Shreveport, Louisiana

Shreveport, Louisiana
City
City of Shreveport
City of Shreveport
Flag
Nickname(s): Port City, Shreve, Ratchet City
Motto: "The Next Great City of the South"
Shreveport Location of Shreveport in Caddo Parish, Louisiana
Coordinates: 32°30′53″N 93°44′50″W / 32.51472°N 93.74722°W / 32.51472; -93.74722Coordinates: 32°30′53″N 93°44′50″W / 32.51472°N 93.74722°W / 32.51472; -93.74722
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parishes	Caddo, Bossier
Founded	1836
Incorporated	20 March 1839
Government
• Mayor	Cedric Glover (D)
• City Council	Members list Chair: R.M. "Monty" Walford (D) Dist A: Calvin B. Lester, Jr. (D) Dist B: R. "Monty" Walford (D) Dist C: Michael D. Long (R) Dist D: Bryan K. Wooley (R) Dist E: Ron Webb (R) Dist F: Joe Shyne (D) Dist G: Joyce Bowman (D)
Area
• City	120.8 sq mi (312.9 km2)
• Land	105.4 sq mi (272.9 km2)
• Water	15.4 sq mi (40.0 km2)  12.79%
• Metro	2,698 sq mi (6,987.8 km2)
Elevation	144 ft (43. m)
Population (2012)
• City	201,867 (US: 109th)
• Density	1,891/sq mi (730.3/km2)
• Urban	298,317 (US: 126th)
• Metro	447,193 (US: 112th)
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Area code(s)	318
Website	www.shreveportla.gov

Red River bridge connecting Shreveport with Bossier City as photographed from the Clyde Fant Parkway

Shreveport (US dict: ˈshrēv-ˌpȯrt, ipa: /ˈʃriːvpɔrt/) is the third largest city in the state of Louisiana and the 109th-largest city in the United States. It is the seat of Caddo Parish^[1] and extends along the Red River (most notably at Wright Island, the Charles and Marie Hamel Memorial Park, and Bagley Island) into neighboring Bossier Parish. Bossier City is separated from Shreveport by the Red River. The population of Shreveport was 199,311 at the 2010 census,^[2] and the Shreveport-Bossier City Metropolitan Area population exceeds 441,000.^[3] The Shreveport-Bossier City Metropolitan Statistical Area ranks 112th in the United States, according to the United States Census Bureau.^[4]

Shreveport was founded in 1836 by the Shreve Town Company, a corporation established to develop a town at the juncture of the newly navigable Red River and the Texas Trail, an overland route into the newly independent Republic of Texas and, prior to that time, into Mexico.^[5]

Shreveport is the commercial and cultural center of the Ark-La-Tex region, where Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas meet. Many people in the community refer to the city of Shreveport as "The Port City".

History

Early settlers

Shreveport was established to launch a town at the meeting point of the Red River and the Texas Trail. The Red River was cleared and made newly navigable by Henry Miller Shreve, who led the United States Army Corps of Engineers effort to clear the river. A 180-mile-long (290 km) natural log jam, the Great Raft, had previously obstructed passage to shipping. Shreve used a specially modified riverboat, the Heliopolis, to remove the log jam. The company and the village of Shreve Town were named in Shreve's honor.^[6]

Shreve Town was originally contained within the boundaries of a section of land sold to the company by the indigenous Caddo Indians in 1835. In 1838 Caddo Parish was created from the large Natchitoches Parish, and Shreve Town became its parish seat. On March 20, 1839, the town was incorporated as Shreveport. Originally, the town consisted of 64 city blocks, created by eight streets running west from the Red River and eight streets running south from Cross Bayou, one of its tributaries.

Shreveport soon became a center of steamboat commerce, mostly cotton and agricultural crops. Shreveport also had a slave market, though slave trading was not as widespread as in other parts of the state. Steamboats plied the Red River, and stevedores loaded and unloaded cargo. By 1860, Shreveport had a population of 2,200 free people and 1,300 slaves within the city limits.

Civil War

"The Old and the New": Tall monument in Shreveport's historic Oakland Cemetery, which dates to 1847, is seen with the distant Regions Bank Tower, the city's tallest building, behind it.

During the Civil War, Shreveport was the capital of Louisiana from 1863 to 1865, having succeeded Baton Rouge and Opelousas after each fell under Union control. The city was a Confederate stronghold throughout the war and was the site of the headquarters of the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederate Army. Fort Albert Sidney Johnston was built on a ridge northwest of the city. Because of limited development in that area; the site is relatively undisturbed.

Isolated from events in the east, the Civil War continued in the Trans-Mississippi theater for several weeks after Robert E. Lee's surrender in April 1865, and the Trans-Mississippi was the last Confederate command to surrender, on May 26, 1865. Confederate President Jefferson Davis tried to flee to Shreveport, intending to go down the Mississippi, when he left Richmond but was captured en route in Irwinville, Georgia.

Throughout the war, women in Shreveport did much to assist the soldiers fighting mostly far to the east. Historian John D. Winters writes of them in The Civil War in Louisiana:

"The women of Shreveport and vicinity labored long hours over their sewing machines to provide their men with adequate underclothing and uniforms. After the excitement of Fort Sumter, there was a great rush to get the volunteer companies ready and off to New Orleans...Forming a Military Aid Society, the ladies of Shreveport requested donations of wool and cotton yarn for knitting socks. Joined by others, the Society collected blankets for the wounded and gave concerts and tableaux to raise funds. Tickets were sold for a diamond ring given by the mercantile house of Hyams and Brothers...^[7]

A Confederate minstrel show gave two performances to raise money for the war effort in Shreveport in December 1862. The Shreveport Ladies Aid Society announced a grand dress ball for April 6, 1863. That same month students at the Mansfield Female College in Mansfield in De Soto Parish presented a vocal and instrumental concert to support the war.^[8]

Map of Shreveport in 1920

Skyline of Shreveport in 1953

Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium, home to the "Louisiana Hayride" from 1948 to 1960.

The Red River, which had been opened by Shreve in the 1830s, remained navigable throughout the Civil War. Water levels got so low at one point that Union Admiral David Dixon Porter was trapped with his gunboats north of Alexandria. His engineers quickly constructed a temporary dam to raise the water level and free his fleet.

By 1914, neglect and lack of use due to diversion of freight traffic to railroad lines resulted in the river becoming unnavigable. In 1994, the United States Army Corps of Engineers restored navigability by completion of a series of lock-and-dam structures and a navigation channel. Today, Shreveport-Bossier City is being re-developed as a port and shipping center.

20th century

By the 1910s, Huddie William Ledbetter—also known as "Lead Belly", a blues singer and guitarist who eventually achieved worldwide fame—was performing for Shreveport audiences in St. Paul's Bottoms, the notorious red-light district of Shreveport which operated legally from 1903 to 1917. Ledbetter began to develop his own style of music after exposure to a variety of musical influences on Shreveport's Fannin Street, a row of saloons, brothels, and dance halls in the Bottoms. Bluesmen Jesse Thomas, Dave Alexander, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd and the early jazz and ragtime composer Bill Wray and composer Willian Christopher O'Hare were all from Shreveport.

Shreveport was home to the Louisiana Hayride radio program, broadcast weekly from the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium. During its heyday from 1948 to 1960, this program stimulated the careers of some of the greatest figures in American music. The Hayride featured musicians such as Hank Williams and Elvis Presley, who made his broadcasting debut at this venue.

In 1963, headlines across the country reported that musician Sam Cooke was arrested after his band tried to register at a "whites-only" Holiday Inn in Shreveport. Public facilities in Louisiana were still segregated, an example of the kinds of injustices that the Civil Rights Movement was working to change.^[9] In the months following, Cooke recorded the civil rights era song, "A Change Is Gonna Come." In 1964 Congress passed the Civil Rights Act to end segregation of public facilities.

In the mid-1990s, the coming of riverboat gambling to Shreveport attracted numerous new patrons to the downtown and spurred a revitalization of the adjacent downtown and riverfront areas. Many downtown streets were given a facelift through the "Streetscape" project, where brick sidewalks and crosswalks were built, and statues, sculptures, and mosaics were added. The O.K. Allen Bridge, commonly known as the Texas Street bridge, was lit with neon lights that were met with a variety of opinions among residents.^[10]

Shreveport was named an All-American City in 1953, 1979, and 1999.^[11]

Geography

Shreveport has several cemeteries, with Forest Park, on St. Vincent Avenue, being one of the largest in the state.

Landscape

Shreveport sits on a low elevation overlooking the Red River. Pine forests, cotton fields, wetlands, and waterways mark the outskirts of the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 120.8 sq mi (312.9 km²), of which 105.4 sq mi (272.9 km²) is land and 15.4 sq mi (40.0 km²), or 12.79%, is water.^[2]

Climate

Shreveport has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). Rainfall is abundant, with the normal annual precipitation averaging over 51 inches (1.3 m), with monthly averages ranging from less than 3 inches (76 mm) in August to more than 5 inches (130 mm) in June. Severe thunderstorms with heavy rain, hail, damaging winds and tornadoes occur in the area during the spring and summer months. The winter months are normally mild, with an average of 35 days of freezing or below-freezing temperatures per year, with ice and sleet storms possible. Summer months are hot and humid, with maximum temperatures exceeding 90 °F (32 °C) an average of 91 days per year, with high to very high relative average humidity, sometimes exceeding the 90 percent level.

The extreme temperatures range from −5 °F (−21 °C) on February 12, 1899,^[12] to 110 °F (43 °C) on August 18, 1909.^[13]

Neighborhoods

Pine Wold house (Fairfield Avenue at Kirby Street) was designed by Ed Neild, Sr., who created some of the designs for the interior of the White House in the Truman administration. Pine Wold was constructed in 1903 by lumberman T. J. Jones and expanded in 1919 by oilman J. P. Evans. For a time the Mighty Haag Circus wintered on the grounds, and the circus elephant Trilby is buried there.

A.C. Steere School, expanded in 1938, is named for developer Albert Coldwell Steere, the founder of the Broadmoor neighborhood; the institution was added in 1991 to the National Register of Historic Places.

Robinson Place in Shreveport, former home of physician and developer George W. Robinson; later the residence of Douglas and Lucille Lee, owners of Lee Hardware Company.

Historic residence of late Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Thomas Charles Barret at Fairfield and Prospect

Walker House on Fairfield Avenue was once the home of the Coca-Cola bottler Zehntner Biedenharn.

Bliss-Hoyer House, built by Abel and Nettie Bliss, was later the home of Ewald Max Hoyer, the first mayor of Bossier City.

Shreveport encompasses many different neighborhoods and districts. Below is a list of the various areas in Greater Shreveport, both within and outside the city limits:

• Acadiana Place
• Allendale
• Allendale-Lakeside, interloop of neighborhoods
• Anderson Island
• Azalea Gardens
• Blanchard
• Braemar Estates
• Broadmoor
• Broadmoor Terrace
• Brunswick Place
• Caddo Heights
• Cedar Grove
• Centenary Area
• Chapel Creek
• Cherokee Park
• Cooper Road
• Crescent Wood
• Cross Lake, some not in city
• Eden Gardens
• Ellerbe Road Estates
• Ellerbe Woods
• Evangeline Oaks
• Fairfield Heights
• Forbing
• Glen Iris
• Greenwood
• Greenbrook
• The Haven
• Hidden Trace
• Highlands
• Hollywood
• Hollywood Heights
• Huntington
• Ingleside
• Jackson Square
• Jewella-South Park
• Hyde Park
• Keithville
• Lakeside
• Lakeside Acres
• Ledbetter Heights or The Bottoms
• Long Lake Estates
• Lynbrook
• Madison Park
• Mooretown
• Norris Ferry Crossing
• Norris Ferry Estates
• Norris Ferry Landing
• North Highlands
• Parkside
• Pines Road
• Pierremont
• Pierremont Place
• Pierremont Ridge
• Provenance
• Queensborough
• St. Charles Place
• Shreve Island
• Shreve Lake Estates
• South Broadmoor
• South Highlands
• Southern Hills
• Southern Trace
• Spring Lake
• Stoner Hill
• Sunset Acres
• Towne South
• Twelve Oaks
• Shadow Pines Estates
• Stoner Hill
• University Terrace
• Waterside
• West End
• Western Hills
• Wright Island
• Yarborough

In the Highland section, along Fairfield Avenue, more than a half dozen homes have been designated as historic. These include residences once occupied by Lieutenant Governor Thomas Charles Barret, who served early in the 20th century; a Broadway director, Joshua Logan; a former governor, Ruffin Pleasant, and wife; a physician and developer, George W. Robinson; a Coca Cola bottler, Zehntner Biedenharn; the first mayor of Bossier City, Ewald Max Hoyer, who took office in 1907; and a major real estate owner, John B. Slattery, whose home is one of five remaining structures in Shreveport designed by the noted architect N. S. Allen.^[17]

Demographics

As of the 2010 census the population of Shreveport was 199,311. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 50.4% White, 40.2% Black or African American, 1.0% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 1.2% from some other race and 1.5% from two or more races. 4.5% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.^[20]

There were 91,501 households, out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.3% were married couples living together, 21.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.12. Population ages ranked as follows: 26.9% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. The city ranks third in the nation of cities over 100,000 population with significant gender disparity: for every 100 females there were only 87.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were just 82.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,526, 72.4% of the national median of $42,148, and the median income for a family was $37,126. Males had a median income of $31,278 versus $21,659 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,759. About 18.7% of families and 22.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.3% of those under age 18 and 16.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

In Shreveport, City Hall is known as "Government Plaza".

U.S. Courthouse in Shreveport

The Louisiana State Office Building in Shreveport was originally the headquarters of the former United Gas Company.

Founded in 1836 and incorporated in 1839, Shreveport is the parish seat of Caddo Parish. It is part of the First Judicial District, housing the parish courthouse. It also houses the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal, which consists of nine elected judges representing twenty parishes in northwest Louisiana. A portion of east Shreveport extends into Bossier Parish due to the changing course of the Red River.

The city of Shreveport has a mayor-council government. The elected municipal officials include the mayor, Cedric Glover, and seven members of the city council. Glover, a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, is the first African American to hold the position. Under the mayor-council government, the mayor serves as the executive officer of the city. As the city's chief administrator and official representative, the mayor is responsible for the general management of the city and for seeing that all laws and ordinances are enforced.

Economy

Regions Tower, the tallest building in downtown Shreveport

Health care is a major industry in Shreveport. Christus Schumpert Medical Center is a leading cancer-treatment facility in the South.

Shreveport was once a major player in United States oil business and at one time could boast Standard Oil of Louisiana as a locally based company. The Louisiana branch was later absorbed by Standard Oil of New Jersey. In the 1980s, the oil and gas industry suffered a large economic downturn, and many companies cut back jobs or went out of business, including a large retail shopping mall, South Park Mall, which closed in the late 1990s and is now Summer Grove Baptist Church. Shreveport suffered severely from this recession, and many residents left the area.

Because Shreveport has the highest property taxes in Louisiana, many incoming residents do not locate within the city itself. Growth has therefore trended toward the southwest into DeSoto Parish or east to Bossier City and beyond. Political analyst and consultant Elliott Stonecipher describes Shreveport as "a far less vibrant community" than Bossier City because many lower-income Shreveport residents who pay no property taxes are heavily dependent on public services, a situation far less common in Bossier City. Stonecipher said that Bossier City economically resembles much of East Texas, more so than neighboring Shreveport.^[21]

Shreveport has largely transitioned to a service economy. In particular, the area has seen a rapid growth in the gaming industry, hosting various riverboat gambling casinos, and, before Hurricane Katrina in 2005, was second only to New Orleans in Louisiana tourism. Nearby Bossier City is home to one of the three horse racetracks in the state, Harrah's Louisiana Downs. Casinos in Shreveport-Bossier include Sam's Town Casino, Eldorado Casino, Horseshoe Casino, Boomtown Casino, and Diamond Jacks Casino (formerly Isle of Capri). The Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau is the official tourism information agency for the region. The bureau maintains a comprehensive database of restaurants, accommodations, attractions, and events.

In May 2005, the Louisiana Boardwalk, a 550,000-square-foot (51,000 m²) shopping and entertainment complex, opened across the Red River in Bossier City, featuring outlet shopping, several restaurants, a 14‑screen movie theater, a bowling complex, and a Bass Pro Shops.

Shreveport Convention Center

A new 350,000-square-foot (33,000 m²) convention center was recently completed in downtown Shreveport. It includes an 800-space parking garage. An adjoining Hilton Hotel opened in June 2007. The city's direct construction and ownership of the Hilton Hotel has been a controversial issue as to the proper use of public funds. The Shreveport Convention Center is managed by SMG.

The Shriners Hospital for Children, now at the corner of Samford Avenue and Kings Highway, was the first of its kind in the United States, having been established in 1922.

Shreveport is a major medical center of the region and state. The Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport operates at expanded facilities once used by the former Confederate Memorial Medical Center. Major hospitals include Christus Schumpert, Willis Knighton, and the Shriners Hospital for Children.

As of November 2008, excitement has centered around the Haynesville Shale, with many new jobs in the natural gas industry expected to be created over the next few years. Residents in the region are enjoying large bonuses for signing mineral rights leases up to $25,000 per acre. However, the recent economic downturn has resulted in a lower market price for natural gas and slower-than-expected drilling activity. The city itself stands to profit by leasing the mineral rights on public lands in the near future as neighboring municipalities have already done.

Shreveport was home to Shreveport Operations, a General Motors plant that closed in August 2012. The plant produced the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, and the Isuzu i‑Series.^[22] In January 2013, the plant was purchased by Elio Motors.^[23]

Top employers

According to the City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,^[24] the top employers in the metropolitan area are:

Film industry

Tax incentives offered by the state government have given Louisiana the third largest film industry in the country, behind California and New York, and led to Louisiana's nickname, "Hollywood South".^[25] Shreveport is no exception and has seen a number of films made in the city. Facilities include sound stages, the State Fair of Louisiana Fairgrounds Complex, and the Louisiana Wave Studio, a computer-controlled outdoor wave pool.^[26]

Selected films shot in Shreveport include:

• The Guardian (2006): Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Costner
• Not Like Everyone Else (2006) (TV Movie)
• Factory Girl (2006): Sienna Miller and Guy Pearce
• Initiation of Sarah (2006): Morgan Fairchild and Jennifer Tilly
• The Great Debaters (2007): Denzel Washington
• Mr. Brooks (2007): Kevin Costner, William Hurt, and Demi Moore
• Premonition (2007): Sandra Bullock and Julian McMahon
• Blonde Ambition (2007): Jessica Simpson and Luke Wilson
• Cleaner (2007): Samuel L. Jackson
• The Mist (2007): Thomas Jane, Toby Jones, and Marcia Gay Harden
• The Last Lullaby (2008): Tom Sizemore
• Wonderful World (2007): Matthew Broderick
• Soul Men (2008) Samuel L. Jackson, Bernie Mac
• Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008): Michael Clarke Duncan and Martin Lawrence
• The Longshots (2008): Ice Cube, Keke Palmer, and Fred Durst
• Disaster Movie (2008): Vanessa Minillo, Matt Lanter, and Kim Kardashian
• Year One (2008): Jack Black and Michael Cera
• W. (2008): Josh Brolin, Richard Dreyfuss, and James Cromwell
• Front of the Class (2008): Treat Williams, Patricia Heaton
• Mad Money (2008): Diane Keaton, Ted Danson, Katie Holmes and Queen Latifah
• Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008): John Cho and Kal Penn
• Deadly Exchange (2009): John McTiernan
• The Killing Room (2009): Chloë Sevigny, Nick Cannon, and Timothy Hutton
• I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell (2009): Matt Czuchry, Jesse Bradford and Geoff Stults
• Haynesville (2010) (Documentary)
• 6 Month Rule (2010)
• Vampires Suck (2010): Matt Lanter, Diedrich Bader, Jenn Proske
• Super (film) (2010): Ellen Page, Rainn Wilson
• Straw Dogs (2011): James Marsden, Kate Bosworth
• Drive Angry (2011): Nicolas Cage
• Battle: Los Angeles (2011): Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan
• The Iceman (film) (2012): Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder
• Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013): Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara
• Olympus Has Fallen (2013): Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart

Additionally, episodes of several television series have been shot in Shreveport and the surrounding area, including The Unit, True Blood, and The Gates.

Education

Centenary College entrance

The former Line Avenue School now houses part of the Northwestern State University nursing program in Shreveport.

Caddo Public Schools is a school district based in Shreveport. The district serves all of Caddo Parish. Its founding superintendent was Clifton Ellis Byrd, a Virginia native, who assumed the chief administrative position in 1907 and continued until his death in 1926. C.E. Byrd High School, which was established in 1925 on Line Avenue at the intersection with East Kings Highway, bears his name.

Shreveport has several colleges, including the Methodist-affiliated Centenary College (founded at Jackson, Louisiana, in 1825; relocated to Shreveport in 1908) and Louisiana State University in Shreveport, which opened as a two-year institution in 1967. It became four-year in 1976. Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport, the only medical school in northern Louisiana, opened in 1969. Shreveport also has one of the largest nursing schools in northern Louisiana, the Northwestern State University College of Nursing. Louisiana Tech University at Shreveport-Bossier City was launched in 2012 offering their Executive MBA and main campus undergraduate and graduate degree programs at the university's Shreveport Center.^[27]

Southern University, Shreveport (SUSLA), offers a two-year associate's degree program. (The four-year institution, which is historically black, is in Baton Rouge.)

Founded in 1973, Louisiana Baptist University and Theological Seminary is also located in Shreveport at 6301 Westport Avenue.

Ayers Career College is a Shreveport based college that offers career training in the medical and HVAC fields.^[28]

Since July 2007, Shreveport is home to a local Remington College campus. This location offers both diploma and degree programs, and is active in the Shreveport Community.^[29]

Virginia College is a new college that opened early 2012. Located in Shreveport/Bossier City, Virginia College offers career training in areas such as Business and Office, Health and Medical, and Medical Billing.^[30]

Religion

The Episcopal St. Mark's Cathedral on Rutherford Street

First United Methodist Church on Texas Street in downtown Shreveport. The sanctuary dates to 1913.

Sanctuary of J. S. Noel, Jr. Memorial United Methodist Church in the Highland sections of Shreveport dates to 1913.

First Presbyterian Church is located at 900 Jordan Street in Shreveport near the large State Office Building.

Shreveport has churches of many denominations and sizes. At the head of Texas Street is the large First United Methodist Church, established at that site in 1884. The current sanctuary dates to 1913. The church is pastored by Pat Day. Among its former pastors were D. L. Dykes, Jr., and John E. Fellers. The fiberglass steeple of the church fell onto a passing car during a severe thunderstorm in 2009. It has since been replaced.

A second Methodist congregation is named for J. S. Noel, Jr. The church was begun as a mission in 1906. Methodist layman James Noel and his wife, Fannie, provided financially for the church in its early years. The congregation decided to name the church for the Noel's late son. Like First United Methodist, it opened in the current sanctuary in 1913 and grew rapidly. A fire gutted the building in 1925, and only a portion of the loss was covered by insurance. The members expanded their ranks and rebuilt at the 500 Herndon location. The current Noel Memorial pastor is Flint Shea.^[31]

Holy Trinity Catholic Church built in Romanesque revival style

The large Holy Trinity Catholic Church located downtown was founded in 1858. Five priests died of yellow fever in 1873. The current sanctuary in Romanesque revival style architecture dates to 1896.^[32]

A large First Baptist Church was once pastored by Monroe E. Dodd, an early radio minister and founder of the former Dodd College for Girls. Former Governor Jimmie Davis, a Shreveport city commissioner too, taught history for a year under Dodd's tutelage. Other large Baptist congregations include Calvary Baptist, Broadmoor Baptist, and Summer Grove Baptist. The last was previously pastored by Wayne L. DuBose, now a Baptist denominational officer. Westview Christian Church is an independent Christian church that serves the area as well with members from diverse denominational backgrounds.

Shreveport is home to Shreveport Community Church, a non-denominational church formerly belonging to the Assemblies of God doctrine. The congregation has experienced exponential growth from the 100 members in 1950 to the more than 6,000 it claims now. It is pastored by Denny Duron, who succeeded his father, Rodney Duron, after 45 years at the pulpit. The church has an education program in Evangel Christian Academy, a pre‑K through 12th grade private school that has produced an average of 1 million dollars of scholastic scholarships for its graduating seniors every year. The church has produced a biblical musical, "Songs of the Season", during the Christmas holidays for the past 20 years at the Historic Strand Theater in downtown Shreveport.

Particularly striking in size and architecture is St. Mark's Cathedral, an Episcopal congregation at 908 Rutherford Street in the Highland section of Shreveport. St. Mark's dates its establishment to the first religious service held in Shreveport in 1839.

The Jewish community dates to the organization of Congregation Har El in 1859, which later became B'nai Zion Temple, today the city's Reform congregation and largest synagogue. Agudath Achim, founded in 1905 as an Orthodox congregation, is today a traditional Jewish synagogue. Foster E. Kawaler, the current rabbi, is focused on rebuilding the congregation, which dwindled in size during the second half of the twentieth century. Shreveport, historically, has had a large and civic-minded Jewish community and has elected three Jewish mayors.^[33]

Sports

Shreveport and Bossier City shared an Arena Football League team named the Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings and a Central Hockey League team, the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, during the late 1990s and the 2000s. However, the teams shut down operations in 2010 and 2011.

Shreveport and Bossier City now share an all women's flat track roller derby team named the Twin City Knockers. The team is the newest competing sport in the area being founded in January 2010.

Baseball in Shreveport has an extensive past. The city had affiliated Minor League Baseball teams from 1968 to 2002. The most memorable team was the Shreveport Captains of the Texas League. Baseball teams in Shreveport have gone through eight different name changes and seven different leagues all since 1895. Shreveport's most recent independent baseball team, the Shreveport-Bossier Captains, ceased operations in 2011 and moved to Laredo, Texas.

Shreveport's rugby team, the Shreveport Rugby Football Club, was founded in 1977, making it the oldest continuously competing sport team in Shreveport. It is a member of USA Rugby and participates in the Texas Rugby Football Union.

Shreveport is the home of the Shreveport Aftershock of the Independent Women's Football League. The Aftershock play in the Midsouth Division of the Eastern Conference of the IWFL. The home field for the Aftershock is Independence Stadium.^[34]

Shreveport had an expansion team of the defunct World Football League known as the Shreveport Steamer in 1974. They played at State Fair Stadium (now known as Independence Stadium) from September 1974 through October 1975. The Steamer were originally the Houston Texans before moving to Shreveport in September 1974. In their inaugural season they had a record of 7‑12‑1. They went 5‑7 in their final season in 1975. Shreveport also hosted a Canadian Football League team in the mid-1990s known as the Shreveport Pirates. Bernard Glieberman, a Detroit real estate developer, was owner of the Ottawa Rough Riders of the CFL. In 1994, he sold the team and purchased the expansion franchise that ultimately wound up in Shreveport. He was allowed to take a handful of Ottawa players with him, including quarterback Terrence Jones. However, the Pirates became yet another unsuccessful American CFL team. Their first victory did not come until the 15th week of their initial season, and in 1995, all of their victories came against Canadian teams. By 1996 the team had folded.

Shreveport is the birthplace, home, or former home of several American football stars and other noteworthy sports figures, among them:

• Ken Anderson (1975–2009), NFL player for Chicago Bears
• Evelyn Ashford (born 1957), winner of sprint gold medals at the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Olympics
• Scott Baker (born 1981), starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs
• Miller Barber (born 1931), pro golfer, 3‑time winner of the United States Senior Open
• Arnaz Battle (born 1980), NFL player for the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Alana Beard (2004–present), WNBA player for the Washington Mystics in Washington, D.C.; Duke University alum
• Albert Belle (born 1966), LSU baseball player and former Major League Baseball player
• Josh Booty (born 1975), former NFL quarterback and MLB third baseman
• Terry Bradshaw (born 1948), NFL star, former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, and actor
• James Britt (born 1960), NFL player for Atlanta Falcons
• Art Carmody (born 1984), NCAA football all-time leading scorer for a placekicker with 433 points
• Morris Claiborne (born 1990), NFL cornerback for Dallas Cowboys 2012: Round 1, Pick 6 Debuted in 2012 for the Dallas Cowboys
• Steve Cox (born 1958), NFL player for Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins
• Joe Delaney (1958–1983), NFL player for Kansas City Chiefs
• Kendrick Farris (born 1986), United States Olympian in weightlifting (2008); placed eighth
• Joe Ferguson (born 1950), NFL player for Buffalo Bills
• Ryan Harrison (born 1992), professional tennis player
• Charlie Hennigan (born 1935), NFL player for the Houston Oilers
• Jacob Hester (born 1985), NFL player for the San Diego Chargers
• Stan Humphries (born 1965), former quarterback for the San Diego Chargers
• Antawn Jamison (born 1976), basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers
• David Allen Lee (born 1943), NFL player for the Baltimore Colts
• Tommy Maddox (born 1971), NFL player for Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers
• Bob Oliver (born 1943), former Major League Baseball player
• Robert Parish (born 1953), Basketball Hall of Fame, NBA, Centenary College
• Barbara Payne (born 1932), only Louisiana native to play in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in its twelve-year history
• Scotty Robertson (1930–2011), basketball coach at Byrd High School, Louisiana Tech University, and four NBA teams
• B. J. Ryan (born 1975), Major League Baseball player
• Patrick Scott (born 1964), NFL player for the Green Bay Packers
• Freddie Spencer (born 1961), Grand Prix motorcycle champion, including winning both the 250cc and 500cc in the same year, 1985
• Tommy Spinks (1948–2007), NFL player for the Minnesota Vikings
• Hal Sutton (born 1958), professional golfer
• Stromile Swift (born 1979), NBA player
• Pat Tilley (born 1953), NFL player for the St. Louis Cardinals
• David Toms (born 1967), professional golfer
• Randy Walker (born 1951), NFL player for the Green Bay Packers
• Todd Walker (born 1973), Major League Baseball player
• Vernon Wells (born 1978), Major League Baseball player with the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Angels
• David Woodley (born 1958), NFL quarterback for Miami Dolphins. During his career he was the youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl.

Shreveport was mentioned as a potential city to house the NFL's New Orleans Saints in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina. It was passed over in favor of the much larger San Antonio, Texas, and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, though the Saints ended up remaining in New Orleans. The Saints did play a game in Shreveport against the Dallas Cowboys during the 2006 NFL preseason.

Shreveport's Independence Stadium has served as host of the Independence Bowl since 1976.^[35] The stadium is also the home of the Port City Classic which started in 2010 when Louisiana Tech University defeated Grambling. Independence Stadium is the third largest stadium in Louisiana, with a seating capacity of 61,000 people, only behind the Mercedes-Benz Superdome of 72,000 and Tiger Stadium of 96,000 in Baton Rouge.

Visual and performing arts

Shreveport is home to several theatres, museums, and performing arts groups, including:

• Academy of Children's Theatre
• Artspace Shreveport
• Barnwell Memorial Garden and Art Center
• East Bank Theatre - Bossier City
• Hayride Diner/Soundstage 516
• Louisiana State Exhibit Museum
• Louisiana Dance Theatre
• Marjorie Lyons Playhouse on the Centenary College Campus
• Meadows Museum of Art - Centenary College
• Multicultural Center of the South
• "Once in a Millennium Moon" Mural by Meg Saligman
• Peter Pan Players, which closed its doors May 7, 2012, after thirty-nine years of theater.^[36]
• Power and Grace School of Performing Arts
• R. W. Norton Art Gallery
• River City Repertory Theatre, the professional theatre for Shreveport-Bossier
• RiverView Theatre
• Robinson Film Center
• Shreveport House Concerts www.shreveporthouseconcerts.org
• Shreveport Little Theatre www.shreveportlittletheatre.com
• Shreveport Metropolitan Ballet
• Shreveport Municipal Auditorium
• Shreveport Opera
• Shreveport Symphony Orchestra
• Southern University Museum of Art
• Spring Street Museum
• The Strand Theatre

Events and tourism

• Cinco De Mayo fiesta Shreveport
• Highland Jazz & Blues Festival, held annually the second Saturday of November since 2003
• Holiday in Dixie, annual springtime festival, began 1949
• Independence Bowl, held annually close to New Year's since 1976
• Louisiana Film Prize, short film competition and film festival.
• Mardi Gras Parades
• Mudbug Madness, annual celebration of crawfish, held each May since 1984
• Red River Revel, annual autumn arts festival which began in 1976, largest outdoor festival in northern Louisiana
• The State Fair of Louisiana, held annually each autumn since 1906

Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras celebrations in Shreveport date to the mid‑19th century when krewes and parades were organized along the lines of those of New Orleans. Mardi Gras in Shreveport did not survive the cancellations caused by World War I, however. Attempts to revive it in the 1920s were unsuccessful, and the last Carnival celebrations in Shreveport for decades were held in 1927. Mardi Gras in Shreveport was revived beginning in 1984 with the organization of the Krewe of Apollo. The Krewes of Gemini, Centaur, Aesclepius, Highland, Sobek, Harambee, and others, followed during the next decade and a half. The first krewe to revive parading was Gemini in 1989. Today, Mardi Gras is again an important part of the cultural life of the Shreveport metropolitan area.^[37]

Recreation and attractions

• 8th Air Force Museum, Barksdale Air Force Base, Bossier City
• Barnwell Garden & Art Center arboretum and gardens
• Chimp Haven, chimpanzee sanctuary, Keithville, LA (Shreveport suburb)
• Clyde Fant Park, along the Red River, named for Mayor Clyde Fant
• Cross Lake
• Ford Park on Cross Lake
• Gators and Friends, alligator and exotic animal park, Greenwood, LA (Shreveport suburb)
• The Gardens of the American Rose Center
• Hirsch Memorial Coliseum at Louisiana State Fairgrounds
• J. Bennett Johnston, Jr. Waterway Regional Visitor Center - History of Red River
• Louisiana Boardwalk - Bossier City, opposite the Shreveport Central Business District
• Louisiana State Exhibit Museum, located in a landmark building at the State Fair Grounds
• Pioneer Heritage Center at Louisiana State University in Shreveport campus
• R. W. Norton Art Gallery and adjacent azalea park
• Riverwalk Park
• Sci-Port Discovery Center and IMAX Theater
• Shreveport Municipal Auditorium and Louisiana Hayride Museum
• Spirit of the Red River, river cruise boat
• Spring Street Historical Museum
• Touchstone Wildlife & Art Museum, Haughton in Bossier Parish
• Yogie and Friends Exotic Cat Sanctuary, Frierson, LA (Shreveport suburb)

Media/press

KSLA, CBS affiliate, is the oldest television station in Shreveport. Established in the former Washington Youree Hotel in 1954, it was moved to Fairfield Avenue in the early 1970s.

Shreveport is served by a variety of print publications. The major daily newspaper serving the Shreveport-Bossier and Ark-La-Tex area is the Shreveport Times. Its headquarters are located in downtown Shreveport near Interstate 20. A second major paper, the afternoon Shreveport Journal, ceased publication in 1991.

Other smaller non-daily newspapers in the area include The Shreveport Sun, the Caddo Citizen. Bossier City is served by the daily Bossier Press-Tribune. The Barksdale Warrior is the weekly newspaper of record for the Barksdale Air Force Base. In addition alternative publications include, The Forum Newsweekly, City Lights, SB Magazine and "The Shreveport Catalyst".

Twice annually, North Louisiana History, the journal of the North Louisiana Historical Association, is published in Shreveport.

Shreveport and Bossier City are served by two major cable television systems: Shreveport is served by Comcast and Bossier City is served by Suddenlink.

Shreveport is home to several radio stations, particularly KWKH and KEEL, having reputations beyond the city. The three commercial television outlets are KSLA, CBS, founded in 1954; KTBS-TV, ABC, founded in 1955, and KTAL-TV, arrived in Shreveport in September 1961 as the NBC station. KTBS was an NBC station, with occasional ABC programs, from 1955–1961, when it switched affiliation to ABC. KTAL, formerly known as KCMC of Texarkana, was a CBS outlet prior to conversion to NBC, when it began to cover Shreveport as well as Texarkana. Don Owen (1930-2012), a member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission from 1984–2002, is also a former news anchorman on KSLA.

Military installations

Barksdale Air Force Base is located in Bossier Parish across the river from Shreveport, which donated the land for its construction in the 1920s. Named for pioneer army aviator Lt. Eugene Hoy Barksdale and originally called Barksdale Army Air Field, it opened in 1933 and became Barksdale Air Force Base in 1947. Headquartered here are the Air Force Global Strike Command, 8th Air Force, 2d Bomb Wing, and 307th Wing. The primary plane housed here is the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. In earlier years, the base was the home to other famous planes, including the B-47 Stratojet.

Shreveport is home to the two 108th Cavalry Squadron, the reconnaissance element of the 256th Infantry Brigade. Three of the squadron's four cavalry troops are located at 400 East Stoner Avenue in a historic armory known as "Fort Humbug". This was named due to the Confederate Army burning logs to look like cannons and placing them along the Red River. This caused Union ironclad ships sailing north on the Red River to be tricked into turning back south.^[38]

Transportation

Highways and roads

Shreveport's past reflects the need for mass transit and public roads. As far back as the 1870s, residents used mule-drawn street cars that were converted to electric-motorized cars by 1890. Commuter rail systems in Shreveport flourished for many decades, and rail car lines extended out to rural areas. In 1930 trolleys and rail cars began to be replaced by buses, although motor buses did not finally replace all trolley service until the 1960s. In the 1960s, the Interstate Highway System came to the area with the construction of Interstate 20.

The local public transportation provider, SporTran, provides moderately extensive bus service throughout Shreveport and Bossier City. Sportran operates seven days a week on seventeen bus routes (five night routes) from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m., with no night service on Sunday.

The highway system has a cross-hair and loop freeway structure similar to that of Texas cities like Houston and Dallas. The loop consists of the Outer Loop Freeway Interstate 220 on the north and the Inner Loop Freeway, Louisiana Highway 3132, on the south, forming approximately an 8-mile-diameter (13 km) semi-loop around downtown. Another loop is formed by the Bert Kouns Industrial Loop (Louisiana Highway 526) and circles further south bisecting Interstate 49. Interstate 49 is currently under construction to extend north to Interstate 30 in Arkansas.

Shreveport lies along the route of the proposed Interstate 69 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) superhighway that will link Canada, the U.S. industrial Midwest, Texas, and Mexico.

Airports

Shreveport is served by two airports. The larger is Shreveport Regional Airport (SHV), established in 1952, and is served by Allegiant Air (to Las Vegas), American Airlines (to Dallas/Ft. Worth), United Airlines (as United Express) (to Houston) and Delta Air Lines (to Atlanta and Memphis). The smaller airport, Shreveport Downtown Airport (DTN), was built in 1931 and is located north of the Downtown Business District along the Red River. It is currently a general aviation/reliever airport, but was originally Shreveport's commercial airport.

Notable people

For Shreveport's notable sports figures, see separate list in "Sports" above.

• Dave Alexander a.k.a. "Omar Sharif" (1938–2012), blues musician
• Caesar Antoine (1836–1921), one of three African Americans to serve as Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana; tenure, 1872 to 1876; state senator from Caddo Parish, and Shreveport businessman
• Kevyn Aucoin (1962–2002), make-up artist and photographer
• Lonnie O. Aulds (1925–1984), state representative from 1968 to 1972, real estate developer^[39]
• John N. Bahcall (1934–2005), astrophysicist, best known for contributions to the solar neutrino problem
• Robert W. Bates (born 1941), former head of the United States Secret Service in Shreveport; commercial horticultural nurseryman in Forest Hill in Rapides Parish^[40]
• Reuben Bell (1945–2004), African American soul singer and songwriter for blues artist Bobby "Blue" Bland
• Valerie Bertinelli (born 1960), actress, most famous for role of "Barbara Cooper Royer" on sitcom One Day at a Time; lived in Shreveport as a child
• Brian Blade (born 1970), award-winning jazz drummer for Brian Blade and the Fellowship, EmmyLou Harris, Daniel Lanois, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Seal
• Alexander Boarman (1839–1916), mayor of Shreveport, U.S. representative, federal judge
• Tim Brando (born 1956), CBS Sports announcer, born in Shreveport and still resides there
• Billy Bretherton (born 1968), star of A&E's Billy the Exterminator
• Eric John Brock (1966–2011), Shreveport and North Louisiana historian^[41]
• Clifford Cleveland Brooks, Georgia native, cotton broker in Shreveport prior to 1918, member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1924 to 1932 from northeast delta parishes^[42]
• Kix Brooks (Leon Eric Brooks III, born 1955), country musician, half of duo Brooks & Dunn
• Overton Brooks (1897–1961), congressman from Louisiana's 4th congressional district from 1937 to 1961 and namesake of the Shreveport Veterans Affairs Hospital
• Sherri Smith Cheek Buffington (born 1966), Louisiana state senator from south Caddo and De Soto parishes
• James Burton (born 1939), guitarist; former backup guitarist for Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson
• C. E. Byrd (1859–1926), founder of C. E. Byrd High School
• Sam Caldwell (1892–1953), mayor of Shreveport, 1934–1946
• Thomas G. Carmody (born 1961), state representative and former member of the Shreveport City Council
• Pat Carroll (born 1927), Emmy Award-winning actress and comedian
• Van Cliburn (1934–2013), pianist
• Johnnie L. Cochran (1937–2005), criminal defense attorney
• Clyde Connell (1901–1998), abstract impressionist sculptor
• Charlie Cook (born 1953), author of The Cook Political Report
• John William Corrington (1932–1988), novelist, screenwriter, poet, and dramatist
• Jack Crichton (1916–2007), Texas oil and gas industrialist and 1964 Republican gubernatorial nominee in Texas, reared in Shreveport
• Scott Crichton, judge of the Louisiana 1st Judicial District Court in Shreveport since 1991^[43]
• Monroe E. Dodd (1878–1952), pioneer radio evangelist, pastor of First Baptist Church of Shreveport, 1912–1950, founder of Dodd College for Girls
• John H. Eastman (1861–1938), mayor of Shreveport from 1910 to 1914
• William Edenborn (1848–1926), industrialist and inventor from Winn Parish, died in Shreveport and is interred at Forest Park Cemetery
• William C. Feazel (1895–1965), influential oilman and politician, U.S. senator (1948)
• J. Howell Flournoy (1891–1966), sheriff of Caddo Parish from 1940 until his death
• Homer Flynn, spokesman for the avant garde music and visual arts group The Residents, member of their production company Cryptic Corporation and rumored to be the founding member and lead singer of the group
• Hunter Greene (born 1966), Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from East Baton Rouge Parish, born in Shreveport
• John Spencer Hardy (1913–2012), Lieutenant General in the United States Air Force; chief of operations for the United States Army Air Corps in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II^[44]
• Augustus F. Hawkins (1907–2007), congressman (1963–1991)
• George E. Hearn (1926–2010), psychologist at Louisiana College, reared in Shreveport
• William Kennon Henderson, Jr. (1880–1945), founder of radio station KWKH^[45]
• Edgar Hull (1904–1984), co-founder of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport; resided in Shreveport in 1928 and from 1966-1973.^[46]
• Hubert D. Humphreys (1923–2009), Louisiana historian and author
• George W. Jack (1875–1924), federal judge
• Wellborn Jack (1907–1991), member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1940 to 1964; Shreveport attorney
• Tom Jarriel (born 1934), television reporter and investigative correspondent, winner of multiple Emmy Awards
• Willie Jones, American singer and The X Factor contestant in 2012
• William Joyce (born 1957), author and illustrator of children's books; screenwriter
• Claude King (1923–2013), country music singer and songwriter known for "Wolverton Mountain"
• Harold R. "Hal" King (1945–2010), suspense novelist
• Huddie Ledbetter (Lead Belly, 1885–1949), blues guitarist/singer
• Walter C. Lee (born 1934) former Caddo Parish school superintendent; elected member of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
• Jared Leto (born 1971), actor, lead singer/rhythm guitarist of Thirty Seconds to Mars
• Joshua Logan (1908–1988), Broadway director of South Pacific and Mister Roberts, reared in Shreveport
• Walter M. Lowrey (1921–1980), historian
• William Hawthorn Lynch (1929–2004), journalist and first Louisiana inspector general; formerly with The Shreveport Times
• Charlton Lyons (1894–1973), politician
• Susybelle Lyons (1923–2007), socialite
• Judi Ann Mason (1955–2009), television writer, producer and playwright
• Mary Miles Minter (1902–1984), silent film star and a central figure in the scandal surrounding the 1922 murder of pioneer movie star William Desmond Taylor
• Robert Mizzell (born 1971), award-winning country singer-songwriter
• Henry Warren Ogden (1842–1905), member of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana's 4th congressional district and Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives
• Oliver (William Oliver Swofford, 1945–2000), singer, songwriter, and musician
• W. Darrell Overdyke (1907–1973), historian at Centenary College
• Don Owen (1930–2012), news anchor at KSLA-TV from 1954 to 1984 and member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission from 1985 to 2002^[47]
• Frank Page, radio broadcaster at KWKH in Shreveport, who introduced Elvis Presley to the country music show known as the Louisiana Hayride; worked at KWKH for a time alongside singer/songwriter Nat Stuckey and singer Jim Reeves; born Raymond Franklin Page in Malvern, Arkansas^[48][49]
• Steve Prator (born 1951), sheriff of Caddo Parish since July 1, 2000
• Mitchell Parish (1900–1993), lyricist for "Stardust", "Sleigh Ride", and "Stars Fell on Alabama"
• Barrow Peacock (born 1970), Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate from Caddo and Bossier parishes
• Andrew Querbes (1864–1939), mayor of Shreveport from 1902 to 1906; banker and police juror
• Joseph A. Redding (1894–1984), United States Army major general who commanded the Louisiana National Guard's 39th Infantry Division in the 1950s
• Gene Reynolds (born 1950), state representative from Webster and Bossier parishes; native of Shreveport
• Buddy Roemer (born 1943), former governor of Louisiana and U.S. representative
• Brittney Rogers (born 1982), Miss Louisiana USA 2003
• Angelo Roppolo (1920–2012), political consultant
• Tommy Sands (born 1937), singer born in Chicago, resided in Shreveport during his childhood
• John Thomas Scopes (1900–1970), defendant in the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial
• Alan Seabaugh (born 1967), attorney and state representative
• Aaron Selber, Jr. (1927–2013), businessman and philanthropist
• V. C. Shannon (1910–1989), state representative from 1972 to 1979
• Kenny Wayne Shepherd (born 1977), blues guitarist
• Jimmy G. Shoalmire (1940–1982), historian
• Andy Sidaris (1931–2007), Hollywood film producer, director, actor, and screenwriter
• C. O. Simpkins, Jr. (born 1947), music historian, biographer, and physician
• George Luke Smith (1837–1884), congressman, businessman
• Frank Spooner (born 1937), oil and natural gas producer, lived in Shreveport from 1960 to 1967, when he moved to Monroe; ran for Congress in 1976 against Jerry Huckaby^[50]
• Keith Stegall (1955), hit songwriter, performer, Grammy winner, grew up and performed in Shreveport-Bossier
• Jesse N. Stone (1924–2001), president of Southern University System, 1974–1985; civil rights activist
• Elliott Stonecipher (born 1951), political analyst, consultant, and pollster
• Jesse Thomas (1911–1995), blues guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist
• Lee Emmett Thomas (1866–1935), mayor of Shreveport 1922–1930; Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives 1912–1916
• Stanley R. Tiner (born 1942), Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
• Jeffrey P. Victory (born 1946), justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court since 1995
• Dayton Waller (born 1925), businessman and former state representative.^[51]
• W. Scott Wilkinson (1895–1985), attorney and former state representative
• Hank Williams, Jr. (born 1949), country music singer born in Shreveport but resides in Tennessee
• Rush Wimberly (1873–1943), member of both houses of the Louisiana Legislature from Arcadia; relocated to Shreveport in 1913 to practice law^[52]
• Jesse Winchester (born 1944), musician, song writer
• Mississippi Winn (1897–2011), a supercentenarian and the last living child of slaves
• Wayne Winterrowd (1941–2010), horticulturist and author known for his lush gardens in southern Vermont^[53]
• Faron Young (1932–1996), country musician and songwriter
• Peter Youree (1843–1914), Shreveport businessman; built city's first skyscraper
• Mark Zeltser (born 1947), award-winning pianist
• Cole Vosbury (born 1991), singer

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, John D. Carmack, John Romero, Adrian Carmack, and Tom Hall worked together at Softdisk, a computer company located in Shreveport. While working at Softdisk, these programmers developed technology which eventually led to the creation of Wolfenstein 3D and Doom. They later left Softdisk to form id Software in order to produce these games.

See also

• Houston E. & W. T. Ry. Co. v. United States, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court commerce clause ruling commonly known as "The Shreveport Rate Cases"
• List of people from Shreveport, Louisiana

References

External links

Find more about Shreveport at Wikipedia's sister projects
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Media from Commons
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks
	Learning resources from Wikiversity

• City of Shreveport official website
• National Weather Service Shreveport office
• Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau
• Shreveport/Bossier webpage
• The Times newspaper
• www.Shreveport.com

v t e Municipalities and communities of Bossier Parish, Louisiana, United States Parish seat: Benton Cities Bossier City Shreveport‡ Towns Benton Haughton Plain Dealing CDPs Eastwood Red Chute Other communities Atkins Elm Grove Fillmore Midway Princeton Taylortown Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent parish or parishes

v t e Municipalities and communities of Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States Parish seat: Shreveport City Shreveport‡ Towns Blanchard Greenwood Oil City Vivian Villages Belcher Gilliam Hosston Ida Mooringsport Rodessa CDP Lakeview Other unincorporated communities Bethany Crosskeys‡ Dixie Forbing Keithville Spring Ridge Zylks Ghost town Albany Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent parish or parishes

v t e  State of Louisiana Baton Rouge (capital) Topics Index History Music Louisianans Constitution Governors Lieutenant Governors Secretaries of State Attorneys General Legislature Supreme Court Congressional districts Symbols Visitor attractions Society Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics Regions Acadiana Ark-La-Tex Central Louisiana Florida Parishes Greater New Orleans Northwest Louisiana North Louisiana Southwest Louisiana Cities Alexandria Baton Rouge Bossier City Hammond Houma Kenner Lafayette Lake Charles Monroe New Iberia New Orleans Opelousas Ponchatoula Ruston Shreveport Slidell Sulphur CDPs Chalmette Harvey LaPlace Marrero Metairie Moss Bluff Terrytown Metros Alexandria Baton Rouge Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux Lafayette Lake Charles Monroe New Orleans Shreveport‑Bossier City Parishes Acadia Allen Ascension Assumption Avoyelles Beauregard Bienville Bossier Caddo Calcasieu Caldwell Cameron Catahoula Claiborne Concordia DeSoto East Baton Rouge East Carroll East Feliciana Evangeline Franklin Grant Iberia Iberville Jackson Jefferson Jefferson Davis La Salle Lafayette Lafourche Lincoln Livingston Madison Morehouse Natchitoches Orleans Ouachita Plaquemines Pointe Coupee Rapides Red River Richland Sabine St. Bernard St. Charles St. Helena St. James St. John the Baptist St. Landry St. Martin St. Mary St. Tammany Tangipahoa Tensas Terrebonne Union Vermilion Vernon Washington Webster West Baton Rouge West Carroll West Feliciana Winn

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