Shreveport

About Shreveport

Shreveport is the largest city in northwest Louisiana, set on the west bank of the Red River near the Texas and Arkansas borders. It was founded in 1836 at the spot where Captain Henry Miller Shreve cleared the Great Raft, a massive logjam that had blocked the Red River for more than 150 miles, opening the river to steamboats. The town grew into a cotton port and, after oil was discovered nearby in the early 1900s, a wealthy center of the oil and gas industry.

Today Shreveport has about 185,000 residents and, together with Bossier City across the river, forms the region's hub for entertainment, dining and culture. The city has deep musical roots: the Louisiana Hayride radio show, broadcast from the Municipal Auditorium, launched the careers of Elvis Presley, Hank Williams and Johnny Cash, and blues legend Lead Belly grew up nearby. Riverboat casinos line both banks of the Red River, and the city's food blends Cajun, Creole and Southern traditions, from crawfish and gumbo to the local specialty, the Shreveport-style stuffed shrimp.

Visitors can explore the R.W. Norton Art Gallery, with its renowned collection of American and European art and spring azalea gardens, and the Gardens of the American Rose Center, the largest park in the country dedicated to roses. Sci-Port Discovery Center sits on the riverfront, the Shreveport Aquarium showcases the region's waters, and Louisiana Boardwalk in Bossier City offers shopping and dining by the river. The Red River Revel arts festival each fall and the city's many Mardi Gras parades bring the community together.