Municipal Dock

Aerial view of the Baton Rouge Municipal Dock taken on March 1, 1964.

In the early 20th century, Baton Rouge experienced rapid growth following the establishment of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey refinery in North Baton Rouge. This facility, now operated by ExxonMobil, is the largest manufacturing employer in Louisiana, the fifth-largest oil refinery in the United States, and the 13th largest globally.

As the city’s population doubled, so did the need for improved infrastructure, particularly to handle river commerce. Although located on the Mississippi River, Baton Rouge lacked a suitable dock for unloading goods directly. Most river shipments had to be routed through New Orleans and then transported back to Baton Rouge by rail, increasing both cost and time.

To address this, the city decided to construct a municipal dock. The selected site was in an area known as Catfish Town, named for the catfish caught by hand in flooded conditions. The dock construction was delayed due to a late shipment of pile drivers, which were necessary for driving the massive steel-reinforced pilings—90 feet long and 19 inches square—35 feet into the riverbed. The dock was eventually completed at a cost of $450,000, which would be approximately $6.6 million today.

Shortly after the dock began operation, Baton Rouge was impacted by two major national crises: the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and the Great Depression. The flood displaced nearly one million people across seven states, inundating 20 parishes in Louisiana. If adjusted to modern times, this flood would have caused around $160 billion in damages. The Great Depression further destabilized the region, though Baton Rouge fared better than most due to continued operations at the Standard Oil refinery.

The platform seen here still remains, even though the structure was removed. This photo was taken on Juy 27, 1941.

During the mid-20th century, the dock became neglected. In 1953, the city began leasing it to the Greater Baton Rouge Port after complaints about its maintenance. A decade later, the city's Beautification Commission attempted to repurpose the area. By 1964, a fence was constructed around the dock at a cost of $3,395 to deter vandalism, and it was converted into a pedestrian viewpoint.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the dock remained a public gathering space, occasionally used for events such as fireworks displays. In 1976, Baton Rouge attorney Michael Roy Fugler leased the dock with plans to develop a French Quarter-style restaurant and disco aboard the General Robert E. Lee, a 1927 steamboat. The plan was ultimately abandoned due to financial difficulties, zoning issues, and vandalism.

Kelly Folse poses inside the warehouse portion of the dock before it was torn down. The vandalism in the background was accumulated over decades. Photographs of the grafitti can be seen on photographic posters inside the Water Institute.

By 1978, concerns were raised in local media about the dock's deterioration and unclear management. At that time, responsibility had shifted from BREC (Recreation and Park Commission) to the Department of Public Works. Although plans were discussed, no substantial restoration occurred.

In the early 1990s, the dock was considered as a location for a riverboat casino by Louisiana Casino Cruises Inc., following the passage of a state law giving Louisiana complete authority over riverboat gambling licenses. However, lease disputes and opposition from local government led the company to relocate the project. The resulting Belle of Baton Rouge casino opened in 1994 at a different site.

“We found other sites that work better,” said Pete Clements, a consultant for the group who was quoted in an article published on Feb. 6, 1993.

They moved to a site northwest of the State Capitol and the project cost ballooned from $25 million to roughly $60 million.

The dock never became a casino, and instead, it evolved into an informal public space. In the 2010s, environmental awareness and restoration efforts gained momentum following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This spurred the formation of the Water Institute of the Gulf, in collaboration with the state and the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.