Capitol Park Museum
#3 in Best Things To Do in Baton Rouge
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- 3.0Facilities
- 3.5Atmosphere
For a big dose of Louisiana history, plan a stop at the Capitol Park Museum. Spanning nearly 70,000 square feet, the museum houses a variety of hands-on exhibits and artifacts depicting the unique history of the state. Among the museum's temporary exhibits, there are two permanent exhibits, "Grounds for Greatness: Louisiana and the Nation" and "Experiencing Louisiana: Discovering the Soul of America." Items on display include a Civil War submarine, a 48-foot wooden shrimp trawler, a two-row sugar cane harvester and Clifton Chenier's Grammy Award, among many others.
There are also exhibits dedicated to the Black experience in Louisiana, exploring everything from slave markets, resistance, revolt and Jim Crow. Among the displays is an exhibit on the Baton Rouge bus boycott of 1953.
Past visitors raved about the Capitol Park Museum and said you'll need to devote at least half a day to see all the exhibits. Others said it's a great place to bring kids thanks to all the interactive elements.
The museum is located in downtown Baton Rouge and welcomes visitors Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets cost $7 for adults and are free for children 6 and younger. It can be reached via the Capitol Park Trolley Service. For more information, visit the museum's official website.
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2 of 14#1 Louisiana's Old State Capitol
A National Historic Landmark, Louisiana's Old State Capitol is not your average capitol building. Designed in a Gothic Revival architecture style and constructed between 1847 and 1852, the exterior of the building looks like a medieval fortress. Created by architect James Harrison Dakin, the building is accented with towers, stained-glass windows and cast-iron – a design aesthetic that Dakin referred to as "Castellated Gothic." Though it's no longer used for official government business (lawmakers started using the new state capitol beginning in 1932), it's open to the public and houses a number of exhibits, including a multimedia presentation about the ghost of Sarah Morgan, a Civil War-era figure who kept diaries of her experiences throughout the war.
Past visitors called the building a "must-see" while in Baton Rouge. Reviewers were particularly impressed by the stained-glass windows and spiral staircase.
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