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With a slew of new developments announced left and right, it can be easy to forget Baton Rouge is steeped in more than 160 years of history, with downtown as its epicenter.

It’s hardly a new phenomenon to renovate an existing building or incorporate it into a new design: the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center, Shaw Center for the Arts, City Club, Varsity Shop, Lyceum Dean, etc.

But as new downtown histories are written, an increasing number of projects are doing what they can to preserve history: Kress at Third and Main, Stroube’s, I.M. Causey and Co. building, MAPP Construction’s Belisle Building and more.

Existing downtown buildings define the uniqueness of Baton Rouge, says Davis Rhorer, executive director of the Downtown Development District. Giving new meaning to the buildings while saving the structures to benefit the community speaks volumes about our history and who we are as a people, he says.

Architect Trula Remson of Remson-Haley-Herpin Architects refers to the older buildings downtown as “the fabric,” and says when they’re working on a renovation of an older building they take an “if-it’s-not-broken-don’t-fix-it” approach.

“I don’t think you have to keep things just because they’re old, but if it’s working you need to try to keep it working,” she says.

Remson-Haley-Herpin Architects completed the renovation of the Belisle Building for MAPP Construction last year and is currently working on the renovation of the Stroube’s building. Remson says her firm is lucky to have worked with clients who understand the costs are significantly more on a renovation, but it’s a good investment.

John Schneider, president of Cyntreniks of Baton Rouge, is knee-deep in history as Cyntreniks redevelops the Kress, Knox and Welsh-Levy Buildings on Third Street as well as the Hotel King. Schneider says it took more than 18 months to put the financing side of the Kress deal together and to find a bank that would deal with commercial lending and tax credits. He says the project would have been impossible without the ability to use federal and state historic and new market tax credits.

“We felt that section, the northern section of what’s now becoming the arts and entertainment district, often sees the demolition of historic buildings like the Paramount Theater,” he says. “It was important to us to save these three buildings, so we combine a strong personal interest as well as a civic interest in making it happen.”

Here’s a little bit of history—past and future—of a handful of downtown renovations. For more histories, check out the Foundation for Historical Louisiana at fhl.org or pick up a “City of Landmarks Walking Tour” brochure at the Old Governor’s Mansion.

Future: Kress at Third and Main

Past: Kress, Knox and Welsh-Levy Buildings

445 to 465 Third St.

On the afternoon of March 28, 1960, seven black Southern University students walked into the Kress store on Third Street and walked out making history. Marvin E. Robinson, Felton Valdry, John W. Johnson, Donald T. Moss, Kenneth Johnson, Jeannette Hoston and Jo Ann Morris asked to be served at the “whites-only” lunch counter and were denied. They were arrested for disturbing the peace, but they launched the sit-in movement in the state, according to information from the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation’s online database.

The buildings’ histories at Kress, Knox and Welsh-Levy go back to 1887 and will last for years to come thanks to Cyntreniks of Baton Rouge, the developer of Kress at Third and Main. The entire project, spread over the three buildings, will contain 18,000 square feet of retail space, 12,000 square feet of office space and 35,000 square feet of residential space.

The two- to four-story Kress building, thought to be constructed in 1887, was originally a two-story commercial building. By 1947, a rear wing was acquired creating the building’s “L” shape and another façade was added. (The Third Street side is registered as two stories, while the Main Street side is registered as four.) The former “five-and-dime” store is recognizable for its Art Deco façade and the “Kress” name in Arts and Crafts lettering. In the renovation, the Kress building will have first-floor retail units and the possibility of a recently announced 3,800-square-foot movie theater. Its second floor will have office space, and the third and fourth floors will have residential units.

The two-story Knox Building, constructed in 1887, is revered for its survival. Though it has lost its original shopfront, Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation information says its second story, where many of the original Italianate details are intact (like the cast-iron cornice and rooftop pediment), is particularly invaluable. In the renovation, the Knox Building will have a lobby entrance to the residential units above.

Also built in the 1887-89 range, the Welsh-Levy Building is a three-story, plaster over brick structure richly detailed with corbelled caps, cast-iron lintels and ornamented brackets. By 1900, the building was home to the Reymond general mercantile emporium, becoming Welsh and Levy Men’s Clothing in 1915. By 1970, the building was vacant. In the renovation, Welsh-Levy will have a 3,800-square-foot restaurant on the first floor and residential units elsewhere. The project has 22 residential spaces total: three, two-bedroom units for sale and 19 units for rent of four studio lofts, seven one-bedroom units and eight two-bedroom units.

Chenevert Architects is handling the renovation. Cyntreniks’ Schneider says the buildings have been totally gutted to the walls, and exteriors such as the brick walls and columns will be maintained. All the buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places.

courtesy foundation for historical louisiana (fhl)

Future: Grace and Hebert Architects

Past: I.M. Causey & Co. building

501 Government St.

Another architecture firm is making the move downtown with Grace and Hebert Architects preparing to renovate the I.M. Causey & Co. building on Government Street. Per Certified Sanborn Map Reports provided by Grace and Hebert, the building dates to at least 1891, when it was a vacant building that formerly housed a moss factory. In 1898, Baton Rouge Lumber and an armory set up shop. It became a warehouse and a school for blacks in 1903. Five years later, the St. Louis Hide & Fur Company moved in and stayed until 1916 and has since been listed as a furniture store.

Managing partner Jerry Hebert says the firm plans to gut the entire building, completely renovate the interior and perform exterior upgrades. That includes redoing the exterior canopies, upgrading the exterior skin, replacing the glazing, changing out mechanical, electrical and plumbing fixtures and installing new elevators. The firm will occupy two-thirds of the 16,300-square-foot, two-story building, leaving the ground floor available for retail or office space with a storefront. A roughly 3,000-square-foot conference center for the firm will also be located on the ground floor.

A few details are still being tweaked, Hebert says, and renderings will be unveiled in the coming weeks, with the construction anticipated to begin mid-December.

Future: Stroube’s Chop House

Past: Stroube Drug Store

105 to 109 Third St.

Dwarfed by the Shaw Center for the Arts and the Old State Capitol, the corner building at North Boulevard and Third Street known as Stroube’s, is on its way to shining again.

Annie Kaufman bought the property in 1900 for $8,000 and construction on the building is thought to have been under way in 1923, according to the 1984 Architectural and Historical Survey of Downtown Baton Rouge. A lease shows Stroube Drug Store was a tenant from 1924-28 before expanding and moving to the building’s south end. Other tenants of the building include men’s clothing store The White Brothers Company and a haberdasher. Architectural and Historical Survey of Downtown Baton Rouge says Stroube’s soda fountain was a popular draw for commuting LSU students and moviegoers to the Paramount Theater.

Commercial Properties is doing a build-out on the property with Capital City Grill owner Rick Volland, sharing an estimated cost of more than $2 million. Remson-Haley-Herpin Architects is working on the project, and Remson says they’re keeping as much of the building as they can to create a steakhouse and a terrace bar. The exterior walls were removed, but the nearly four feet wide interior columns are staying. The awning will also be replaced, and Remson says they hope to keep the balustrades.

With the Riverfront Master Plan calling for a North Boulevard Town Square, Remson says the building’s tower entrance will not only serve as an entrance to the restaurant, but as a gateway to the eventual Third Street arts and entertainment district.

Future: MAPP Construction

Past: Belisle Building

344 and 350 Third St.

MAPP Construction’s new headquarters, which was completed last year, is still turning heads. Remson-Haley-Herpin Architects won a 2007 Rose Award from the American Institute of Architects Baton Rouge for its renovation and addition of the Belisle Building. The M Bar opened late last month in the building’s ground floor.

Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, the Belisle Building was constructed in 1912 by Charles A. Belisle to be used for his dry cleaning firm, according to information from the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation’s online database. The right side of the lower floor housed Belisle’s cleaners, while the left half was rented to Werlein’s Music Store. The second floor was used as a residence for the Belisle family. Bates & Thigpen, the longstanding men’s clothier, set up shop from 1933 to 65.

By the time the building got to Remson-Haley-Herpin Architects for the MAPP project, Trula Remson says it was pretty far off from that original 1912 construction. The building’s original storefront has been lost over the years, and countless floor plan changes have been made. Kevin Harris Architect performed an extensive rehabilitation on the building in starting in 1992, including connecting the main building and the rear cleaning plant and installing a metal canopy on the façade.

MAPP wanted a building that would help brand the company as cutting edge. They also needed enough office space while keeping ground floor space for retail. To achieve this look while balancing the building’s traditional Italianate design, Remson says they built a steel skeleton inside the existing shell and added the contemporary third floor. Also, any parts of the original building that are a part of MAPP’s building have been painted a shade of white.