Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2008 - (Page 25)

ne of Shreveport’s oldest and largest sections is the area known as Highland. Named for the fact that the area is on some of the highest ground in the city, Highland is really several distinct but contiguous neighborhoods. The Shreveport Metropolitan Planning Commission defines Highland’s boundaries as Interstate Highway 20 on the north, Youree Drive on the east, Kings Highway on the south, and Interstate Highway 49 on the west. Within these boundaries, however, lie both Highland and Fairfield, two distinct and separate neighborhoods in most residents’ minds. The Highland area contains an abundance of architecturally and historically important houses, churches, schools, and commercial buildings. Although much has been lost through the years, much remains. Today, Highland’s wealth of important structures is truly one of Shreveport’s most important treasures. Two historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places are found in the Highland area: the Highland Historic District, comprising much of the neighborhood east of Line Avenue and west of Gilbert Street, and the Fairfield Historic District, comprising much of the neighborhood west of Line Avenue and south of Olive Street. Additionally, there are numerous individually listed National Register landmarks dotted throughout the Highland area. The Highland area derives its name from its topography as the neighborhood lies atop Shreveport’s highest elevations. For almost a century the city’s expansion and the growth of the Highland area were practically synonymous. Streetcars once ran the length and breadth of the Highland area, allowing for rapid growth in the era predating the automobile age. Today the area is a well-established historical and diverse neighborhood lying literally at the center of the city and the city’s life. Highland began to be developed just after the Civil War with the creation of a neighborhood called Holmesville. Holmesville today is roughly that part of Highland north of Stoner Avenue and east of Louisiana Avenue. One of Holmesville’s earliest streets is Wall Street, The Dr. John P. Scott Mansion on Fairfield Avenue at Jacobs Street, built circa 1890, was demolished in 1948. Noel Methodist Church, located at Herndon Street and Highland Avenue, as it appeared when new, 1913. “Thornhill,” located at Robinson Place at Thornhill Avenue, was built 1856 by Judge A. B. Levisee; photo circa 1900. opposite page: The Lewis House, located at Jordan Street at Irving Place, was built by Thomas C. Lewis between 1898-99. The founder of longtime Shreveport institution Lewis Drugs, T. C. Lewis was a pioneer settler, having come to the city in the 1840s while still in his teens. Fall 2008/LOUISIANA CULTURAL VISTAS 25

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2008

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2008 Contents Friends Editor’s Column Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities New Orleans Immortelle The Historic New Orleans Collection Highland-Fairfield: The Historic Heart of Shreveport The Ogden Museum of Southern Art Perils of the Mississippi River Louisiana Foodways Harvest of Life King Oliver: The Forgotten King of Jazz Louisiana Architecture Jazz Notes Louisiana State Museum Eye of the Storm Louisiana Association of Museums Soul Resin Bookstand Sound Advice Forum

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Fall 2008

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