A hotel that was once the home of former Gov. Huey P. Long is getting a second chance. In 1927 the birth of the Heidelberg Hotel began when architect Edward Nield drew his idea of a Baton Rouge hotel on a white napkin. Heidelberg Hotel was a main attraction for Baton Rouge tourists, from the day it was constructed in 1927 to its final moments of business in the mid-1980s. For years, the citizens of Baton Rouge have waited for the day Huey Long’s home would get the funding it needed to once again glow in the Louisiana nightlife. The main force behind bringing back the historical hotel that filed for bankruptcy in 1985 was The Baton Rouge Area Foundation. The man responsible for the $65 million renovation project that began in October 2004 was Cam Morton, CEO of Commercial Property. “Cam was the variable. He figured out how to do it,” general manager Austin Van De Vate said. Since the project started over two years ago, various hurdles have risen that the crew had anticipated. “There were a few set backs with construction costs. There was also a challenge in man power,” Tina Rance, director of sales, said. Of all the setbacks, the shortage of construction workers and rising costs after Hurricane Katrina was the biggest. A lot of the people working here in Baton Rouge went to New Orleans to help, Van De Vate said. The streets surrounding the hotel were packed with antique cars from the ’20s and ’30s. The University Prep Band was present as Long’s great-grandson Russell Long Mosely led the ceremony. He wore a white linen suit, the same suit Huey Long was so notorious for wearing himself. Mosely is currently an attorney at Taylor, Porter, Brooks & Phillips in Baton Rouge. The ceremony was a private event that had been sold out for week. Along with the official entrance ribbon cut by Morton, each guest room also had ceremonial ribbons that were cut symbolizing the rebirth of one of Baton Rouge’s proudest possessions, Rance said. One of the most popular areas of the hotel will be the newly renovated Riverview Ballroom. The ballroom will be a common attraction for weddings. The reservations for having a wedding in the Riverview Ballroom has been filled for weeks, executive assistant Tamara Heidenthal said. Many people have called to rent a room for their parents, who remember the early days of the hotel, because they realize how special of a place it was for them, Heidenthal said. The most joyful part of the renovation of the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center is simply the satisfaction so many locals will feel seeing the once proud, historical hotel back up on its feet, Rance said. “The community is happy about this hotel. We’ve had tons of calls from people who’ve had great memories of it,” Rance said. “We have an opportunity for a whole new generation to experience it.”
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—–Contact Chris Ballay at [email protected]