State Capitol
As the tallest state capitol in the United States, the building is 450 feet tall with 34 floors. Twenty-five hundred rail cars were needed to bring in the limestone used on the exterior and the interior marbles which came from distant places, including Vermont and Italy. The cost to complete the building was a modest $5 million. The architects used symbolism throughout the design of the building. As the square tower rises, it is cut away to an octagon at the 22nd floor. At this point four allegorical winged figures guard the corners and they represent Law, Science, Philosophy and Art.
The entrance is approached by a grand staircase with one step for each of the 48 states, listed in the order of their admittance to the Union. Alaska and Hawaii were added to the top step when they were made states. The top step is carved with "E Pluribus Unum" from the Great Seal of the United States; it means "One From Many."
The grounds of the Capitol were once the home of the Louisiana State University. Because of the Depression, the cost of the Capitol was ten percent less than projected. The savings were spent on the unique Art Deco ornamentation that embellish the building.
Click here to view a RealVideo movie at the Legislature's web site, about the Capitol and government buildings in downtown Baton Rouge. The Capitol is open to visitors daily from 8 AM to 4:30 PM and is closed on Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Call (225) 342-7317 for more information.
State Bird
(Act 457) The brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) became Louisiana's official bird on July 27, 1966. It nests from South Carolina to Brazil. Pelicans are famous for their large bill, the lower portion of which has a pouch which may be greatly extended.
The birds, depending almost entirely on fish for food, scoop up quantities of water into their pouches as they seize prey from salt water. As the bill is elevated the water dribbles from the mandibles, and the pouch contracts as fish are swallowed. Five pounds of fish a day is the average consumption of a one-month old pelican.
Get more information on the brown pelican HERE and information on birds of Louisiana HERE. The brown pelican is making a comeback from being an endangered species.
State Flower
(Act 156) The large creamy-white bloom of the magnolia tree (Magnolia grandiflora) was designated the state flower in 1900 because of the abundance of trees throughout the state. The magnolia is an evergreen and the flower is usually fragrant. After the six to twelve petals of the flower have fallen away the large cone shaped fruit of the magnolia is exposed.
State Wildflower
(Act 511) The Louisiana Iris (Giganticaerulea) is perhaps the most magnificent of its species. Although it is adaptable to all climates, it is seen growing wild mainly in damp, marshy locations in Louisiana's coastal areas and for perhaps 100 miles inland. This graceful beauty grows to a height of 5 or 6 feet and has a wider color range than any other iris, from pale blue to deep indigo. It became our official wildflower in 1990.
State Insect
(Act 195) The honeybee (apis mellifera) is a social, honey-producing bee, recognized as the most economically valuable of all insects. This reputation commonly rests on its production of honey and beeswax. The honeybee's greatest usefulness, however, is actually in the pollination of crops, including fruits, nuts, vegetables, and forage crops, and many uncultivated plants that prevent erosion by keeping topsoil from being carried into the ocean. The honeybee was made our official insect in 1977.
State Flag
(Act 39) This official flag of Louisiana is that flag now in general use, consisting of a solid blue field with the coat-of-arms of the state, the pelican feeding its young, in white in the center, with a ribbon beneath, also in white, containing in blue the motto of the state, "Union, Justice and Confidence". It was adopted by an Act of the Legislature in 1912.
State Seal
In 1902, Governor William Henry Wright Heard directed the Secretary of State to use a state seal of this description: "A Pelican, with its head turned to the left, in nest with three young; the Pelican, following the tradition in act of tearing its breast to feed its young; around the edge of the seal to be inscribed 'State of Louisiana'. Over head of the Pelican to be inscribed 'Union, Justice', and under the Pelican to be inscribed 'Confidence'." That is the seal that represents the State of Louisiana today.
State Pledge of Allegiance
(Act 711) The official pledge of allegiance for the state was adopted in 1981 and reads as follows:
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the state of Louisiana
and to the motto for which it stands:
A state, under God, united in purpose and ideals,
confident that justice shall prevail for all of those abiding here."
State Colors
(Act 603) Blue, white and gold became the official colors of the state of Louisiana in 1972.
State Songs
(Act 187) Louisiana has two official state songs, "Give Me Louisiana" [1970] and "You Are My Sunshine" [1977]. In addition, we have an official march song (Act 196) [1952], "Louisiana My Home Sweet Home" and an official environmental song [1990], "The Gifts of Earth". Follow this link to see the lyrics of these songs.
State Tree
(Act 49) Half of Louisiana is timbered with an abundance of varied and beautiful trees, but no action was taken to designate a state tree until 1963 when the bald cypress (taxodium distichum) was made the official tree of Louisiana. The cypress grows in many areas of the state, particularly the swampy areas.
Its shape depends greatly on the amount and duration of flooding in the area, and varies from columnar to conical or bottle shaped. The bark is reddish-brown, fibrous, thin, and divided into small, flat ridges and shallow furrows. Leaves of the cypress tree spread in flat planes in a feathery pattern on its branchlets.
State Dog
(Act 239) The Catahoula Leopard Dog is the only breed of dog native to Louisiana and became our official state dog in 1979. This hound is a cross of a domestic dog the Indians of the Catahoula Lake region raised and a Spanish "war dog" that came through the area in the early 1500's. The dog has glassy eyes, webbed feet, and spotted coat and is gentle with children, loyal to family, and aggressive to strangers, making it a good pet and guard dog. As a hunting dog the animal is diligent, dependable, efficient and especially good at tracking deer, coons and squirrels.
State Freshwater Fish
(Act 460) The official state freshwater fish is the white perch ( pomoxis annularis ) also known as sac-au-lait and white crappie. It was adopted in 1993.
State Mammal
(Act 1022) Louisiana black bears are black, some with a distinct white "blaze" on their chest. Adult males generally weigh from 250 to over 400 pounds and adult females range from 120 to over 275 pounds. Body length of adults, nose to tail, ranges up to 6 feet.
Female black bears begin to mate at 3 to 5 years of age and have one to four cubs every other year. The young remain with their mother the first year, den with her the following winter, and search for their own territory in their second summer.
Bears tend to range over large areas in search of basic needs such as food, escape cover, den sites, and mates. Males have been known to range over 100 square miles while females occupy much smaller home ranges, often less than 10 square miles.
Although classified as carnivores, Louisiana black bears are not active predators. These intelligent mammals are opportunistic feeders and will eat almost anything that is available. Although natural foods, such as berries and acorns, comprise a majority of a bear's diet, bears readily take advantage of food options provided by humans. When available, bears may feed on agricultural crops such as corn, wheat, oats, and sugarcane, occasionally damage beehives in search of honey, and will readily become habituated to human garbage when the opportunity exists.
Black bears are very intelligent, shy and secretive animals, and generally work hard at avoiding contact with humans. Dangerous situations may occur whenever close human activity is perceived as a danger to cubs or otherwise threatening. The best advice is for humans to avoid close contact with bears.
The black bear became our official state mammal im 1992.
Follow this link for more information about the Louisiana black bear.
State Crustacean
(Act 572) South Louisiana is the crawfish capital of the world, supporting a multimillion dollar a year industry. The crawfish in appearance greatly resembles the lobster, but is very much smaller. Its color varies with the water in which it lives and its variety.
Although it is found in swamps and marshes throughout the state, the best wild populations occur in the overflow basins of the Atchafalaya, Red, and Pearl Rivers. Crawfish farms have also been established where the crustaceans are cultivated for local use and for export to other states.
The crawfish was adopted as State Crustacean in 1983.
State Amphibian
(Act 815) Louisiana's amphibian, the green tree frog (hyla cinerea ) is also known as the Fried Bacon Frog, Cowbell Frog and the Bell Frog, and lives in swamps, borders of lakes and bayous, on floating vegetation, in trees and bushes near water, in Spanish moss or under bark on trees, and any place well supplied with water or dampness. They can often be found clinging to windows or window sills at night looking for insects that are attracted to light.
They can reach lengths of up to 10 centimeters, and their color is usually green but changes frequently. It has a cream colored stripe with dark borders extending along the sides, and a dark stripe down the back. When calling, the color is almost yellow. They have a distinctive calling sound, almost like "Duck! Duck!"
Besides being our state amphibian, the green tree frog is the basis for the well know Muppet character "Kermit the Frog".
The official state amphibian was adopted in 1993.
Photo by F. Eugene Hester. Copyright ©1996. All rights reserved. Image courtesty
U.S. Department of the Interior/U.S. Geological Survey/Biological Resources Division.
State Reptile
(Act 572) The alligator was adopted as Louisiana's state reptile in 1983. It lives in waters and low lands of the state and other locations of the southeast United States. Resembling a lizard in shape, grown males (which are larger than females) reach a length of 11 to 12 feet and weigh 450 to 500 pounds. When grown, its color is dull gray and dark olive.
Alligators provide better care for their young than most reptiles do, protecting the young for a year or more. Once common, their numbers were reduced enough to be classified as endangered. Regulated hunting is allowed since the designation was changed to threatened in 1977.
State Fossil and Gemstone
(Act 362) In 1976, Louisiana adopted petrified palmwood as the official state fossil, and agate, as found in Louisiana gravel, became the the state gemstone.
State Drink
(Act 6) Milk was adopted as the official drink of Louisiana in 1983.
State Painting
"Louisiana" was designated the official painting for the state of Louisiana by Act 981 on June 29, 1995. Containing representations of every current official symbol as well as many commonly accepted state icons and dominated by the state colors of gold, white and blue, the oil painting was a collaboration by artists Johnny O. Bell and Johnny F. Bell. The father-and-son artist team conceived the idea for an official state painting in 1972, began work in 1975 and completed it in 1985.
The original painting now hangs at the State Capitol and a copy is on display at the Governor's Mansion. The Archives is pleased to have a full-sized copy on permanent display, along with official doucments and information about the artists.
State Musical Instrument
(Act 185) Louisiana's official musical instrument, the diatonic accordion, commonly known as the "Cajun" accordion, was adopted in 1990.
Although the Chinese invented basic reed instruments, it is generally accepted that the Germans, in about the 1830's successfully developed accordions with brass reeds. The diatonic accordion with a single row of reeds and buttons was the very first accordion developed, then later this built up to a single row of buttons with four rows of reeds, in three octaves. These then are particular type of diatonic accordions called melodeons which are keyed like harmonicas.
The melodeons began to arrive in Louisiana via German immigrants during the mid 1870's and were slow to become utilized by Acadians (Cajuns) because they were in keys in which fiddlers had difficulty returning or finding the notes. But when the C and D keyed melodeons came along and because they could be heard across the dance floor (with no electricity then, fiddlers could not always be heard across a noisy dance floor) by 1910 to 1920, a happy marriage with fiddlers occurred.
Then after WW II Cajuns could not obtain these melodeons because all (except one) accordion factories in Germany ended up within the East German state behind the Communist wall.
So Cajuns, because of a love of music and a sharp dance beat which these melodeons can produce, began to make copies of the German models themselves. We now have scores of builders in South Louisiana who build the very best melodeons in the world.