Louisiana Old Governor's Mansion

Huey Long had a room in this house furnished to replicate the Lincoln Bedroom so he could rehearse being president. The mansion itself, completed in 1930, was commissioned as a deliberate copy of the White House — the building is reported to be inspired by the original White House design attributed to Thomas Jefferson. Long wanted to be familiar with the place he planned to occupy, so he built his own version in Baton Rouge. The construction cost nearly $150,000, with an additional $22,000 spent on damask and velvet drapes and crystal chandeliers, all during the Depression. Long tore down the previous governor's mansion in February 1929, enlisting local convicted criminals to disassemble it, and had plans approved for the new building the next day. The demolition became part of the unsuccessful impeachment proceedings against him in 1930. Nine Louisiana governors lived here between 1930 and 1963, when the current Governor's Mansion was built. The Old Governor's Mansion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. It underwent restoration from 1996 to 1998 and now operates as a historic house museum under the management of Louisiana's Secretary of State. Tours are available by appointment — call ahead. The mansion also hosts events. You're standing inside the architectural expression of Long's presidential ambition, built at a scale and cost that made his intentions impossible to miss.