The first thing you notice about the Spring Street Historic Museum (SSHM) is the building; it is beautiful. One of the oldest buildings downtown, the former Tally's Bank was recently repainted and updated both inside and out. The building is small, but it packs in a tremendous amount of history from the founding of the area to the Yellow Fever epidemic that wiped out 25% of the population to the legal Red Light District (larger than New Orleans' Storyville district) to the Civil War shipyards that produced submarines for the Confederate Army. Shreveport started as a rough and ready Texas trail town and along the way, grew wealthy with oil and gas discoveries. There are so many things to discover and the very knowledgeable museum director is always happy to share his stories and a few treasure-hunting tips, to boot.