Before the interstate, Baton Rouge's commercial airport sat in the middle of what is now Mid City — a flat expanse of runways surrounded by neighborhoods that grew up around it and then swallowed it whole when the airport moved in 1961. The street grid around Florida Boulevard still carries the ghost of the flight path: the unusually wide lots, the abrupt dead ends, the blocks that don't quite line up with the ones beside them. The city grew over its own airport so completely that most residents don't know it was there.
Quick facts
- ·Before the interstate, Baton Rouge's commercial airport sat in what is now Mid City.
- ·The airport moved in 1961; the city grew over the runways so completely that most residents don't know it was there.
- ·The street grid around Florida Boulevard still carries the ghost of the flight path: wide lots, dead ends, misaligned blocks.
- ·Ghost geography readable only from satellite view or a close look at the street grid.
- ·Best appreciated from Google Maps satellite view centered on Florida and Lobdell Boulevards.
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Editorial content compiled with AI assistance. Place details verified against public records.