Old Governor's Mansion — Attraction in Baton Rouge

I visited the Old Governor's Mansion for a tour on June 5, 2024, with my brother and sister.

This is the mansion that Huey Long -- the famed "Kingfish" and patriarch of the Long dynasty -- ordered built. He wanted it to look like the White House and to give him practice for when he'd become president (which, of course, never happened thanks to his assassination). The mansion was used for about 30 years as the home of Louisiana's chief executive. It has a lot of preserved art and furniture, as well as gifts given to the governors who resided there. Ultimately, a new mansion was built, as this one lacked central air conditioning.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the mansion. know a decent amount about Louisiana politics in the 20th century, but even I found myself knowing very few of the former occupants' names. Suffice to say, I learned a lot. I did call in advance to schedule a tour, and my brother, sister and I got a private tour. It helped that we went on a Wednesday afternoon, but with this, we got an up-close-and-personal telling of the building's story. Our tour was about 35-40 minutes. The only downsides are the hours (only open until 4) and that there is no on-site gift shop. The mansion is served by the gift shop at the nearby Old State House, which is about 3-4 minutes away by driving. There are a few free goods at the mansion, though, including postcards and small pamphlets about Louisiana. Parking is easily accessible and free (just like admission) at the surface lot adjacent to the building.

Of course, I have to thank the staff -- they were phenomenal. I would have liked to talk to Mary endlessly about Louisiana history and politics -- she has a lot of experience and told us some amazing stories. Unfortunately, it was 3:45, and we wanted to go to the gift shop; we had to run. The staff can really show you that this building was made...

This place was for work but the service they have is a very primitive, arrogant lady, very arrogant, rude because while they are talking to her, the phone is on, she does not pay attention to the other person because she thinks she is superior and in a place in a public place that is from the town and it belongs to everyone or for the people I work for, it's a place where we really are all one. I don't think you have to be as arrogant and primitive as one of the people I could see and who was able to really help, I wouldn't give my vote for some people who have because if those are the people who represent them what does that mean about that person how do I speak about those people people when they have power believe they are superior to what they do not have they believe they are better and in the eyes of God and in the eyes of God we...

I should start by saying that Mary and the entire crew here did such a good job. We visited on Wednesday, June 5th, 2024, and it was just the three of us (me and my siblings), so we got a personal tour of the mansion. The very charismatic and larger-than-life Huey Long definitely knew what it was that he wanted, and the house reflects this. Mary and the student who was interning there explained it all very well. All told, we probably spent a little less than an hour at the house; the tour took around 30 – 40 minutes. Note that the gift shop is not on-site, but it is located at the Old Louisiana State Capitol, which is very close to the mansion. Parking is also simple enough due to the presence of a large parking lot that is close. Touring the...