Lost Lake Charles

Lost Lake Charles This page will explore the history of the Southwest Louisiana area and the man-made actions which shaped and continue to shape its physical space and culture.

Crossing the Calcasieu. . .has always been a serious part of life in Southwest Louisiana. We have images of the various...
04/16/2026

Crossing the Calcasieu. . .has always been a serious part of life in Southwest Louisiana. We have images of the various means of crossing the water from rope ferries, steam powered ferries, bridges and more bridges.

Baptist Orphanage/St Louis High School. . .before St Louis was JA Landry Memorial Catholic High School for boys, and bef...
03/31/2026

Baptist Orphanage/St Louis High School. . .before St Louis was JA Landry Memorial Catholic High School for boys, and before that the site was the location of the Louisiana Baptist Orphanage--a true Victorian era institution. The orphans there were educated and trained in practical arts including housekeeping, printing and caring for farm animals. There was even a dairy onsite that processed butter and sold milk. Here are some images of this soon to be changing site.

The Arcade. . .this was perhaps the premier live theatre venue in our city and served as the principal location for the ...
03/31/2026

The Arcade. . .this was perhaps the premier live theatre venue in our city and served as the principal location for the Sunday Shows. National theatre, lecture and music acts would close in New Orleans on Saturdays and not open in Texas until Mondays, so to gain an additional box office, many acts would appear onstage in Lake Charles on Sunday. The Arcade saw such acts as Houdini, Isadora Duncan, the St Louis Symphony and others throughout its long glittering career.

Lake Charles from the Air. . .Our fair city has been photographed from the air many times. Probably the earliest was fr...
03/31/2026

Lake Charles from the Air. . .Our fair city has been photographed from the air many times. Probably the earliest was from the belly of a Curtiss-Jenny biplane stationed at Gerstner Field in 1918. Here are several images of our city from the air, beginning with the earliest I have on file.

Today, I was honored to speak with art students at ICCS. I presented a case for art being a sort of "time machine" with...
10/18/2024

Today, I was honored to speak with art students at ICCS. I presented a case for art being a sort of "time machine" with drawings and photos presenting the past, and providing evidence of lives lived. We looked through the time machine of images of long ago Lake Charles and I challenged them to record images of their Lake Charles, today's Lake Charles, as it too will change. Bright kids!

Every hurricane season, here in Lake Charles we hold our breath and pray to be spared from yet another hurricane. For ...
07/01/2024

Every hurricane season, here in Lake Charles we hold our breath and pray to be spared from yet another hurricane. For some of us who still remember Audrey, its part of our timeline as we say, "they got married just after Rita," or some such, referring to a storm as an unforgettable point in our history. While progress, fire, termites and poor maintenance are viewed as reasons for "erasing our architectural history" hurricanes and their aftermath are a pretty big reason that the face of Southwest Louisiana changes radically over the years. It's not new. A 1918 hurricane damaged Gerstner Field just as aviators were training there over a hundred years ago. Images from the collection of the late Robert Benoit.

06/06/2024

D day is today and 80 years ago, boats designed here in Louisiana took men ashore in Normandy, cracking the N**i hold on continental Europe. And some of the men on those boats were French speaking from our corner of the state. The French in northwest France were astonished to hear the French of their grandparents spoken by those soldiers from, as they recalled, la vielle colonie de la Louisiane

05/27/2024

Coming June 21, 22, & 23 LCCT at Southlake: AIN'T MISBEHAVIN onstage with live band and 5 magical vocalists! Do not miss out! Reserved seating available NOW!

With the monthly downtown LC tornado rotation actually taking deadeye potshots at the Plywood Palace, is it possible tha...
05/17/2024

With the monthly downtown LC tornado rotation actually taking deadeye potshots at the Plywood Palace, is it possible that Mother Nature is trying to rid our fair city of its tallest eyesore BEFORE the planned implosion in August/September? Asking for a friend

Ethical, honest and capable. This is a shout out to CREOLA CONSTRUCTION, owner Mr. Goodson, and carpenter Mr. Meaux (my ...
05/17/2024

Ethical, honest and capable. This is a shout out to CREOLA CONSTRUCTION, owner Mr. Goodson, and carpenter Mr. Meaux (my late wife called him "Mr Meaux Better"). They have been our contractor and friend for some time, helping recover after Laura Delta, and doing significant subsequent work. They rebuilt the privacy fence lost in the first downtown tornado AND came to check after the second downtown tornado. It held UP! In addition, they even did additional engineering for the fence to better withstand the NEXT possible weather-related event Mother Nature flings our way. Image is the front-back-woven privacy fence crafted by Creola. Thanks, Thanks, Thanks.

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