The Red Stick’s “Little White House” by Christina Zito

Baton Rouge’s Old Governor’s Mansion, built in 1929 under the administration of Gov. Huey Long, is a fascinating historical site in the city. The beautiful Foyer is very welcoming, with its spiral marble staircase and its terrazzo floors. While beautiful, the foyer provokes a curious mysterious feeling in its visitors. They sense that if the mansion’s walls could talk, it would present countless interesting tales. Like many of mansion’s guests, I was also anxious to hear details and stories about the mansion and its residents.

The Old Governor’s Mansion housed 9 Louisiana governors betweens 1929 and 1964. It is said that Louisiana’s legendary Gov. Huey Long had the mansion built similarly to the White House in Washington D.C. because he was so sure that one day he would be president, and he wanted to know his way around when it happened. These two stately buildings have similar Foyer areas, State Dining Rooms on the first floor and Oval Offices on the second floor. The Old Governor’s Mansion houses a set of china for each of the governors who resided there; this small display that may have been inspired by the china collection at the White House. Also, the wallpaper in the State Dining Room of the Old Governor’s Mansion is the original wallpaper from 1929. The wallpaper, titled entitled Vues d’Amerique du Nord, or Scenic America, is hand-blocked and first printed in France in 1834. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy had the same print installed in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House in the 1960s.

In typical and often controversial Long style, the mansion’s Library houses a “Secret Staircase” that Long used to escape from his desk when he did not want to greet complaining constituents. Each of the Louisiana governors who lived in the mansion have a room with in which their families have donated some unique belongings such as furniture, blankets, photos and other memorabilia.

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