South Grand Street, circa 1873

South Grand Street gathering, circa 1873. This is the third oldest photo of Monroe I have ever seen. Only the two photos of the 1871 fire are older. It shows South Grand Street, where a parade seems to be happening. I've seen grainy copies published in the News-Star and in Dr. Williams' book, "Founding Families … Continue reading South Grand Street, circa 1873 →

Drawing of the old ONB/Central Bank Building

I found this copy of a drawing of the old Ouachita National Bank and Central Bank & Trust building, stuck in a ratty binder down in south Louisiana this weekend. I think this was one of the most beautiful buildings in Monroe when it stood on South Grand! This, however, doesn't compare with what else … Continue reading Drawing of the old ONB/Central Bank Building →

1930 Roarer – Downtown Monroe

The above photo is an ad for the Monroe Engraving Company published on the last page of the yearbook. It shows DeSiard Street from the Endom Bridge. Wow!

1932 Flood photos

The ULM Special Collections Department has many of the Griffin Studio negatives of the 1932 flood. They are all online at the Louisiana Digital Library site and on the ULM Library catalog. One of the more interesting flood pictures (to me) shows the river side view from the back of the buildings on South Grand … Continue reading 1932 Flood photos →

Lover’s Lane

Lover's Lane in Monroe Last week's post from that 1835 trip, had me thinking about the legend of those Catalpa trees on Lover's Lane. I did some hunting on the newspapers.com website and found the two below articles. Sure enough, the legend is wrong! The trees were NOT planted by Pargoud, but by Henry Bry … Continue reading Lover’s Lane →

Journal of the Rev. Timothy Flint part IV

The soil on the surface is generally light, fertile, and of a black colour, except in the oaklands, where it is whitish, and rather stiff and meagre clay. At intervals we see masses of those triturated marine shells mixed with the soil, which constitute such a geological puzzle to the investigation of the dwellers, … Continue reading Journal of the Rev. Timothy Flint part IV →

South Grand Street

What strikes me about this view is how crowded it looks! Buildings as far as the eye can see. Dirt road and hitching posts for your horse (no cars or streetcars yet!). Very few people though.

Birdseye View of Monroe

Taken circa 1920, this shows a view of the heart of Monroe from the old City Hall. The street in front of the bank building is South Grand.

South Grand Street

South Grand Street circa 1908. The above photo shows a trolley on South Grand Street turning down Wood. This really shows the old Monroe Hotel and the Riverwalk area quite well! Notice the courthouse lot is covered in a lot more trees!

South Grand Street

Another postcard found online. This one was taken at the turn of the century near the intersection of DeSiard and Grand streets. To give you an idea of the view, the building on the far right is known today as the Austin's Restaurant building.