Louisiana State Capitol

This art deco masterpiece has been the site of a bombing, an assassination and the infinite machinations of state kingpins and politicos. The Louisiana State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Louisiana and is located in downtown Baton Rouge. The capitol houses the chambers for the Louisiana State Legislature, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as the office of the Governor of Louisiana. At 450ft tall and with 34 stories, it is the tallest building in Baton Rouge, the seventh tallest building in Louisiana, and tallest capitol in the United States. It is located on a 27acre tract, which includes the capitol gardens. The Louisiana State Capitol is often thought of as "Huey Long's monument" due to the influence of the former Governor and U.S. Senator in getting the capitol built. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982.HistoryIn order to secure the mouth of the Mississippi River for the French, the town of New Orleans was founded in 1718 and became the capital for colony of Louisiana in 1722. In 1763, the Treaty of Paris ceded the portion of Louisiana that was west of the Mississippi River, as well as New Orleans, to Spain and the remaining territory east of the Mississippi was turned over to Great Britain. The French reclaimed Louisiana from the Spanish in 1803 after the Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1800; the territory was then sold as the Louisiana Purchase to the United States. The formal transfers of Louisiana from Spain to France took place in front of the colonial seat of government The Cabildo in November 1803, with the transfer from France to the U.S. occurring there, as well, less than a month later.