Abandoned Louisiana - A Long Forgotten Industrial Area in Alexandria

June 07, 2023

Driving north on I-49 through Alexandria it is hard not to notice a very vast area of forest just off the right hand side of the road. One would assume that this overgrown area just south of downtown was an area that somehow avoided development during the city's history. In actuality, however, the exact opposite is true. During the early 1900s til the early 1980s this area of Alexandria was a very large industrial area that included numerous businesses, homes and two large railroad facilities. Today very little of this still exists and what does stands abandoned and forgotten.

Today I had to travel into this 'lost world' just south of downtown for work. I joked with a couple of fellow workers that the area reminded me of the set of some zombie apocalypse movie. It's really hard not to see how my analogy really fits the mood of this abandoned and neglected area. It truly checks all the boxes, all the buildings are vacant, rotting and covered with vegetation. The roads are rubble and mostly undrivable. There is no sign of life, human or otherwise. Honestly it's spooky as all get out.

Just add a few animated corpses and viola, you have an episode of The Walking Dead.

Surprisingly there are still a few people that still call this forgotten part of town home and I had the privilege to talk to a couple of them. They both echoed feelings of frustration as both had been trying for decades to get the city to address the abandoned structures and have them torn down. One told me that they had actually worked for the city and the other stated that the state government had provided him the land on which his meager trailer now resides. Both stated that they were trying to do the best that they could with what the had. The gentleman with the trailer stated that he was hoping the state would buy his land back so he and his wife could move somewhere else.

That man had amazing faith stating that no matter what, "the Lord would provide for his family and if they were to have to move, Jesus would provide the way."

It appears that my faithful friend is about to have his prayers answered because he reveled that he had been approached by the city about his property because there is a proposed water park to be built just behind him adjacent to the I-49 freeway.

That was the first that I had heard of that.

Likewise there are plans to use the old Missouri Pacific Railroad right of way nearby to build a greenbelt and walking trail. It's hard not to imagine that these two projects are somehow connected.

It looks like the city of Alexandria has had their eyes on this forgotten part of town for some time and have plans to turn it into a tourist destination.