Baton Rouge, LA: Hometown of Discovery

The capital of Louisiana sits on the eastern side of the grand Mississippi River where the USS Kidd stands at attention as a Veterans Museum. The Capitol building seems to tower majestically over the entire city, but I still find myself partial to the old state capitol building with its castle-like appearance, although it is my understanding in his time Mark Twain do not look favorably upon it in the “otherwise honorable place”. I respectfully suggest to our illustrious American writer of the 19th century that there is something celebratory in the uniqueness of the architecture relative to the surroundings, and the old capitol building is a wonder to behold.

I principally know this city through the work of the community radio station WHYR 96.9FM. The extraordinary volunteers tirelessly perform their duties to bring unique voices, ideas, music and more to their listeners, and we are fortunate that Barnaby Druthers audio theater has found a home at the station. When I was in Louisiana for only two nights while staying in New Orleans, I chose to spend one of the days traveling to and then visiting Baton Rouge, and I am so grateful that I did. My main focus of this trip was to visit the radio station, but there was so much more to the city that I feel another visit in the future may be in order!

There’s a lot of opportunity to discover right there on S. River Road. Besides the aforementioned USS Kidd and old State house (which itself is a museum of Louisiana history), there’s the Louisiana Art and Science Museum and had I been in town with my kids or had I possessed more time during my brief visit, I would have made a point to stop in there. For big events, there’s the Raising Cane’s River Center that has an arena and exhibit hall. But there’s more to Baton Rouge than S. River Road.

On Lafayette Street, there’s the Shaw Center for the Arts which includes the Manship Theater and the LSU Museum of Art. Between the two, I feel if I lived in the area, I would be at the Shaw Center so often they’d know me by name, because art and theater is where I find great inspiration. It’s good to bring LSU into the conversation as well, for it seems the university is omnipresent within the city and no doubt is the catalyst for many visitors to find their way into the community.

But allow me to return the conversation to WHYR because MUSIC is what I think of when I think of Baton Rouge, and maybe that’s true for you too. Whether it’s blues or jazz, gospel, country, hip hop or rock and roll or something new that will originate from Louisiana’s capitol along the Mississippi, music is the artistic expression of the soul of the striving. Music finds a home at WHYR. The superb variety of musical genres that are showcased on the schedule makes the mission of radio station self-evident.

When I visited, I told my friend at the station Bruce Kives that I would love to pen a Barnaby Druthers story taking place in Baton Rouge. After taking some time to process my experience there, I believe now is the time when that story will emerge. Stay tuned!