Louisiana State Capitol — Observation Deck

The 27th floor sits 450 feet above the Mississippi bluff, and you will likely be alone. Most people who work in the building every day have never been up. The observation deck is free to visit and almost always uncrowded—take the elevator from the main lobby during Capitol business hours. This is the tallest capitol in the United States, a 34-story skyscraper completed in 1931. Huey Long insisted on a tower. By 1928, when he was elected governor, the old Gothic Revival capitol was proving too small for the expanding state government. Long seized the idea of a new building as a way to symbolize the end of what he called the political domination of Louisiana's traditional social and economic elite. He hired Leon C. Weiss' firm, secured funds from the Board of Liquidation, and started design work in January 1930 using money he controlled—preventing the legislature from stopping him. Construction began December 16, 1930. Work progressed rapidly because Long insisted it be finished under his governorship. The building was dedicated May 16, 1932, during the inauguration of Governor Oscar K. Allen. Long had an apartment installed on the 24th floor under the impression that the altitude would help alleviate his hay fever. On September 8, 1935, he was assassinated in the building by Dr. Carl Weiss. Long lingered for two days at the nearby Our Lady of the Lake Hospital before he died on September 10. His body lay in state here. Approximately 100,000 people paid their respects—some from as far away as Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas. On September 13, he was interred on the grounds in front of the building. From the deck, views span the river bending south, the ExxonMobil refinery north, the LSU campus, and the Atchafalaya basin to the west. Go for the view. Stay because the building is Huey Long's monument, and the city is still shaped by what he forced into being.