With construction now under way on a new home for the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, plans are also in the works for a renovation and expansion of the historic downtown firehouse that housed the council for more than 40 years.
The building, a nearly 100-year-old, terra cotta structure at 427 Laurel St. known for its Gothic Revival facade, is also the site of a little-known downtown attraction—the Robert A. Bogan Fire Museum and Education Center of Louisiana. The small museum is on the ground floor of the building, while the arts council occupies the second floor.
But when the arts council relocates in late 2020 to the renovated Triangle Building at 233 St. Ferdinand St., which will be renamed the Cary Saurage Community Arts Center, officials with the fire museum plan to renovate both floors and expand onto the second floor to accommodate more attractions and exhibits.
“The upstairs will be for rotating exhibits,” says Michael Paternostro, president of the nonprofit museum’s board. “If you have something like pieces of the World Trade Center from 9-11 that come through, we’ll be able to show those.”
The board has been working for the past several years to grow and increase awareness about the museum, which includes artifacts and memorabilia related to firefighting both in Baton Rouge and statewide dating back to the early 1800s.
Recently, the museum secured control of its lease from the city-parish. During the legislative session last spring it secured a commitment for $3.5 million in state funding from the capital outlay bill to help cover the cost of renovating the facility.
Of that promised amount, $280,000 was made available in 2019, which enabled the museum to begin planning and design work. In the meantime, the museum board has begun fundraising, holding quarterly events like steak and cigar nights.
Paternostro is optimistic that by late 2021 or early 2022 the project will be complete, though it will remain open during that time to accommodate school groups or tourists interested in a unique slice of Louisiana history.
“People don’t realize everything we have here,” he says. “We’re one of Baton Rouge’s hidden treasures.”
