March 23, 2022
CAPITOL PARK MUSEUM
660 N 4th Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801
“The Capitol Park Museum is a branch of the Louisiana State Museum located at 660 N. 4th Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. There are two permanent exhibits on the history and culture of Louisiana.” - Wikipedia
This museum tells the story of Louisiana, beginning with the Louisiana Purchase and continuing through today’s robust and diverse cultures. There were large exhibits honoring Huey Long and Louis Armstrong. Other exhibits featured the Mississippi River, outdoor recreation, and farming. Slavery in Louisiana and Civil Rights were also highlighted.
The upper floor focused on the state’s culture, showcasing three areas, the Southeast, the North, and Acadiana or Southwest. Space was also dedicated to the diverse music in the state and to Mardi Gras.
The museum felt up-to-date and modern, and contained a lot of interesting exhibits.
As you first enter the exhibit area there is so much to see/
"Louisiana became the eighteenth state to join the Union on April 30, 1812. The law stipulated that the official American flag would retain fifteen stars and fifteen strips despite the inevitability that future state would want to see alterations to the flag as they entered the Union. Residents of states admitted after passage of the law were left to make their own "unofficial" versions if they wished to see their new states reflected in the American flag. Philip Hicky, a native Louisianian born of Irish and English parents, had his female relatives fashion this flag from dress silk, incorporating eighteen stars and eighteen stripes, to fly over his command at the Arsenal in Baton Rouge.
The War of 1812
A Confederate submarine recovered from Lake Pontchartrain.
Exhibit honoring Huey Long
This headstone is the original marker for Long's gravesite on the south side of the capitol. Although Long had requested a simple stone for his grave, the state replaced it with a large twelve-foot monument and statue (See Louisiana State Capitol).
Exhibit honoring Louie Armstrong.
Louis Armstrong played this bugle at the Colored Waif's Home in New Orleans.
Part of the display about steamships.
Linda Koerner of New Orleans caught this blue marlin in the Gulf of Mexico during a July 1977 fishing tournament. The fish set a record for being the first thousand-plus-pound fish ever caught in the Gulf. It measures six feet wide and fourteen feet long.
Cotton Gin
Two row sugarcane harvester.
First edition of Uncle Tom's Cabin, ca. 1851
Part of the Civil Rights exhibit.
Part of the Civil Rights exhibit.
Hanging sculpture in the lobby of the museum
The welcome to the Louisiana Culture area
The three main cultural districts of the state.
In the Acadiana area, music has played an important role in their culture.
Bacchus King's Costume. Dennis Quaid reigned as a very enthusiastic Bacchus in 1990, he wore this costume.
Piece from a Mardi Gras float.
The museum had several cubicles each representing a different style of music important to Louisiana.
Jacket worn by Fats Domino. The cuffs of the white shirt had Domino's signature embroidered into them.
Exhibit dedicated to music in New Orleans.
Mardi Gras isn't the only celebration in Louisiana, several cities have there own festivals, for example every May Gibsland holds the Bonnie and Clyde Festival to commemorate where the couple was finally ambushed in 1934.