Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 110,257 at the 2000 census; a 2007 census estimate put the metropolitan area's population at 256,494. It is the fourth largest city in the state. It is the larger principal city of the Lafayette-Acadiana, LA Combined Statistical Area, which, in 2007, had an estimated total population of 538,470.This city should not be confused with one of the same name in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, and which was absorbed into New Orleans. It was founded as Vermilionville in 1821 by a French-speaking Acadian named Jean Mouton. In 1884, it was renamed for General Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, a French military hero who fought with and significantly aided the American Army during the American Revolutionary War. The city's economy was primarily based on agriculture until the 1940s, when the petroleum and natural gas industry became dominant. In recent years, the medical profession has taken a more predominant role in the area economy.[citation needed]Lafayette is the center of the Cajun culture in Louisiana and the US. Lafayette has a strong tourism industry because of the Cajun and Creole cultures of the surrounding region. The cuisine of the region, Cajun cuisine, is one of the most famous regional cuisines in the US.
Geography
Lafayette is located at 30°12′50″N 92°1′46″W / 30.21389°N 92.02944°W / 30.21389; -92.02944 (30.213901, -92.029363) and has an elevation of 36 feet (11.0 m).According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 47.7 square miles (123.5 km²), of which, 47.6 square miles (123.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.19%) is water.Lafayette is located on the West Gulf Coastal Plain. What is now Lafayette was part of the seabed during the Quaternary Period. During this time, the Mississippi River cut a 325-foot-deep (99 m) valley between what is now Lafayette and Baton Rouge. This valley was filled and is now the Atchafalaya Basin. Lafayette is located on the western rim of this valley. This land, called the southwestern Louisiana Prairie Terrace, is higher up and not made of wetland like much of the surrounding areas to the south and west of Lafayette. Because of this, Lafayette does not suffer significant flooding problems.The Vermilion River runs through the center of Lafayette. Other significant waterways in the city are Isaac Verot Coulee, Coulee Mine, Coulee des Poches and Coulee Ile des Cannes, which are natural drainage canals that lead to the Vermilion River.
Climate
Lafayette's climate is described as humid subtropical using Köppen climate classification. Lafayette is typical of areas along the Gulf of Mexico in that it has hot, humid summers and mild winters. (See table below for average temperatures for Lafayette.)
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 110,257 people, 43,506 households, and 27,104 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,316.7 people per square mile (894.5/km²). There were 46,865 housing units at an average density of 984.7/sq mi (380.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.23% White, 28.51% African American, 0.25% Native American, 1.44% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.58% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.88% of the population. In 2005, 84.2% of the population over the age of five spoke English at home, and 11.5% of the population spoke French or Cajun.There were 43,506 households out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.9% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. Nearly 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.07.In the city the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 13.3% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.The median income for a household in the city was $35,996, and the median income for a family was $47,783. Males had a median income of $37,729 versus $23,606 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,031. About 11.6% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.
Primary and secondary schools
Public schoolsSee Lafayette Parish School System for more information.The public schools in the parish are run by the Lafayette Parish School System. The system has 33 schools, 21 elementary schools, 12 middle schools, and five high schools. The LPSS offers six career academies at the high school level, school curricula designed to prepare students in certain career fields.The six academies are:The Academy of Business & Finance (Acadiana High School)
The Academy of Design (Ovey Comeaux High School)
The Academy of Engineering (Northside High School)
The Academy of Health Careers (Lafayette High School)
The Academy of Information Technology (Carencro High School)
The Academy of Travel & Tourism (W.D. Smith Career Center)
The LPSS has partnered with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office to offer the Sheriff's Career Academy. The academy is open to all high school seniors in the parish. This program, offered after school, prepares students for a career in law enforcement through job-shadowing and hands-on training. Seniors that complete the course receive one high school credit.The LPSS also offer schools of choice, a program to improve racial diversity at schools and to provide a more exciting educational experience. Accepted students are allowed to attend schools outside their school zone (but still within the parish) to receive their state mandated core curriculum using specialized themes or programs. This is available at all levels, elementary, middle, and high schools, and is designed to provide a more interesting learning experience for the students in the program.Private schoolsSee Lafayette Parish Private Schools for list of schools.Lafayette is home to a large Roman Catholic population and, because of this, Lafayette Parish has many private schools, with grades from kindergarten through twelfth grade.
Universities and colleges
Lafayette has one university, one community college and two vocational colleges.The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is part of the University of Louisiana System. It's the second largest university in the state, with an enrollment of approximately 16,000. The university has been a part of Lafayette since 1900. It is one of the top-ranked universities in the south. It has nationally-ranked nursing, architecture, and computer sciences colleges.South Louisiana Community College (Lafayette campus) is one of the newest college systems in Louisiana. SLCC partnered with Acadian Ambulance to form the National EMS Academy. The academy offers EMT-Basic and EMT-Paramedic certification. SLCC is part of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System.Louisiana Technical College (Lafayette campus) is part of the Louisiana Technical College system, which in turn is part of the Louisiana Community and Technical college system. It offers associate degrees in several fields.Remington College (Lafayette campus) is a vocational school that offers a few bachelor's degree programs, many associate degree programs, along with a few diploma programs.
Healthcare
Major healthcare clinics are listed below:Lafayette General Medical Center
Lafayette General Surgical Hospital
Lafayette Surgical Specialty Hospital
University Medical Center
Womens and Childrens Hospital
The Regional Medical Center of Acadiana- (Formerly Southwest Medical Center)
Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center
Heart Hospital of Lafayette
Park Place Surgical Hospital
Cardiovascular Institute of the South(CIS)
Lafayette also hosts the Home Office of LHC Group, Inc., one of the United State's leading home health and hospice care providers.
Government and politics
See also Notable local politiciansSince the consolidation of city and parish governments, Lafayette has had a city-parish president as its chief executive, rather than a mayor as it had previously. The current city-parish president is Republican Joey Durel. At this time Consolidation is under review. A vote will be put forth to the people of the Parish to end or continue the Consolidation some time in the near future.Under consolidation the City of Lafayette, the unincorporated parish and surrounding towns are unified by a single public works department and school board. The suburban and rural towns and villages, however, keep independent city councils, local executives, police and fire departments as well as other independent public services.
Law enforcement
Lafayette is served by five police agencies:Lafayette City Police(LPD)- The main municipal police department of the city
Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office(LPSO) - The parish level police agency
University Police(ULPD) - The police force of the University of Louisiana
Lafayette City Marshal- The City Marshal
Lafayette Park Police- who enforce state jurisdiction and local ordinance for the city owned parks and surrounding neighborhoods in the City of Lafayette.
Military
Lafayette is the home of the National Guard headquarters of the 256th Infantry Brigade, a military unit of over 3,000 soldiers that served in Iraq in the years of 2004-2005. The brigade was again deployed in January, 2010.Lafayette is also home to the United States Marine Corps Reserve Unit, F. Co. Anti-Terrorism Battalion commanded by Captain Cole Clements. This unit has been on several deployments, many involving the Iraq War.
Utilities
Electricity, water, and waste water serviceLafayette is served by Lafayette Utilities System, a city-parish government run, publicly owned utility company. Started over 100 years ago as an electrical company, LUS has expanded into a full service utilities company. It provides electricity, drinking water, and sewage treatment throughout the City of Lafayette as well some unincorporated parts of the parish, along with bulk sales to the water systems of most surrounding municipalities. LUS also is currently installing the infrastructure for a fiber telecommunications network. Called LUSFiber, the network would provide digital cable, telephone service, and high speed internet service to all households in the city of Lafayette. It will offer individual services as well as bundles.Natural gas serviceNatural gas service is supplied by Atmos Energy.Telephone serviceLocal land line telephone service is served by AT&T. Cox Communications and Lafayette Utilities System (aka LUS Fiber) provide Voice over Internet Protocol phone service.TelevisionCable television service in Lafayette is provided by Cox Communications. Lafayette Utilities System provides FTTH video services through LUSFiber. DirecTV and Dish Network both include Lafayette TV stations in their local packages, though DirecTV does not yet offer local high definition stations.
Retail and shopping
Lafayette serves as the retail hub of the five parish Acadiana area. One of the major retail areas in Lafayette is the Mall of Acadiana. The mall features department stores Macy's, Dillard's, JC Penney, and Sears. It also includes over 100 specialty stores, such as Express, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle Outfitters, Talbots, Chico's, Nine West, and Coldwater Creek. Other stores that have recently located in Lafayette include Kohl's and Plato's Closet. Academy Sports and Outdoors' Lafayette location is the largest discount store in the Academy chain.The Oil Center, downtown, and River Ranch offer a more specialized and unique shopping experience.Mall of Acadiana
River Ranch Shopping
The Oil Center
Downtown Shopping
Manufacturing
Lafayette has some manufacturing and fabrication businesses, including:Stuller Settings
Frank's Casing Crew
Information technology
The city also has an IT community including such businesses as:Louisiana Immersive Technology Enterprise (LITE)
Global Data
Innovative Learning Assessment Technologies
Sports
Lafayette is home to the Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns, the athletic teams of The University of Louisiana at Lafayette. It is home to the Louisiana Hurricanes , a semi-pro football team that plays at STM Stadium. Between the years of 1995 and 2005, Lafayette was home to the Louisiana IceGators ECHL hockey team; in 2009, the IceGators returned as a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League. As of 2009, Lafayette is home to the Lafayette Wildcatters of the Southern Indoor Football League. It is also home to the Lafayette Bayou Bulls, a semi-pro football program which started in 2003. Lafayette is home to three sports venues: the Cajundome, Cajun Field and Blackham Coliseum.
Nightlife
On weekend nights, Downtown Lafayette turns into a nightlife hub in the Acadiana region. Downtown Lafayette offers a diverse range of clubs and sports bars like The Green Room and Marley's, live music venues like Grant Street Dancehall and The Blue Moon Saloon, and dance clubs. Outside of the downtown area, Lafayette offers many other types of establishments, like The Taproom, a beer specialty bar, The Bulldog, a sports bar very popular with UL students, Fast Eddie's, a poolhall, and Buffalo Wild Wings, a restaurant and bar.
Media
PrintThe Daily Advertiser, dailyGannettbroadsheet stylenewspaper
AcadianaMoms magazine
The Times of Acadiana, weeklyGannetttabloidformat
Lafayette Grapevine: local website
Acadiana Gazette, weekly newspaper published byRon Gomez
Acadiana Profilemagazine, established in 1968 byRobert Angers
The Independent Weekly, weekly locally owned newspaper (compact style)
The Advocate, daily newspaper with local coverage from Baton Rouge.
The Vermillion, UL Lafayette student newspaper
La Revista, monthly Hispanic/English newspaper
TelevisionCurrently, Lafayette is served by Cox Communications; however, Lafayette Utilities System (Lafayette's city owned utilities company) is completing installation of infrastructure and preparing to offer LUSFiber, a fiber optic network offering digital cable, telephone, and high speed internet services.Lafayette is home to:KATC3.1/RF28, Cable 5, (ABC)
KATC23.2/, Cable 10 (The CW)
KLFY-TV10.1/RF10, Cable 11 (CBS)
KADN-TV15.1/RF16, Cable 6 (Fox)
KLAF-TV15.2/, Cable 12 (MNTV)
KLWB, 50.1/RF50 (This TV)
KLPB-TV24.1/RF23, Channel 12, (PBS)LouisianaPublicBroadcasting
KXKW32.1 - Outdoor Sports Channel and 32.2 ThisTV
AOC 1, Channel 15,AcadianaOpenChannel, one of two local programing channels.
AOC 2, Channel 16
Lafayette is also served by:KPLC-TV, 7.1/RF7 Cox Cable 7 (NBC), located in nearbyLake CharlesTHISnetwork on 7.3
WVLA-TV, 33.1/RF33 (NBC), located in nearbyBaton Rouge
WBRZ, 2.1, Cox Cable 17, (ABC), located in Baton Rouge
WAFB, 9.1/RF9, Cox Cable 18, (CBS), also located in Baton Rouge
RadioSee List of Lafayette radio stations for full list.Popular radio stations in Lafayette:KFTE(FM), Planet Radio 105.1 -AlternativeandModernRock
KMDL(FM), 97.3 The Dawg -Country Music,New Orleans Saintsradio network affiliate
KPEL(AM,ESPN1420 -Sports Radio
KPEL-FM(FM), NewsRadio 96.5 -News radio
KRKA(FM), Hot 107.9 -Rhythmic Contemporary
KROF(AM), 960 The Gator,Cajun Variety
KTDY(FM), 99.9 KTDY,Adult Contemporary
KSMB(FM), 94.5 KSMB,Top 40 (CHR)
KNEK-FM(FM), Magic 104.7,Urban AC
KRRQ(FM), Q 95.5,Urban Contemporary
KXKC(FM), 99.1 KXKC,Country Music
KRDJ(FM), Rock 93.7,Active Rock
KRVS(FM), Public Radio for Acadiana,World Ethnic(88.7)
KAJN-FM(FM), Agape Radio,Contemporary Christian(102.9)
KIKL(FM), Positive and EncouragingK-Love,Contemporary Christian(90.9)
KLWB-FM(FM), Snap 103.7,Classic Hits(103.7)
Other:Radiolicious,internet radio
Points of interest
Lafayette is the heart of Acadiana and the center of Cajun culture in Louisiana and the United States. As such, Lafayette has many cultural places of interest.Acadiana Center for the Arts
Acadian Villageis a reconstructed Cajun bayou community (of moved and reassembled authentic buildings) and has a representative collection of Cajun furnishings.Website
Acadiana Center for the Arts
Alexandre Mouton House Museumwas home to Louisiana's first Democratic governor, Alexandre Mouton, who once lived in this antebellum town house. It is now a museum and contains a collection of antiques, historical documents, and old Mardi Gras costumes.
Borden's Ice Cream, the last Borden's Ice Cream location in the country.
Cajundome, home to theLouisiana's Ragin' Cajunsbasketball teams, serves as a convention space.
Cajun Fieldalso nicknamed 'the Swamp' is home to theLouisiana's Ragin' Cajunsfootball team.
Children's Museum of Acadiana
Cité des Arts
Cypress Lakeis located at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Downtown Lafayettethe heart of culture in Lafayette.
Girard Park
Heymann CenterA performing arts center.
Jean Lafitte National Park Acadian Cultural Center
Jefferson Street Markethas 65 shops under one roof, offering everything from fine French antiques to fine art by regional artists.
Lafayette Natural History Museum & Planetariumis a combination museum and planetarium, which houses over 1,000 paintings, prints and sculpture of Louisiana artists and regularly changing exhibits and planetarium programs.
Lafayette Public Library System
Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE)is a state-of-the-art resource center encompassing the world's first six-sided, digital virtual reality cube as well as the world's largest digital 3-D auditorium.
Mall of Acadiana- Contains a Dillard's, Sears, JCPenny, Macy's, and over 100 specialty stores and services.
National Wetlands Research Centeris a research facility operated by theU.S. Geological Surveythat focuses on estuarine, marine, and freshwater wetlands.
Paul and Lulu Hillard University Art Museumhas a Permanent Collection consisting of more than 2000 works of art, including paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, and photographs that represent 18th, 19th and 20th century Louisiana, in addition to works from around the world.
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Vermilionvilleis a reconstruction of a Cajun-Creole settlement from the 1765-to-1890 era
The Village of River Ranch
Zoo of Acadianais located nearby inBroussard.
Events
2nd Saturday Artwalk- An artwalk downtown held every 2nd Saturday of every month.
Acadiana Film Festival- A film festival exploring the intersection of entertainment and technology.
Bach Lunch- A spring outdoor concert series hosted by the Lafayette Natural History Museum and Planetarium, held in Parc Sans Souci downtown.
Cajun Heartland State Fair- An eleven daystate fairheld on the grounds of the Cajundome and Convention Center.
Crouchstock- An annual music festival held to raise funds for the Jacob Crouch Foundation, a suicide prevention, awareness and education foundation.
Downtown Alive!- A 25-year-old series of free, family friendly, outdoor concerts in the fall and spring.
Drums Across Cajun Field- An annualDCIshow hosted by thePride of Acadiana
Festivals Acadiens at Creoles- An annual collection of festivals celebrating Cajun and Creole Cultures.
Festival International de Louisiane- An annual international festival of arts and music, celebrating Lafayette and the surrounding area's French heritage.
Gulf Brew- An annual beer tasting festival.
Le Festival de Mardi Gras a Lafayette- The second largest Mardi Gras celebration in Louisiana.
Louisiana Showcase of Marching Bands- A popularhigh schoolmarching bandfestival.
MechaCon- Louisiana's longest running Anime and Japanese Cultural Convention. (note: MechaCon has been moved to New Orleans, LA for the 2010 conference. It is up for debate as to whether or not it will return to Lafayette in the future.)
Movies in the Parc- A fall outdoor children's movie series in Parc International downtown.
Hopefest- a charity festival that is put on by High Schoolers in the area
Transportation
Air:Lafayette Regional Airport(LFT) is located on US Highway90, on the southeast side of the city.
Interstate Highway:I-10andI-49(Lafayette serves as I-49's southern terminus, at its intersection with I-10)
Passenger Rail: TheAmtrakSunset Limitedoffers service fromNew Orleans, LouisianaandLos Angeles, Californiawith selected stops in Louisiana, Texas, Arizona and California. The 2004 Route Guide describes service eastward toOrlando, Florida, but this has not been restored in the aftermath ofHurricane Katrina.
Public Transit:Lafayette Transit Systemprovides bus service.
Lafayette is also served by U.S. Routes 90 (known as the Evangeline Thruway for part of its route) and 167 (also known as Johnston Street). Ambassador Caffery Parkway, named for Jefferson Caffery, serves as a partially completed loop around Lafayette. Other arterial roads serving Lafayette include Verot School Road (LA 339), Congress Street, Kaliste Saloom Road (LA 3095), Carmel Dr. (LA 94), University Avenue (LA 182), and Pinhook Road (LA 182).
Sister cities
Lafayette has six sister cities:Le Cannet,France(Twinned May 26, 1967)
Longueuil,Quebec,Canada(Twinned December 3, 1968)
Moncton,New Brunswick,Canada(Twinned October 19, 1971)
Poitiers,France(Twinned April 22, 1975)
Namur,Belgium(Twinned June 19, 1979)
Agnibilékrou,Côte d'Ivoire(Twinned October 5, 1999)
Six intersections in the downtown area are each named after one of its sister cities.
