Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center:

A part of Downtown’s rebirth

by Tamika Jett

Whether you know it or not, the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center is What’s Hot In B.R. Why? Well, for starters it’s the only four star hotel in Baton Rouge. Over 70 million dollars has been spent on renovations of the hotel. It’s a great place to stay, being downtown near the River Center, the Shaw Center, and the Louisiana State Capitol.

Being a four star hotel with renovations, and located in the heart of downtown aren’t the only aspects that makes the Hilton “hot.” The Hilton is called the Capitol Center for a reason. The reason is because back in the early 1900’s the Hilton was briefly the Louisiana State Capitol, when power struggles took place.

Baton Rouge’s Hilton Capitol Center is one of ten hotels on the national register of historic buildings. All of Louisiana governors stood at the Capitol Center. In 1935, Governor Huey P. Long was assassinated in the hall of the hotel. The Hilton is definitely an interesting part of Louisiana history.

The building has been restored this year marking its 80^th Anniversary. There was a gala and ribbon cutting ceremony that took place on Aug. 30, 2006. The political leaders were in the building on that occasion. Governor Kathleen Blanco and Mayor Melvin “Kip” Holden were in the building. LSU’s Tiger Band and Golden Girls performed at this event.

The movie premiere of “All The Kings Men,” starring Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Hopkins, took place at the Hilton. The music artist and legend, Smokey Robinson, recently stood at the Hilton. Also, the comedian, Katt Williams, also known as Money Mike, was a guest there. Now, how hot is that? Baton Rouge’s downtown area hasn’t been so hot lately. So, restoring the Hilton Capitol Center is a good start to making Downtown Baton Rouge the place to be.

Contact Tameka at TJett@b-now.com