Shreveport has a fairly long and colorful history, and any native worth their salt knows a few of the historic landmarks around town. A lot of them are easy to spot. There's The Strand Theatre, Shreveport Municipal Auditorium, and C. E. Byrd High School just to name a few that are pretty easy to determine. We all know they were all built a long time ago, and have been in use forever.

But what else do we have in our fine town that has garnered the coveted "National Historic Registry" plaque? Some of these, you might not guess.

  • Library of Congress
    Library of Congress
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    1

    The Shreveport Waterworks Pumping Station

    142 North Common Street

    Also known as the McNeil Street Pump Station, it is a historic water pumping station in Shreveport. Not only is it on the National Register Of Historic Places, but it is a National Historic Landmark as well. It exhibits a century's worth of water pumping equipment, and was the nation's last steam-powered waterworks facility when it was shut down in 1980. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1982. (Source: Wikipedia)

  • LSU Shreveport Archives 29 July 1957. Coll. 393, Jacket 17767.
    LSU Shreveport Archives 29 July 1957. Coll. 393, Jacket 17767.
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    2

    St. Paul's Bottoms

    Downtown Shreveport Into Ledbetter Heights

    Roughly bounded by Western and Pierre Aves. and Alston, Christian, Oakland, and Snow Sts.; also 1002-1162 Texas Ave., 959-1057 Texas Ave., and 1127 Milam. (Source: Wikipedia) St Paul's Bottoms was an area of town famous for its Red Light District, home of "The Shreveport Madam," Annie McCune. St. Paul's was also the stomping ground of music legend Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter, which is why the area was renamed Ledbetter Heights.

  • By Rrleffler - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36274010
    By Rrleffler - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36274010
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    3

    Central Railroad Station

    1025 Marshall St.

    Central Railroad Station was built in 1910 by the Louisiana and Arkansas Railroad, a railroad that was eventually acquired by the Kansas City Southern Railway. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. (Source: Wikipedia) The station, complete with rail-cars still parked in the back of the building, is now a dance club, and one of the longest running alternative lifestyle bars in Northwest Louisiana.

  • By Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43579285
    By Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43579285
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    4

    B'Nai Zion Temple

    802 Cotton St.

    B'Nai Zion Temple is a historic Jewish temple located in downtown Shreveport. It was constructed in 1914. (Source: Wikipedia)
    The building, once seen as an architectural gem, has sat vacant for decades. Even though it was added to the National Resister in 1994, no effort has been made to restore the building. Rumors say that there are millions of dollars worth of stained Tiffany glass windows in the temple that have all but completely deteriorated.

  • By Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43579283
    By Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43579283
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    5

    Scottish Rite Cathedral

    725 Cotton St.

    Built in 1917, at a cost of $186,477.28 ($3,454,360.50 in 2016 dollars), The Shreveport Scottish Rite Cathedral is one of the most historic and beautiful buildings in the Shreveport area. It includes a three level auditorium with a seating capacity of five hundred, a wardrobe room, a marble lobby, a pair of matching marble staircases, a kitchen, a banquet hall, a masonic library, numerous offices, a DeMolay room, a basement, and a section where children receive help through a Speech and Language Clinic Charity. (Source: Wikipedia)

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