about city in the Western World, New Orleans is so steeped in French and Spanish culture that some still consider it a European City. In Cajun Country you can enjoy the Creole and Cajun spice of life and spirit - while taking in the culture and a few wildlife adventures in the heart of the swamps and bayous. The Gulf of Mexico is also accessible from this area.
Plantation Country is full of old time plantations, turned into testaments of history and culture of a time when cotton was still king, as well as the capital city of Baton Rouge. At the Crossroads region (the center of Louisiana) you can enjoy outdoor adventure: hiking the National Forests, canoeing, fishing, birding and hunting as well as the Native American culture that still lingers. Finally, there`s the northern region or the Sportsman`s Paradise, where woods, hills and lakes combine to provide any outdoor activity you could hope for. There is also great nightlife, casino gaming and entertainment venues for everyone in the area. Regardless of what you`re looking to do, you`re bound to find it somewhere in Louisiana.
Because of the disaster of Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana`s real estate market is still recovering. Their unemployment rate is relatively high at 4.8%, though the state is working on that. The median household income is still fairly low at about $36,729 in 2005, much lower than the national median. According to RealtyTrac, the median home value sales price in Louisiana in 2006 was about $172,510. You can expect the state to be a huge area of growth over the next few years as they build back what was lost to the hurricane.
The value of a home is different in every area of Louisiana, but it looks like undamaged homes are selling quickly to those who want to get back in the area. Since only undamaged homes are selling, and are in high demand, sellers have the ability to raise prices, unlike the rest of the U.S. at this point. As the state is built back up and past residents continue to move back, it seems likely that eventually Louisiana will recover, the market will become more balanced and stable, and home value will begin to appreciate again.
Ashley Lichty is a webmaster and the resident SEO of Web Xtreme, Inc. She has a background in real estate and marketing with an emphasis in writing.
Find out your own home value and other valuable homeowner information at GetMyHomesValue.com
Source:
Lichty, Ashley. "Home Value Trends in Louisiana." EzineArticles 21 June 2007. 05 November 2007 <http://ezinearticles.com/?Home-Value-Trends-in-Louisiana&id=616477>.
