Our History In Pictures
Feibleman’s (Sears)
It’s interesting to remember that when the Feibleman’s (Sears) store was built in 1923, Civil War veterans were still alive. Here you see the storefront decorated for a Confederate Veterans event.
Texas Street 1920s
A circa 1920s photograph of Texas Street. The Feibelman’s Store was designed by architect Samuel G. Weiner. It opened in 1925 and was the first store in town to offer its own credit card.
Market at Milam SE corner 1903
A sepia-toned view of the corner of Market and Milam, early 1900s. The prominent building in the photograph is the City National Bank Building.
Market St. at Milam, West Side Intersection. ca. 1913
This is the west side of the street at Market and Milam. Note the dirt street.
Market St. from Milam, Shreveport 1915
Market Street at Milam around the turn of the century. The trolley car shares the street with horse-drawn carriages and early automobiles. Quite a few automotive dealerships were located in this general area.
Milam & Market, Oden Bldg.-American Bank (rt)., 1920s
This Grabill photo of Market and Milam Streets shows the façade of the City National Bank Building.
The old Montgomery Ward building
Christmas Eve, 1930. This is the sidewalk in front of the old Montgomery Ward building in the 700 block of Texas Street. Montgomery Ward became Ivan Smith Furniture and is now the home to artspace.
The Ogilvie-Weiner House
This is a postcard of the Ogilvie-Weiner House, now known as the Florentine. This building still stands on historic Austin Place near the Municipal Auditorium.
The Ogilvie-Weiner House
This is an actual photo of the Ogilvie-Weiner house. No date was given. The house, which was built in 1896, was owned by Shreveport grocer William Buckner Ogilvie.
Texas Street
A view from the east looking west in the 600 and 700 blocks of Texas Street. Electric Streetcars are still in business and you can see the façade of the Montgomery Ward building in the next block.
Selber Bros
An interior view of the Selber Bros. Department Store on Milam Street in the early 1960s. Note the “Jackie O-style” pillbox hat on the mannequin to the right. Interestingly, the attire would not look so out of style today!
Herman Zodiag building
An early 1900s view of the Herman Zodiag building in the 600 block of Texas Street. Zodiag was an Austrian immigrant who was instrumental in bringing electrified streetcars to Shreveport. The building started as a dry goods shop but became downtown’s premier dress and millinery shop in the 1920s.
The Winters Department Store
The Winters Department Store as it was in 1930 at 613-615 Texas, next to what is now the Robinson Film Center. Abraham Winter, a Jewish immigrant to Shreveport in 1840, also established Shreveport’s first department store, the Winter Company, in 1849. The history of Jewish commerce and culture in downtown Shreveport can be read here: https://www.msje.org/history/archive/la/shreveport.htm .
The Ardis Johnson Building on Milam Street.
Completed in 1920, it was downtown’s third major office building. In 1940 it become the first building downtown to get central air-conditioning. In 1951, the building was officially renamed the Johnson Building.
The downtown Arlington Hotel on Cotton Street.
After an unscrupulous contractor took money without completing the work, the hotel faced closing before ever opening. A local oil play that attracted hundreds of workers looking for lodging saved the day. The ground floor played host to a few popular clubs including “The Gay 90’s” Club.
The Holiday in Dixie parade.
The Holiday in Dixie parade passes the Selber Bros building, circa late 1950s-60s.
Texas Street in 1916.
A view of the 600 block of Texas Street in 1916, looking east. See the trolley car lines overhead.
Texas Street in 1926
The same block ten years later, in 1926. Note how many buildings are new, including the 17-story Slattery Building, which for a time was the tallest privately-owned building in the state of Louisiana.
Historic Significance of the Petroleum Tower
Petroleum Tower
415 Edwards Street
Shreveport, LA 71101
The 16-story structure — built in the 1950s and named the Petroleum Tower, reflecting the commodity that then ruled the local economy — was vacant and asbestos-laden when given to the non-profit Community Renewal International (CRI) in 2001. In 2006, funded by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, workers removed the asbestos.
Read below to learn the historic significance of the Petroleum Tower’s contribution to the historic fabric of the Shreveport Historic Commercial District.