A King Cotton town that thrived in the antebellum years and survived the war physically, though not economically, unscathed, Shreveport (pop. 200,145) is now a busy industrial city rising on the west bank of the Red River. Along with its ugly stepbrother, Bossier City (BO-zyur) across the river, Shreveport is a center of the Louisiana oil business—which is small only when compared to that of Texas, and is still hugely important. Also, the cities emerged in recent years as two of the hot spots of Louisiana’s nascent gambling industry, with a line of major resort-casinos—including the lively Horseshoe, a four-story faux riverboat floating in a shallow pond on the Bossier City side—along the riverfront attracting
people from all over the tri-state “Ark-La-Tex” region.
Downtown Shreveport is the usual mix of turn-of-the-20th-century brick buildings and boarded-up shopfronts, loomed over by a solitary 10-story glass office tower, with a handful of interesting structures surviving near the riverfront; walking-tour maps of the area are available from the visitors center (318/222-9391 or 800/551-8682), a block west of the river at 629 Spring Street. One place car culture fans will want to check out is the Ark-La-Tex Car Museum (daily; $6; 318/222-0227), housed in a well-preserved 1920s Dodge Bros. car dealership at 601 Spring Street, which has a futuristic 1948 Tucker on display alongside old fire engines.
The nicest part of town is the leafy Highland district, stretching south from the end of Market Street, south of I-20 between the river and the new I-49 freeway. This is where you’ll find the grand old houses of the landed gentry, many of which look like they belong in Gone With The Wind, despite the fact that almost all of them date from the 20th century. The Highland district also holds one of Shreveport’s better places to eat: Don’s Seafood House (318/865-4291), at 3100 Highland Avenue, serving moderately priced Cajun-spiced specialties. All the usual hotel and motel chains line I-20.
