Every year on Army day in the 1940’s, the military would parade down DeSiard Street. This is a photo from the Digital Library That I think shows one of those parades:
https://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/oplib-pho%3A36
You can see the Phoenix Drug Store, People’s Homestead, the Alexander Hotel and Primos Cafe in the shot!
Ouachita Parish History Tidbits 