On your right stands a gleaming white mansion defined by its imposing square shape, supported by four massive front columns, and capped with a distinctive triangular roofpiece.
Let me introduce you to Huey P. Long, a man so boldly ambitious that local lore says he walked into a New Orleans architecture firm, slapped a twenty dollar bill upside down on a desk, and told them, I want that. He was pointing to the back of the bill, demanding an exact replica of the White House right here in Baton Rouge. Legend has it he simply wanted to learn his way around the presidential residence long before he actually got elected president.
But grand new visions usually require erasing whatever stood there before. The previous governor's mansion on this exact spot was a much older home that Long despised, seeing it as a relic of his political enemies. Claiming the old place was infested with rats and termites, he orchestrated an audacious display of raw power. He brought in a crew of state prisoners who completely dismantled the historic house in just six hours, hauling everything away. When critics complained about destroying a home that previous governors found perfectly adequate, Long compared it to a dirty boarding house towel, joking that people simply get used to the grime.
Look up at the triangular pediment resting above those massive columns. Can you spot the ornate carving of the pelican feeding her young, a beautiful detail borrowed directly from the Great Louisiana State Seal?
Those giant Corinthian columns, the pillars with the intricately carved leaves at the top, were designed to project absolute authority. Long spent almost one hundred fifty thousand dollars... over three million dollars today... plus another twenty two thousand just on crystal chandeliers and fine velvet drapes. If you look at your screen, you can see the opulent East Ballroom inside, designed specifically to mimic the real White House layout.
But despite that grand facade, life in the state's mansions was often comically chaotic and uncomfortable. The wife of a previous governor complained the old house was freezing in winter, boiling in summer, and took a whole regiment to clean. One family even brought their yard chickens and let them roam freely across the executive lawns. And the new mansion was just as wild. Long's brother, Governor Earl Long, lived here later, and supposedly his wife once found a famous burlesque dancer's coat in the house and angrily threw it straight into the washing machine.
This grand estate has shifted beautifully with the times, and you can check out the before and after image on your app to see how the surrounding trees have matured since the nineteen seventies, framing that impeccably preserved exterior.
If you want to explore the secret staircases, the mansion is open for visitors Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 4 PM. We are heading to the United States Post Office and Courthouse next, about a seven minute walk away, where we will uncover the rather dark history buried beneath its elegant facade.
