Shreveport & the Ark-La-Tex



Shreveport is located 320 miles northwest of New Orleans and 192 miles east of Dallas in northwest Louisiana. It is the commercial and cultural focal point of the Ark-La-Tex, the geographic region formed by the junction of three states. Shreveport is served by airlines [Delta, American, Northwest, Continental and TWA] with good connections to all parts of the country. Along with Bossier City, just across the Red River, the Shreveport metropolitan area has a population of more than 330,000. Shreveport is within driving distance of exceptional recreation areas such as the Ouachita Mountains of southern Arkansas, the forests and bayous of northern Louisiana, and Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Sabine River bordering Texas and Louisiana. It is a growing center of education, business, industry and the arts.

Shreveport is named for Captain Henry Miller Shreve, a steamboat captain, who in the 1830's cleared the great log jam ("Great Raft") that stretched 165 miles along the Red River. This accomplishment opened the area to commerce, marking the beginning of growth and leading to the incorporation of the city of Shreveport in 1839 on property obtained from the Caddo Indians. Agriculture and the lumber industry were the mainstays of the economy until the 1900's when the oil boom served as the impetus for industrial and commercial expansion. Bossier City, Shreveport's sister city across the Red River, was incorporated in 1907. The establishment of Barksdale Air Force Base in 1933 triggered expansion, and since that time Bossier City has been one of the fastest growing cities in the region. Today, Shreveport-Bossier serves as the trade and culture center of the 200 mile radius extending into Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas known as the Ark-La-Tex. These two cities offer a large variety of attractions, cultural activities, festivals, and cuisine.

Tourism is a growing industry for Shreveport/Bossier City because of the many attractions from professional sports (baseball, basketball, and football) to riverboat casinos to thoroughbred racing at Louisiana Downs. The metropolitan area of Shreveport/Bossier City offers more than 30 mall and shopping centers, a large selection of speciality shops and factory outlet stores, and numerous night clubs that feature a variety of music and live entertainment. Because of the growing tourist industry, Shreveport/Bossier City has a surprisingly large number and variety of restaurants that feature delectable cuisines such as Cajun/Creole, French, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Thai, Polynesian, etc. Many restaurants feature a variety of Louisiana foods such as crawfish, shrimp, oysters, Atchafalaya catfish, seafoods and fish from the Gulf, and of course, Cajun dishes of all types.

The mild climate of Shreveport/Bossier City offers ample opportunity for its citizens to take advantage of the large number of excellent facilities for outdoor recreation. Area lakes, bayous, parks, and campsites offer outstanding fishing, swimming, and boating facilities. Tennis, softball, and golf are played year-round. In addition, the geographic location of Shreveport/Bossier in the Ark-La-Tex allows day-trips or weekend excursions to regional attractions, such as Louisiana Cajun country, scenic antebellum homes in Natchitoches, the Ozarks mountains and rivers of Arkansas, the Civil War battlefield park at Vicksburg, and the cities of Jackson, Little Rock, Houston, Dallas and New Orleans.

[Text used by permission of the LSUHSC Department of Microbiology]

City | Employment | Media | Schools | Weather | State | Galleries and Museums | Performing Arts | Annual Events & Festivals | Nature, etc. | Sports | Other

 

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Galleries and Museums

Shreveport-Bossier City is a cultural center featuring dance, ballet, symphony, theater, and other performing arts. Some of the many attractions are listed below:

Performing Arts

Numerous groups and organizations provide a variety of musical, dance and theatrical performance. A sampling of these are listed below:

Annual Events and Festivals

Shreveport/Bossier City offers a large selection of events and festivals for all ages and interests. Festivals usually feature touring artists, craftsmen, and musicians and offer ethnic foods of all types. A sampling of these events is listed:

Nature, Etc.

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