Since he opened Highland Coffees in 1989, Clarke Cadzow said customers would come in, look around with amazement, order their coffee and connect his shop on West Chimes Street to old memories of their days at LSU.
The nostalgia inspired him to spend the past 15 years thoroughly researching the history of the North Gates and the past few weeks pondering its uncertain future.
“I was afraid that this neighborhood would slowly disappear…I’d rather gather this history up while I can,” Cadzow said.
Highland Coffees is one of the business locations on West Chimes Street piquing the interest of investors looking to purchase the block of property for “mixed-use redevelopment,” according to the Baton Rouge Business Report, rumored to be “a combination of student housing, parking and retail.”
Because Cadzow does not own his property, he was not contacted by the investors. However, he said he has become “very familiar” with the issue.
He said he worries the investors will buy the property only to sell it for a higher value within six months, as was the case with The Standard at Baton Rouge, now known as University House. Though Landmark Properties paid $50.6 million for the land purchase, construction and renovations, the student apartment complex sold for $108.6 million within three months.
Cadzow said his sentimental clientele showed him how important the historic neighborhood was to people, and he wants to hold onto that.
“If you want something to stay around, you have to work to make sure it stays around,” he said.
The recreational historian went to work in the early 2000s, contacting hundreds of people from all parts of the country for photographs, documents and stories. He even made a map of the neighborhood, complete with every business that has ever been there over the past 100 years.
According to the North Gate Merchants Association website, nearly 450 businesses have set up shop in the North Gates neighborhood, which developed in the early 1920s after LSU moved its campus from downtown to the so-called “country,” about two miles from Highland Road.
The gates on the corner of Highland Road and Chimes Street served as the original entrance to campus, facing the city of Baton Rouge. In addition to theaters, restaurants and drugstores, the area has been home to a horse riding stable, a roller skating rink and a bowling alley.
Cadzow said the North Gates, or “Tiger Town” as it was also called, is the second-oldest commercial district in Baton Rouge. It was the hub of campus activity until the early 1980s when the space south of campus underwent development, he said.
Though she does not like the idea of investors removing established businesses students enjoy, petroleum engineering freshman Brooke Wade said she thinks the area should be redeveloped if it is the best location for potential housing.
“LSU needs to address the lack of parking spots and student housing,” she said.
On the other hand, psychology and English freshman Rebecca Wallace said she regularly goes to Highland Coffees to relax, study and read promotional pamphlets Varsity Theatre stocks in the coffee shop.
“I feel really at home there,” she said.
Despite its lack of campus centrality, Cadzow said the neighborhood’s presence adds a sense of distinctiveness crucial to Baton Rouge’s identity.
In a city with four historic commercial districts, he said the Baton Rouge community should preserve every last ounce of North Gates’ century-old legacy for future generations of Tigers to enjoy.
“If that neighborhood were to be torn down and another student apartment complex were to be put there, that would really hurt its uniqueness,” Cadzow said. “I think it would be the loss of an asset to LSU and Baton Rouge.”

Gallery • 19 Photos

Nicholas Martino

Investors are interested in purchasing the entire Northgate block and redeveloping it into a mixed-use platform on Sunday, January 24, 2016, at West Chimes St.