Back in the ’70s, R.U. Allman, aka Eddy Allman,
aka R.U. Eddy, aka Christian Allman, joined Del Moon as a rock music
critic in The Advocate’s Fun section, bringing gonzo journalism to our
paper and having a lot of fun in the process. Eddy (as I know him)
survived Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans after a harrowing experience,
and has lately been hard at work becoming a Spanish Town character. He was recently mugged on a downtown street, and had to have brain surgery. George Lane says a benefit is being held for him on Sunday, Aug. 23, at 3 p.m. at Chelsea’s. The
all-star lineup includes Larry Garner, Henry Turner Jr., Skip Varnado,
Kenny Acosta, Betsy WhoDat Braud, Boco LaTour, The Rakers, Dorothy
LeBlanc and more. Admission is $10 at the door.
The Bellemont was an Antebellum, Colonial, plantation-style hotel and
convention center built in 1946, according to a Yahoo travel listing that doesn't yet know it's closed.
This enormous complex is empty now...kind of. (See that car? Not
ours. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.) Thankfully I had a new
abandoned co-explorer to help me craven up for this mission.
At the far end of the front of the complex is the only building still
officially in use: The Great Hall, which has several ballrooms and other
rooms available for events. Note the table set for no one.
But
in-use buildings= boring, so let's move on and look inside at the main
lobby. (To clarify, these photos were taken through windows, as are
almost all the inside-view photos on this blog. The place is locked.)
And here we have the best piece of tragically abandoned furniture ever.
The lobby appears to be in decent shape, until you notice the green and gray living carpet.
What do you think these chairs in the next photo were set up for? "Attention staff: we are closing, if you couldn't tell."
The sign on the window of The Orleans Room says, TEMPORARILY CLOSED.
That's not the first such inaccurate sign I've seen in my abandoned
travels.
Between the lobby and the Great Hall there was a bit of
trouble visible though a curtain opening. A roof collapsed, chandelier
on the floor and all, exposing this lovely LSU Tigers mural to the open
air.
Here's the view in the other direction from the collapse.
The Bellemont's bar/club, Brella's Spirits & Spins, is not doing much better. Here's what remains of it.
That's all you get for now, kids. Part Two of The Bellemont, including the interior campus areas, the hotel rooms, and more, is here.
Comments
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I didn't realize that place was abandoned. Ron Paul spoke there only a few months ago.
Very cool.
Our HS prom was in the Great
Hall. I think there was some Katrina relief efforts based there also.
That carpet is the most telling though.
There have been a lot of
businesses in Baton Rouge that just couldn't bring themselves to admit
that they were being shuttered for good. The favorite phrase for this
seems to be "closed for remodeling." I can't tell you how many signs
have said that for years and years around here. Is this a pride thing?
Why would a one-location store or restaurant care about its PR after
the decision to shut down has already been made?
Wow- can you liberate that round couch/lounge/settee thing?
Love that photo of that shedding dogwood (?) in the hall.
Beautiful!
Randy, The Great Hall is where RP spoke, that's the only building that's still open.
Alexis, interesting--am going to get to the Katrina factor in part two...
Alistair, I don't know, it's sad. I guess they don't want to give up the dream.
Therese, if I could, it would be in dominating my living room and I
would be doing Pee-Wee Herman impressions while lying down on it. The
lobby is locked, though.
Thanks Jason!
The Port-au-Princification of
my hometown continues apace. Once upon a time, the Bellemont Motor Hotel
(as it was known when I was a kid) was among the nicer places in town.
John Wayne lived there when he was filming The Horse Soldiers in
1959, for example. And I remember when the studios of WLUX radio (before
its Jimmy Swaggart and black gospel incarnations) were in the
Bellemont.
Sigh.
If you haven't read it already, now is the time for you to pick up
Walker Percy's "Love in the Ruins." The flora growing inside the lobby
resonates.
Abortively metaphorical.
For that matter, in Red Stick, places don't even have to be abandoned
to LOOK abandoned. Such is the case of my old high school, which I
believe is in your neck of the woods.
Follow all the links in the story. You'll get an eyeful of why
they're going to tear down the whole thing except for the historic main
building, which will be renovated.
BTW, you know the abandoned New Developments building from September?
New Developments was a commercial photo lab, and before that building
housed the photo lab, it was the early home of Baton Rouge's late,
lamented alternative paper, Gris Gris.
Local political columnist John Maginnis was the founding editor.
Among my favorite cover stories from back in the day:
Too bad about that awesome
chair. Although I think if you can rescue it now, you may not want it.
The floor is alive after all. Who knows what's living in the chair!
Too bad about that awesome
chair. Although I think if you can rescue it now, you may not want it.
The floor is alive after all. Who knows what's living in the chair!
damn, a billy cannon picture....
The Bellemont back in the 70's
was the home for the Louisiana Band Directors Convention. We had great
times there and if I can remember there was a lounge that was the
"place" to be in Baton Rouge.
So sad to see the building in such bad condition.
The Bellemont had a really
wild lounge back in the mid 1960s! The telephone operators got off work
at midnight and there would be a stampede of guys headed toward them at
the first note of a slow dance...
We had conferences there in the 70s and 80s and it was still pretty nice.
THE OWNERS OF DJ BEAUTY SUPPLY
WERE TWO OLD LAYS WHO RECENTLY PASSED AWAY, WITH NO ONE TO LEAVE THERE
MONEY TOO. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF ALL THIS? THESE PICTURES COULD BE ANY
TOWN IN THE US.
The Bellmont WAS the place to
be in the 50's & 60's. My father & uncle were bellboys there for
years. During the filming of the movie "Long Hot Summer" Paul Newman
& Jo Ann Woodward stayed there.
My dad took me to see them lounging
around the pool & I got autographed pictures of them which I sold in
adulthood for some nice change. Clark Gable & Yvonne DeCarlo also
stayed there during the filming of "Band of Angels" in 1959.
It was a
grand old place in it's day. So sad to see it go.
I remember the Belmont form
high school. In the 90's the state UFA convention was held there. It was
a most beautiful hotel. The lobby was so quaint and historic looking.
The grand ballrooms were amazing. I ate in the restaurant where u see
the roof collapsed. I cannot believe no one has bought and renovated the
place, but i did hear was just a bad neighborhood. I cant express the
fond memories of the times we had there, not so long ago, (1990 - 1994).
I
went to an event there about two months ago, and we're planning on
having our wedding there Oct. 2010. They have a little hotel/apartments
that they don't rent to public anymore.
I was hoping to attend a talent showcase at the Bellemont Hotel Center. I didn't know it was that torn up on the inside.
I
attended a library convention there while in middle school in the early
80's and had great memories of a beautiful place. Imagine my horror
having recently relocated to Baton Rouge from TN to drive past it on my
way to the airport and see it in such disarray. I wish someone could
renovate it. It was a lovely lady in her heyday.
This blog has flooded me with so many memories of the Bellmont:
When I was a wee little girl, my mom and grandmother used to take my sister and I swimming in their pool.
Later, just before starting at LSU, I worked as a hostess in the
Orleans Room. It was here that I was first introduced to wine. Robert
Mondavi, I believe. And the Brella Lounge-it was small but cozy with a
lady tending bar (her name escapes me) that had probably been there
since I went swimming in their pool as a kid. I remember that time
fondly. I was working there the winter that Exxon blew up-it shook the
place like an earthquake. Very frightening stuff.
That same winter, BR experienced a severe freeze. The hotel offered all
of its employees a hotel room, should they need it, if their pipes
froze/burst. My mother and I stay 2 nights one their gracious dime.
In college, I accompanied a friend to a dance at the Great Hall. That
was probably in 1990/1991-that was the last time a step through their
doors.
Ha, I went to a rave there in the late 90s
has anyone purchased the famous Bellmont Hotel of Baton Rouge, Louisiana?
I heard that the old Bellmount was an Shelter for ex cons, is that true ?
So is anything going to be done with this property, or are they (whoever they are) going to let it continue to waste away?
My
family stayed here in 1996. I am so sad that this place is closed. Its a
damn shame that's for sure. I wish i had the money to restore it to when
it was a place for presidents to stay. Makes me sick to my stomach to
know its just wasting away.
I
have to agree with the comment about the furniture. They are truly
exquisite for their condition. It's kind of sad that a thing of beauty
like this hotel was abandoned. It still has some potential left in it, I
hope someone who revive it.
Kind
of sad that a structure this majestic is closed. The furniture, although
old and worn-out, still seems life-like and vivid, to the point of
being considered as works of art.
My
grandfather used to manage it back in the 50's and 60'. My dad worked
there as a teenager. Then later my grandfather went on to manage the
Oak Manor hotel in the late 60's and early 70's.
Both hotels where owned
by A. C. Lewis
I
think this is where Bette Davis and Joan Crawford stayed during the
making of the movie Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte? Crawford eventually
walked off the film and was replaced by Olivia de Havilland.
Thanks
to all those who continue to comment and add their memories and
knowledge of this place. Regarding the last comment--Very cool, I didn't
know that! If I'm remembering right, Bette & Joan reportedly had a
physical fight where they were rolling around on the lawn in front of
the plantation house where that was filmed.
Is
there anyone that has any information pertaining to the History of the
LSU Tigers Painting of the 1959 Game that hung in the Belmont Hotel
Lobby. ie: Who the artist was and exactly when it was painted? Please
contact me at maninthemist1@cox.net. Thanks!
I
passes by the great hall today. It's gone too much work to be done
there, it may be easier to just tear it down. Don't forget people was
murder there also.
My
husband and I went by there yesterday and today. Took pictures and
bought a few things from the on site demo manager. Got 2 tables and a
picture of Rosedown Plantation for $20 yesterday and went back today to
get the mural in the lobby of the American Liberties (Mt. Rushmore,
Statue of Liberty, Iwo Jima, etc) and got some dishes and trash cans
with The Bellemont logo and Oak Manor logo on them. I'm trying to find
out who the artist is. It's signed L.Saurant or something like that. If
anybody knows, please email me at ropolitz@cox.net.
I'm not sure if it's
the same artist as the one that painted the Billy Cannon mural.
The
demo co. owner (Patrick) said he donated that mural to LSU which I was
happy to hear about. Also FYI, the place that Bette Davis and Joan
Crawford stayed was Houmas House. And yes, they did have a physical
fight there! Thanks, Colleen, for continuing to post as you can on this
site. I hope you post your new pics of The Bellemont's demolition from
your recent trip here.
~Rosie Polite~
I used to work there surrendering area was all of druggies and prostitution its was scary but i
was new in this country and i needed job so i worked there for 2and half
yrs at some point i was caressed little more everyday
but the lobby and office and convention hall beautiful
big place sad no1 had enough to take care of that place
so many homeless and drug user around at some point i think hotel even gave up
And now...it's gone.
It's a
shame that this facility is lost to history. I had worked for an
engineer who's office was located in the Bellemont in the 60's. I
assisted in the design of most of the front of the building the two
story guest rooms in the rear of the complex,the Great Hall and many of
the owner's other facilities. I knew the owner A. C. Lewis real well and
also assisted in designing his 32,000 square foot home. He was a very
interesting person and business man. One day I had an opportunity to
meet with him and John Wayne at the coffee shop. John Wayne was in a
union uniform and he was so tall that he had to duck going through the
brick arches in the coffee shop. Mr Lewis brought a lot of named talent
with the movie industry to this area. He also brought in good musical
talent as well to the Plantation Lounge.
5 Star Pro Wrestling held many cards there in 1990 and 1991.Great Wrestling Promotion it was
Best years of my life. 1972-1974. Dancing to Muscle Shouls Band!
Rebecca explains the current viral anti-censorship protest video:
The song of the grass mud horse. (In this case an alpaca.)
A Dirty Pun Tweaks China’s Online Censors
BEIJING
— Since its first unheralded appearance in January on a Chinese Web
page, the grass-mud horse has become nothing less than a phenomenon.
A
YouTube children’s song about the beast has drawn nearly 1.4 million
viewers. A grass-mud horse cartoon has logged a quarter million more
views. A nature documentary on its habits attracted 180,000 more. Stores
are selling grass-mud horse dolls. Chinese intellectuals are writing
treatises on the grass-mud horse’s social importance. The story of the
grass-mud horse’s struggle against the evil river crab has spread far
and wide across the Chinese online community.
Not
bad for a mythical creature whose name, in Chinese, sounds very much
like an especially vile obscenity. Which is precisely the point.
The grass-mud horse is an example of something that, in China’s
authoritarian system, passes as subversive behavior. Conceived as an
impish protest against censorship, the foul-named little horse has not
merely made government censors look ridiculous, although it has surely
done that.
It
has also raised real questions about China’s ability to stanch the flow
of information over the Internet — a project on which the Chinese
government already has expended untold riches, and written countless
software algorithms to weed deviant thought from the world’s largest
cyber-community.
Government
computers scan Chinese cyberspace constantly, hunting for words and
phrases that censors have dubbed inflammatory or seditious. When they
find one, the offending blog or chat can be blocked within minutes.
Xiao
Qiang, an adjunct professor of journalism at the University of
California, Berkeley, who oversees a project that monitors Chinese Web
sites, said in an e-mail message that the grass-mud horse “has become an
icon of resistance to censorship.”
.........................
It features video of alpacas while child sings about the grass mud
horse, but the difference in tones between “Grass mud horse” and “Fuck
your mother” is just a subtle tonal change.
Since song tones override
speaking tones in Chinese, it’s a sweet choir of children singing “Fuck
your mother.” They sound very sweet. The alpacas are fluffy, but
slightly creepy.
Definitely best misheard lyrics since “wrapped up like a douche bag in the middle of the night”.
This video is coming to represent the fight against censorship. If
you type in obscene or politically sensitive words often the software or
the server will bounce you to an error message, so people use puns and
slight changes in language to defeat the software, but everyone knows
what you’re really talking about. This is very like how people got
around filtering in Napster oh so long ago now.
There’s another older meme about a River crab wearing three watches.
It’s another homonym pun. It’s a play
on two government mottoes: the “harmonious society” and the “three
represents.”
Harmonious becomes a River crab wearing three watches, three represents three watches. A River crab wearing three watches seems to be a bit
about going along with the government plans.
River crab
So now there’s an intellectual discussion going on about River crabs versus alpacas.
Rebecca shows a video for a song about the fight. The song goes
between folk and rap, and talks about the River crab invading the alpaca’s territory and making it hard for the alpaca to live.
This is
how the Chinese are talking:
indirectly through these videos and essays.
It’s a mistake to think that this is a question of Government vs.
Internet. The Chinese government is learning how to use the internet
well to promote itself and clarify things, and even solicit speech.
The
prime minister had a two-hour show answering questions – sometimes very
human, personal ones. The public response was positive, the government
figures became more relatable. The Chinese media claim that China is
using the internet to become more democratic.
There’s more e-government web stuff available: they even recently took policy suggestions online.
There were comments on a government run website on how to fight
corruption, and even a conversation about ending the one child policy in
the forums.
But don’t mistake this for Chinese internet glasnost:
Rebecca points
out several activists in jail for trying to organize or speak on the
Internet. The government isn’t willing to take it the whole way. Instead
this is “authoritarian deliberation,” where there’s a lot of public
discussion about policy, but there’s no real recourse to power or
protections for the people.
China also has a strong cyber-nationalism. Last year there was a big
backlash against western coverage of a Chinese crackdown on Tibet–Chinese students protesting what they saw as slanted western
coverage.
There’s a huge argument going on between China, kind of a
conversational civil war online about where China should be going.
The web and IT world is creating an opaque layer between the
government and the people that favors the government. There’s the Great
Firewall of China, and self-censoring companies. Self-censorship takes
many forms–Google.cn shows you Tienanmen square and the Nanjing massacre
of WWII if you google Tienanmen massacre, whereas Baidu shows you
nothing at all.
While we think of this with China, in fact this layer of companies
and technologies with excessive government influence is actually global.
The globalnetworkinitiative.org is an initiative of ideas on what
companies should do to be a transparent layer between people and
governments.
To tie it back to the history of dead white guys: the Hamiltonians vs
Jeffersonians–this is the same debate we’re having between control and
freedom all over the world.
Do we lock up the internet for our safety or
keep is free for civil liberties?
Which side are you helping? The River crab or the alpaca?
