Shreveport, Louisiana is temporarily the second largest city and the third largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana, USA. It is located in Caddo Parish, and as of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 200,145. As of 2004, the population given by the U.S. Census Bureau was 198,675. Bossier City lies across the Red River in Bossier Parish and the Shreveport-Bossier City Metropolitan Area population exceeds 390,000.
Shreveport is the commercial and cultural center of the Ark-La-Tex, the area where Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas meet. Some call it the "Gateway to East Texas", others claim that Shreveport sits on the border between the South and the West. The city exercises a great pull over this region. A good example of this is that people in East Texas watch and donate money to the Louisiana Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) because no PBS station exists in northeast Texas. Many people in the community refer to the two cities of Shreveport and Bossier City, which are separated only by the Red River, as "Shreveport-Bossier". In fact, they share an af2 arena football team, the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings. The area is the intersection of three Interstate highways: I-20, I-49, I-220 (loop). Shreveport is also the proposed hub for I-69 (NAFTA Highway) connecting the area to Houston, Texas, and Memphis, Tennessee.
Shreveport is located at 32°28'5" North, 93°46'16" West (32.468003, -93.771115). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 305.1 km2 (117.8 mi2). 267.1 km2 (103.1 mi2) of it is land and 37.9 km2 (14.6 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 12.44% water.
As of the census of 2000, there are 200,145 people, 78,662 households, and 50,422 families residing in the city. The population density is 749.2/km2 (1,940.5/mi2). There are 86,802 housing units at an average density of 324.9/km2 (841.6/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 50.80% African American, 46.66% White, 0.79% Asian, 0.31% Native American, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. 1.55% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 78,662 households out of which 30.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.3% are married couples living together, 21.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% are non-families. 30.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.48 and the average family size is 3.12.
In the city the population is spread out with 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 87.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 82.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $30,526, and the median income for a family is $37,126. Males have a median income of $31,278 versus $21,659 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,759. 22.8% of the population and 18.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 33.3% of those under the age of 18 and 16.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Shreveport was once the oil capital of the United States when Standard Oil moved its headquarters there in the early 20th century. Today the city is a very busy metropolitan city, hosting various riverboat casinos and is second only to New Orleans in Louisiana tourism. Nearby Bossier City is home to one of the only three horse racetracks in the state, Harrah's Louisiana Downs. Casinos in Shreveport-Bossier include Sam's Town Casino, El Dorado Casino, Horseshoe Casino, Boomtown Casino, and Harrah's.
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, and features outlet shopping, several restaurants and nightclubs, a 14 screen movie theater, a bowling complex, and a marina. A new convention center is also under construction in downtown Shreveport. There is currently a plan to build an adjoining hotel despite criticism of the venture and a lawsuit. The city, after receiving no interest from the private sector, was forced to build what most deem an ill-fated hotel project. The city's current mayor is Keith P. Hightower, a car salesman turned politician. He has had a roller coaster ride as mayor, drawing particular criticism for the hotel project.
Shreveport was largely unaffected by Hurricane Katrina. Since Shreveport is approximately 200 miles (300 km) inland, some have speculated that some New Orleans residents and businesses (and some from coastal areas in general) who want away from the coast completely in fear of further hurricanes may relocate to the northern part of the state, centered around Shreveport.
In 2005, Steelscape announced it would open one of the largest steel plants in North America on the Port of Shreveport-Bossier and be operational in March 2006.
General Motors has established a large plant in Shreveport. The Shreveport plant manufactures the Hummer H3 SUV, and the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon trucks.
Softdisk, a software and Internet company, was founded in Shreveport in 1981 and published various disk magazines in the 1980s and 1990s. The founders of id Software worked there and lived in Shreveport in the early 1990s.
The town was founded in 1836 by the Shreve Town Company, a development corporation established to start a town at the meeting point of the Red River and the Texas Trail. The Red River was cleared and made newly navigable by Captain Henry Miller Shreve, who commanded the United States Army Corps of Engineers. An 180-mile (289 km) long raft of debris had previously clogged passage by Shreve's riverboat, the Heliopolis, that was specially designed to remove river debris. In his honor, the company and the village of Shreve Town were named. On March 20, 1839, the town was incorporated as "Shreveport," and in 1871 it became a city.
Shreveport was originally contained within the boundaries of a section of land sold to the company by the indigenous Caddo Indians in the year of 1835. In 1838 Caddo Parish was made out of Natchitoches Parish and Shreve Town became the parish seat. Shreveport remains the parish seat of Caddo Parish today.
Originally, the town was as large as 64 city blocks divided by eight streets running west from the Red River, and eight streets running south from Cross Bayou, one of its tributaries. Today, the 64 block area is the city's central business district and is a National Register of Historic Places listed area.
Shreveport and Bossier City have six historic districts and a plethora of NR listed landmarks. Shreveport is second only to New Orleans among Louisiana cities with many historic landmarks. In particular, the McNeill Street Pumping Station, an 1887 waterworks that is still in use, is a unique example of its type. Also located near Shreveport is Barksdale Air Force Base, opened in 1933 as Barksdale Army Air Field. It came into national attention recently when President George W. Bush was taken there during the September 11, 2001 attacks. It also came into national attention when B-52 bombers based there participated in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Their attacks on fixed hard targets and the famed Iraqi Republican Guard Medina Division using state of the art JDAMs and other munitions marked a new era in U.S. air power where precision guided munitions were used more than "dumb" bombs with devastating effect (see Shock and Awe).
The Red River, opened by Shreve in the 1830s, remained navigable until 1914 when disuse, owing to the rise of the railroad as the preferred means of transporting goods and people, allowed it to begin silting up. Not until the 1990s was navigation of the river again possible to Shreveport. Today the port of Shreveport-Bossier City is being developed once again as a shipping center.
Shreveport was home to the Louisiana Hayride, a radio broadcast from the city's Municipal Auditorium that during its heyday from 1948 to 1960 spawned the careers of the some of the greatest names in American music. The Hayride boasted names such as Hank Williams Sr. and Elvis Presley (who got his start at this venue).
Source:
ShreveportLouisiana.com
HOTELS • REAL ESTATE • JOBS