New face, same soul.
That’s the motto for the businesses in the North Gate area’s North Gate Fest, but the mantra holds true for the West Chimes Street businesses’ day-to-day and year-to-year operations.
Clarke Cadzow, owner of Highland Coffees and North Gate area historian, said the commercial district situated just outside of the North Gates of campus has a colorful and storied history.
“The North Gate area is the second-oldest commercial district in Baton Rouge after downtown,” Cadzow said.
Cadzow said the area was first established in the late 1920s and, while most of the original businesses have since turned over or moved, the area still retains a certain charm. One business that got its start on West Chimes Street was the Co-Op Bookstore.
“My father [W.A. Prescott] started the Co-Op as a branch of his family’s college bookstores when he moved to Baton Rouge from Alabama in 1933,” said Bobby Prescott, son of W.A. and current president of the Co-Op Bookstore.
Prescott said the now-iconic 1920s black-and-white photo of a young man with a slick middle part and a knowing smirk, displayed on Co-op billboards and advertisements throughout Baton Rouge, is a photo of his father.
“The photo is my father’s senior portrait from his school days at the University of Alabama,” Prescott said. “We wanted to get a photo that was taken as close to when he opened the store as possible.”
Prescott said his father opened the original Co-Op just a few years after his graduation. The store, which sold razor blades, shoes and other convenience items in addition to books, was located on the corner of West Chimes Street and Highland Road, where Bengals & Bandits currently resides.
Prescott said the store was a fixture in the North Gate area for years and expanded over time to encompass real estate occupied by Highland Coffees today. The store moved from its original location out of necessity rather than desire, according to Prescott.
“The store on Chimes burned in 1973 when a neighboring laundromat caught fire,” Prescott said.
The police report filed at the time did not cite the fire as intentional, but popular belief held that the fire was arson. Prescott said the Co-Op moved locations several times before settling on its current home off Burbank Drive in January 2004.
“We went from 12,000 square feet to 28,000 now,” Prescott said. “We are happy here and don’t plan on moving again any time soon.”
Cadzow said although West Chimes Street has weathered several fires – including a 2002 fire which burned his own shop – many of the structures on the historic street are original.
Businesses on West Chimes like Chinese Combo King, Studio 126 Hair Salon, Chimes Textbook Exchange, Eutopia Salon and North Gate Tavern all occupy buildings originally constructed in the late 1920s and ’30s.
“The makeup of the neighborhood has changed over time,” Cadzow said. “It has moved from a family-centered area to an area predominantly occupied by University students.”
Cadzow said there are no longer fraternity houses or churches situated in the area, but the street’s businesses have evolved with the wants and needs of the neighborhood. The layout of the commercial district is undergoing changes with the construction of a new cobblestone pathway. The resurfaced walkway will provide a more easily navigable path for pedestrian foot and bike traffic, an issue Cadzow said he’d like to see further improved in the future.
“I’d like to see our area enhance accessibility through improved sidewalks, better lighting and additional parking,” Cadzow said.
He said he feels the North Gate area today has a quintessential college town atmosphere, which many University students and faculty find alluring.
“I’d hate to use the word vibe,” Cadzow laughed. “But that’s the best word to describe its unique blend of energy and history.”
 
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Contact Josh Naquin at [email protected]