Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, and the

parish seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the

Calcasieu River The Calcasieu River ( ; french: Rivière Calcasieu) is a river on the Gulf Coast in southwestern Louisiana. Approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 20, ...

. Founded in 1861 in Calcasieu Parish, it is a major industrial, cultural, and educational center in the southwest region of the state. As of the

2020 U.S. census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, Lake Charles's population was 84,872. The city and metropolitan area of Lake Charles is considered a regionally significant center of

petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sou ...

refining, gambling, tourism, and education, being home to

McNeese State University McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. ...

and Sowela Technical Community College. Because of the lakes and waterways throughout the city, metropolitan Lake Charles is often called ''the Lake Area''.

History

On March 7, 1861, Lake Charles was incorporated as the town of Charleston, Louisiana. Lake Charles was founded by merchant and tradesman Marco Eliche (or Marco de Élitxe) as an outpost. He was a Sephardic Jewish trader of either Basque-Spanish or Venetian-Italian origins. He had arrived in Louisiana after hitchhiking and was invited onto a Spanish vessel due to his determination and loyalty to volunteer and work freely for the Spanish Empire. Long before incorporation and even before the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

, other names for Lake Charles were Porte du Lafitte (Port of

Jean Lafitte Jean Lafitte ( – ) was a French pirate and privateer who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his older brother Pierre spelled their last name Laffite, but English language documents of the time used "Lafitte". Th ...

) or Rivière Lafitte (River Lafitte/Lafitte's River), among many other names now lost. Eliche had also founded other outposts and towns in Louisiana prior, most notably Marksville, which is named after him. There are also urban tales he had planned to name the settlement Nouveau Cadix (New

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

)", after the city in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, but this is uncertain. The town was first incorporated in 1857 as Charleston, after an early settler,

Charles Sallier Lake Charles, Louisiana was named for Charles Sallier, an early settler of the area. Martin and Dela LeBleu were among the first to settle near Lake Charles, in the area called LeBleu Settlement. They arrived in Lake Charles in 1781 from Bordeaux ...

. Ten years later, on March 16, 1867, Charleston was reincorporated as the City of Lake Charles. The Great Fire of April 1910 devastated much of the city. Lake Charles soon rebuilt, grew and expanded in the twentieth century. The Charleston Hotel was completed in 1929, during the administration of Mayor Henry J. Geary. During and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Lake Charles experienced industrial growth with the arrival of

refineries. The city grew to a high of some 75,000 people in the early 1980s, but with local economic recession, the population declined and stagnated. In 1985, the city was identified as a potential

Strategic Homeport Strategic Homeport was a plan developed in the 1980s by Secretary of the Navy John Lehman for building new U.S. Navy bases within the continental United States. It was proposed as part of the 600-ship Navy plan of the Reagan Administration. It ca ...

to support Navy Secretary

John Lehman John Francis Lehman Jr. (born September 14, 1942) is an American private equity investor and writer who served as Secretary of the Navy (1981–1987) in the Ronald Reagan administration where he promoted the creation of a 600-ship Navy. From 2 ...

's desire for a

600-ship Navy The 600-ship Navy was a strategic plan of the United States Navy during the 1980s to rebuild its fleet after cutbacks that followed the end of the Vietnam War. The plan, which originated with Republican leaders, was an important campaign plank of ...

. Support ships were to be operated from the new Naval Station Lake Charles; but with the tailing-off of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, the 1988 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended it be closed. By 1991, the incomplete base was dropped from the program and shuttered. In 2005, the city was heavily damaged by Hurricane Rita. In 2020, it was battered by two hurricanes, Category 4

Hurricane Laura Hurricane Laura was a deadly and destructive Category 4 hurricane that is tied with the 1856 Last Island hurricane and 2021's Hurricane Ida as the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in the U.S. state of Louisiana, as measu ...

on August 26–27, and

Hurricane Delta Hurricane Delta was the record-tying fourth named storm of 2020 to make landfall in Louisiana, as well as the record-breaking tenth named storm to strike the United States in that year. The twenty-sixth tropical cyclone, twenty-fifth named ...

on October 9, 2020. The southern portion of the city was damaged by an EF2 tornado on October 27, 2021.

Geography

Lake Charles, located on a level plain about from the Gulf of Mexico, has an elevation of approximately above sea level, and is located on the banks of the

in southwestern Louisiana. It borders both Lake Charles and Prien Lake.

Contraband Bayou Contraband Bayou is a large bayou which runs through Lake Charles, Louisiana and empties into Prien Lake. It is so named because of the legendary pirate Jean Lafitte who reputedly hid his contraband somewhere along the shores of the bayou. L'Aube ...

, Henderson Bayou, and English Bayou flow through the city. Oak trees and pine trees dot the landscape; the lumber industry was once the main economic engine of the area. The

Calcasieu Ship Channel The Calcasieu Ship Channel is a waterway that connects the city of Lake Charles, Louisiana, with the Gulf of Mexico. Its existence allows the Port of Lake Charles, which is more than 30 miles from the Gulf, to be the 11th largest seaport in the Un ...

, which allows large ocean-going vessels to sail up from the Gulf, also borders the city. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 6.12%, is water.

Climate

Lake Charles is tied with Port Arthur, Texas, and Astoria, Oregon, as the most humid city in the

contiguous United States The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...

, and the second-most humid measured location behind unincorporated Quillayute, Washington. The average relative humidity in Lake Charles is 90% in the morning, and 72% in the afternoon. Average annual precipitation is also high among U.S. cities, at per year.

Hurricanes

devastated the city in 2020. The

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

called the storm surge "unsurvivable" with one-minute sustained wind speeds of 150 mph (240 km/h). Numerous trees were blown down. The

Lake Charles Regional Airport Lake Charles Regional Airport is a public use airport located five nautical miles (9 km) south of the central business district of Lake Charles, a city in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. Owned by Calcasieu Parish, the airport s ...

saw a gust of 128 miles per hour (206 km/h) as well as multiple

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

s destroyed. Another gust in the city reached 137 miles per hour (220 km/h). Many windows were blown out of Capital One Tower downtown. A communications tower collapsed onto the

KPLC KPLC (channel 7) is a television station in Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Television, which provides certain services to dual Fox/ ABC affiliate KVHP (channel 29) under a sha ...

studio building (which had been evacuated) and part of a sky bridge was blown out. The radar at the NWS Lake Charles forecast office (whose staff evacuated, with the office's operations transferred to the

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...

office) was destroyed around the time of landfall, with its dome and much of its internal equipment sheared from the radar tower's base. A few weeks later,

also hit Lake Charles.

Demographics

Lake Charles is the principal city of the Lake Charles metropolitan statistical area, which had a population of 202,040 as of 2013. It is the larger principal city of the Lake Charles-Jennings combined statistical area, with a population of 225,235. The 2010 population of the five-parish region of

Southwest Louisiana Southwest Louisiana (SWLA) is a five-parish area intersecting the Acadiana and Central Louisiana regions in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is composed of the following parishes (counties): Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Dav ...

was 292,619. For the city proper of Lake Charles at the 2020 census, it had a population of 84,872, with a population density of 1,890 people per square mile among 38,434 housing units. In 2010, the population was 71,993,"Census 2010 Data for the State of Louisiana" (place list),

US Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, February 2011, webpage
C2010-LA
. reflecting a rebound from its 1990 population of 70,580. In 2010, the median income for a household in the city was $36,001. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $22,855. 20.9% of the population was below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

; in 2020, the median income for a household in the city was $37,894. 26.7% of the population was below the poverty line. The average commute time was 22.4 minutes.

Race and ethnicity

The 2010 census determined that the racial and ethnic makeup for the city was 47%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 46%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

<1% Native American, 2%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 1% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, 2% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

people of any race were 3% of the population. In 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the racial and ethnic makeup for Lake Charles was 46.2% Black or African American, 42.5% non-Hispanic white, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.6% Asian, 2.6% some other race, 5.6% two or more races, and 5.6% Hispanic or Latino American of any race.

Religion

In common with most of the American South, Christianity in the predominant religion in the Lake Area. According to the

Association of Religion Data Archives The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. One of the primary goals of the archive is to democratize access to academic information on religion by making th ...

in 2020, the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

is the area's largest individual Christian denomination, with 51,161 adherents in Calcasieu Parish alone. The Southern Baptist Convention was the city and area's second largest denomination, followed by non-denominational Protestant churches. Other prominent Christian denominations have included the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

National Baptist Convention, USA The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention (NBC USA or NBC), is a primarily African American Baptist Christian denomination in the United States. It is headquartered at the Baptist World Cen ...

, Churches of Christ,

Church of God in Christ The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is a Holiness–Pentecostal Christian denomination, and the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States. Although an international and multi-ethnic religious organization, it has a predominantly Bl ...

, and the

Assemblies of God USA The Assemblies of God USA (AG), officially the General Council of the Assemblies of God, is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in the United States founded in 1914 during a meeting of white Pentecostal ministers at Hot Springs, Arkansas (with e ...

. Additionally, outside of Christianity, there were an estimated 354 adherents of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

in the city and metropolitan area. According to Dwellics and

Sperling's BestPlaces Bertrand T. Sperling (born 1950 in Brooklyn, New York) is an author and researcher. His books and studies on quality of life in America have made him "an internationally recognized expert on cities." Work Studies Sperling is commissioned to c ...

, there is also a small

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

population.

Crime

In 2018, the violent crime rate in the Lake Charles area was of the highest in the United States, across communities of all sizes (both large and small). Violent offenses tracked include rape, murder and non-negligent manslaughter, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, including assault with a deadly weapon. Lake Charles is safer than 13% of cities in the United States. For every 100,000 people, 13.11 daily crimes occur in Lake Charles. Year over year, crime in Lake Charles has decreased by 25%.

Economy

The top employer, the Calcasieu Parish School System, employs approximately 5,000 workers. The second-largest employer is L'Auberge Casino Resort, which has 2,400 workers.

Industry and manufacturing

Several petrochemical plants and an oil refinery are located nearby along the

. Turner Industries,

Westlake Chemical Corporation Westlake Corporation is an international manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and fabricated building products, which are fundamental to various consumer and industrial markets. The company was founded by Ting Tsung Chao in 1986. ...

, and Citgo each employ over a thousand people. The

Trunkline LNG Lake Charles LNG (former name: Trunkline LNG) is a liquefied natural gas import terminal in Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States. It is owned by the subsidiary of Energy Transfer Equity. Together with Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a Britis ...

terminal, immediately southwest of Lake Charles, is one of the United States' few

liquified natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volu ...

terminals. It has facilities for LNG receipt, storage, and re-gasification. Other industrial companies include

PPG Industries PPG Industries, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 company and global supplier of paints, coatings, and specialty materials. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, PPG operates in more than 70 countries around the globe. By revenue it is ...

, Phillips 66,

Sasol Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Sandton, South Africa. The company was formed in 1950 in Sasolburg, South Africa and built on processes that were first developed by German chemists and engineers in the early ...

, and W. R. Grace. Local industry also includes a number of manufacturing companies.

Chennault International Airport Chennault International Airport (IATA: CWF, ICAO: KCWF, FAA LID: CWF) is a center of aerospace activity based in Lake Charles, Louisiana, serves the needs of civilian and military aircraft from around the world with world-class infrastructur ...

hosts

AAR Corp AAR CORP. is a private provider of aviation services. AAR is headquartered in Wood Dale, Illinois, a Chicago suburb near O'Hare International Airport. The company employs 4,700 people worldwide. History AAR Corp was founded in 1951. I.A. Allen ...

, which services airplanes, and a

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...

facility.

The Shaw Group The Shaw Group is a pipe and module fabrication firm specializing in induction bending. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Shaw employs approximately 700 people across its offices and operations in North America and the Middle East. History Sha ...

has a manufacturing facility which manufactures and exports parts for nuclear power plants.

Commerce and retail

With small businesses, big box stores, and a regional mall, Lake Charles serves as the shopping and retail hub of the five-parish area. Prien Lake Mall, which serves nearly 300,000 people is anchored by three department stores:

Dillard's Dillard's, Inc. is an upscale American department store chain with approximately 282 stores in 29 states and headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Currently, the largest number of stores are located in Texas with 57 and Florida with 42. The ...

Kohl's Kohl's (stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. it is the largest department store chain in the United States, with 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Haw ...

, and

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...

. It has over 80 retail options. Retailers include

Talbots The Talbots, Inc. (doing business as Talbots and stylized as TALBOTS) is an American specialty retailer and direct marketer of women's clothing, shoes and fashion accessories. As of 2018, the company operated 495 Talbots stores in the United S ...

, Gap, Aéropostale, Bath & Body Works,

Ulta Beauty Ulta Beauty, Inc., formerly known as Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. and before 2000 as Ulta3, is an American chain of beauty stores headquartered in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Ulta Beauty carries both high-end and low-end cosmetics, fragra ...

, Express,

American Eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

Buckle The buckle or clasp is a device used for fastening two loose ends, with one end attached to it and the other held by a catch in a secure but adjustable manner. Often taken for granted, the invention of the buckle was indispensable in securing tw ...

, Spencer's, and Hollister. The Lake Charles Power Center is a shopping area that has of shopping space. The Cottage Shop District supports approximately a dozen small businesses.

L'Auberge du Lac L'Auberge Casino Resort Lake Charles is a casino hotel in Lake Charles, Louisiana. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Penn Entertainment. L'Auberge employs over 2,400 people, and has nearly 1,000 hotel rooms. It regular ...

Casino Resort offers upscale clothing boutiques.

Casinos

Lake Charles has Louisiana's biggest casino market. The

Casino Resort is a , 26-story hotel in Lake Charles. It has nearly 1000 guest rooms, a casino, golf course, spa, and meeting center. A second casino, the

Golden Nugget Lake Charles Golden Nugget Lake Charles is a 242-acre waterfront casino resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States, owned and operated by Houston-based Landry's, Inc. The resort features 1038 guest rooms and suites housed in a 22-story tower, an 18-hol ...

, opened in 2014 next to L'Auberge du Lac. The 18-story casino resort hotel has more than 740 guest rooms, a casino, golf course, meeting space, retail corridor and a private beach and marina. While Horseshoe Lake Charles is technically in one of the city's suburbs known as

Westlake, Louisiana Westlake is an industrial city in Calcasieu Parish, in western Louisiana, United States, and is part of the Lake Charles metropolitan statistical area. The population was 4,781 in 2020. Westlake was incorporated in 1945. There are many chemical ...

, it forms part of the city's gambling market along with

Delta Downs Delta Downs Racetrack, Casino and Hotel is an American thoroughbred and quarter horse racetrack in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, near Vinton, Louisiana in the southwest portion of the state. The facility is owned by Boyd Gaming. ...

Vinton, Louisiana Vinton is a town in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,400 in 2020. It is part of the Lake Charles metropolitan statistical area. History The Old Spanish Trail, which was neither old nor Spanish, wandered north and ...

and

Coushatta Casino Resort The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana (Coushatta: ''Kowassaatiha'') is one of three federally recognized tribes of Koasati people. They are located in Allen and Jefferson Davis Parishes, Louisiana. The tribe hosts an annual pow wow during the sec ...

Kinder, Louisiana Kinder is a small town in Allen Parish, Louisiana, in the United States. The population was 2,477 at the 2010 census. The Lieutenant Douglas B. Fournet Memorial Park, an American Legion enterprise, was dedicated on June 11, 1988, in Kinder t ...

Arts and culture

Lake Charles has a Creole and

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

culture because of its location in

—an extension of

Acadiana Acadiana ( French and Louisiana French: ''L'Acadiane''), also known as the Cajun Country (Louisiana French: ''Le Pays Cadjin'', es, País Cajún), is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that has historically contained mu ...

. The city has its own

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

, the Lake Charles Symphony. It was founded in 1938 and hosts concerts at the Rosa Hart Theatre, which has a capacity of over 2,000. The Lake Charles Little Theatre was founded in 1927 and is the second oldest community theater in Louisiana. Lake Charles is home to a number of museums and art galleries. The largest, the Imperial Calcasieu Museum, features a permanent historical exhibit with artifacts and an art gallery. Its grounds are home to the Sallier oak tree, which is around 400 years old. The Historic City Hall Arts and Cultural Center is used as exhibition space; moving art exhibits are displayed at this public art gallery each month. It also hosts the Charlestown Farmers' Market, which provides a venue for local farmers and merchants to sell goods. The Central School Arts and Humanities Center, located in the historical Charpentier District, is owned by the city. ''Charpentier'' is French for "carpenter", a reference to the carpenter-architects who built the mixed-style homes in the district. Central School features the Black Heritage Art Gallery, which is on the

Louisiana African American Heritage Trail Louisiana African American Heritage Trail (french: Sentier de l'héritage afro-américain de la Louisiane) is a cultural heritage trail with 38 sites designated by the state of Louisiana, from New Orleans along the Mississippi River to Baton Rouge ...

, as well as the Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu, which features extravagant costumes and an interactive float. It has the largest collection of Mardi Gras memorabilia in the South. Other studios and cultural activities include the Art Associates Gallery, Studio 347 Gallery, the Lake Charles Symphony, and the Lake Charles Community Band.

produces the annual Banners Series of various musical and theatrical performances. Banners also hosts lectures and presentations from notable persons and academics. Local theaters include the Lake Charles Little Theatre, the Artists Civic Theatre and Studio (ACTS), and the Children's Theatre.

Louisiana Pirate Festival

Many festivals are held at the Civic Center. The most popular, the Louisiana Pirate Festival (formerly Contraband Days), is hosted on the Civic Center grounds and lakefront. The festival is a twelve-day annual festival held during the first two weeks of May. The celebrations are filled with savory Cajun food, family fun, and live entertainment, including several national acts. The festival is regularly attended by more than 200,000 people, making it one of the largest celebrations in Louisiana. In a reference to the legends of piracy on the lake and Contraband Bayou, the festival begins when the pirate

and his crew capture the city and force the mayor to walk the plank.

Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras in Lake Charles has a long history dating back to 1882, when Momus, King of Mardi Gras, landed his royal yacht at the foot of Pujo Street downtown. Throughout the two World Wars, Mardi Gras was downsized which led to a lack of participation by the area's youth. However, an interest in redeveloping the festivities arose, and the first Mardi Gras Ball in Lake Charles was staged in 1964. The full revival of Mardi Gras in Lake Charles was not realized until 1979, when several

Krewe A krewe (pronounced "crew") is a social organization that puts on a parade or ball for the Carnival season. The term is best known for its association with Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, but is also used in other Carnival celebrations ar ...

captains formed the "Krewe of Krewes", with the primary purpose of parading and promoting Mardi Gras for local residents. In 1985, Mardi Gras of Imperial Calcasieu, Inc. was formed by a group of civic-minded volunteers to further aid in the preservation of this festival. Mardi Gras in Lake Charles regularly draws in crowds of 150,000.

Cultural events

Some of the city's cultural events include Chuck Fest, Martin Luther King Festival, Livestock Show & Rodeo, Black Heritage Festival, Garden Festival, Palm Sunday Tour of Homes, Downtown at Sundown, Memorial Day Avenue of Flags, Crawfish Festival, Asian/American Culturefest, Cajun French, Creole, Zydeco Music & Zydeco Trail Rides, Food Festivals, Marshland Festival, Gatorman Triathlon, Music & Food Festival, Arts Fest, and Riverside Fall Festival.

Libraries

Lake Charles has four libraries. The largest, with over 400,000 volumes, is Frazar Memorial Library, on the McNeese State University campus. The first library, Carnegie Memorial Library, was financed by

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

and opened in 1904. It also houses the Southwest Louisiana Genealogical and Historical Library. It, Central Library and Epps Memorial Library are part of the Calcasieu Parish Public Library, which has 13 locations in Calcasieu Parish.

Sports

Lake Charles is home to the McNeese Cowboys, whose football team hosts games at

Cowboy Stadium Cowboy Stadium is a 17,610-seat multi-purpose stadium in Lake Charles, Louisiana. It is home to the McNeese State Cowboys football team, and is affectionately referred to as "The Hole". It was transformed for the 2008 season to artificial turf ...

which has a seating capacity of 17,410.

Burton Coliseum The Burton Coliseum, built in 1976, is located in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The arena contains a domed roof and stands 105 feet from the floor to the top of the roof. It and other buildings in the Burton Complex serve many purposes. The coliseum ...

hosts the McNeese basketball teams. Lake Charles has been home to the Lake Charles Lakers and other minor-league baseball teams, indoor football teams, a minor-league ice hockey team and soccer teams. Golf is popular at the city's Mallard Cove Golf Course. Other golf courses include Gray Plantation Golf Course, Lake Charles Country Club Golf Course, the Contraband Bayou Golf Club, and the Country Club at Golden Nugget. Gray Plantation Golf Course is featured on Louisiana's Audubon Golf Trail. South Lake Charles Little League has had nationally winning teams televised on ESPN.

Parks and recreation

The city has 31 parks, many of which include playground equipment, athletic facilities, and walking paths. Shiver-Me-Timbers Millennium Park, located downtown, was built entirely by volunteers in 2000. Adventure Cove, a state-of-the-art park, was also built by volunteers, and is specifically designed for handicapped children. Hunting and fishing are popular with both residents and visitors to the Lake Area. An

All-American Road A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by C ...

, the

Creole Nature Trail The Louisiana Scenic Byways are a network of roadways within the U.S. state of Louisiana that have been deemed of cultural, historical, or scenic value. The routes follow various segments of the state-maintained highway system, usually rural in c ...

– "Louisiana's Outback" – brings tourists to Lake Charles and throughout

and

Southeast Texas Southeast Texas is a cultural and geographic region in the U.S. state of Texas, bordering Southwest Louisiana and its greater Acadiana region to the east. Being a part of East Texas, the region is geographically centered on the Greater Houston ...

Government

Lake Charles has a mayor-council government. The elected officials include the mayor, the clerk of court, and seven city council members. Each council member represents a district within the city limits. One is elected president and presides over each meeting. The mayor serves a four-year term. The current mayor is

Nic Hunter NIC may refer to: Banking and insurance companies * National Insurance Corporation, Uganda * NIC Bank, a commercial bank in Kenya Politics, government and economics * National Ice Center, an agency that provides worldwide navigational ice an ...

. The mayor appoints the

city attorney A city attorney is a position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the municipality. Unlike a district attorney or public defender, who usually handles criminal cases, a city at ...

. The Lake Charles Police Department (LCPD) provides law enforcement and protection for the city. The police chief is appointed to a six-year term, and the fire chief is also appointed. The Lake Charles Fire Department has eight stations and 15 companies.

also has its own police department, the McNeese State University Police Department. The Lake Charles City Court's jurisdiction covers the city and Ward 3 in Calcasieu Parish. The Fourteenth Judicial District Court, in downtown Lake Charles, covers Calcasieu Parish and includes nine judges who preside over family, juvenile, civil, and criminal trials. Lake Charles is home to a

United States District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

, also downtown. The Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeals is headquartered in the city. Lake Charles is represented by

Clay Higgins Glen Clay Higgins (born August 24, 1961) is an American politician and reserve law enforcement officer from the state of Louisiana. A Republican, Higgins is the U.S. representative for Louisiana's 3rd congressional district. The district, which ...

Louisiana's 3rd congressional district Louisiana's 3rd congressional district is a United States congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district covers the southwestern and south central portion of the state, ranging from the Texas border to the Atchafalaya River ...

. Most of the city is represented by Senator Jeremy Stine of District 27 in the Louisiana State Senate, though Mark Abraham's District 25 includes some neighborhoods of south Lake Charles.

Education

Universities and colleges

Shearman Fine Arts Center, McNeese State University

The city has one university and one community college.

, on a campus lined with oak trees in the heart of Lake Charles, is a four-year public university in the

University of Louisiana System The University of Louisiana System (UL System) is a public university system in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It enrolls more students than the other three public university systems in the state. Its headquarters are in the Claiborne Building in ...

flows through it. McNeese was founded in 1939 and named after educator John McNeese. It offers over 80 majors, and includes the colleges of

Business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

, Engineering and Engineering Technology,

Liberal Arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

Nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

, Honors College, and the Doré School of Graduate Studies. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...

. Other properties include a athletic plant and student apartment complex, the Louisiana Environmental Research Center,

, the MSU Farm, and nearly of donated farm property used for research, farming, and ranching. Over 8,500 students attend McNeese. Sowela Technical Community College offers associate degrees, technical diplomas, certificate programs, and general education courses that can transfer to four-year universities. Delta School of Business and Technology specializes in vocational courses.

Primary and secondary schools

Lake Charles's public schools are operated by the

Calcasieu Parish Public School System The Calcasieu Parish School Board (CPSB) is a school district based in Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States. The CPSB operates all public schools in Calcasieu Parish, including the city of Lake Charles. Demographics *Total students (at October ...

. There are two charter schools and several private schools. The

Roman Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles (Latin: ''Dioecesis Lacus Carolini''), is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church spanning Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jefferson Davis (civil) parishes in the southwest corner of the stat ...

operates and/or is affiliated with private Roman Catholic schools.

Media

Print

The most widely distributed, daily newspaper is ''The American Press''. Other popular periodicals include ''Lagniappe Magazine'', ''The Jambalaya News'', ''Gumbeaux Magazine'', and ''Thrive Magazine''. ''The Contraband'' is

's student newspaper.

Television

Major television network affiliates include

7, an

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

affiliate also operating the area's CW affiliate on its DT2 subchannel,

KSWL-LD KSWL-LD (channel 17) is a low-power television station in Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting alongside MyNetworkTV/MeTV/Telemundo affiliate KWWE-LD (channel 19). Both stations s ...

17, a

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

affiliate,

KLTL Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) member television stations serving the U.S. state of Louisiana. The stations are operated by the Louisiana Educational Television Authority, an agency c ...

18, a

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

member station,

KWWE-LD KWWE-LD (channel 19) is a low-power television station in Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV, MeTV, and Telemundo. It is owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting alongside CBS affiliate KSWL-LD (channel 17). Both stati ...

19, a

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...

MeTV MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...

affiliate, and

KVHP KVHP (channel 29) is a television station in Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with Fox and ABC. It is owned by American Spirit Media, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) with Gray Television, owner of dual NBC/ ...

29, a

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

affiliate also operating the area's

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

affiliate on its DT2 subchannel.

Radio

KBYS 88.3

Oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...

KRVS KRVS (88.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a public radio format. Licensed to Lafayette, Louisiana, United States, it is currently owned by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and features programming from American Public Media, Nation ...

88.7

Npr National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, KRLR 89.1 K-Love, KYLC 90.3,

KOJO (FM) KOJO "Radio Maria" is a non-commercial FM broadcasting station at 91.1 mHz in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Radio Maria USA airs Catholic programming. History KOJO is the first FM repeater of originating station KJMJ 580 AM in Alexandria, Louisiana. ...

91.1, KBAN 91.5, KTSR 92.1

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

, KHLA 92.9

Classic Hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...

, KPPM-LP 93.5 Black Gospel, KSMB 94.5 Top40(Chr),

KYKZ KYKZ (96.1 FM) is a country formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Lake Charles, Louisiana, serving Southwestern Louisiana. KYKZ is owned and operated by Cumulus Media. Its studios are at 425 Broad Street in downtown Lake Charles and its ...

96.1

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

KQLK KQLK is a country formatted broadcast radio station licensed to DeRidder, Louisiana, serving Southwest Louisiana. KQLK is owned and operated by Cumulus Media. Its studios are located on Broad Street in downtown Lake Charles and its transmitter ...

97.9

, W252AQ 98.3,

KNGT KNGT (99.5 FM, "Gator 99.5") is a radio station licensed to Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States, broadcasting a country music format. The station is currently owned by Townsquare Media. The station is home to Mike Soileau and Chad Austin in th ...

99.5

, KELB-LP 100.5,

KKGB KKGB (101.3 FM) is a classic rock formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Sulphur, Louisiana, serving Southwest Louisiana. KKGB is owned and operated by Cumulus Media. Its studios are located on Broad Street in downtown Lake Charles and ...

101.3

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

, KYBG 102.1

, KAJN-FM 102.9

Contemporary Christian Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

KBIU KBIU (103.3 FM, "Hot 103.3") is a radio station Broadcasting a Contemporary hit radio, Top 40 (CHR). licensed to Lake Charles, Louisiana, Lake Charles, Louisiana. The station is currently owned by Cumulus Media. Its studios are located on Broad S ...

103.3 Chr, KLCJ 104.1

KKMY KKMY (104.5 FM, "104.5 Kiss FM"), is a Rhythmic Top 40 formatted radio station in Orange, Texas. It serves the entire Golden Triangle (Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange) and is owned by iHeartMedia. Its studios are located southeast of the I-10/ ...

104.5

Rhythmic Top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

, KZWA 104.9

Urban Adult Contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music ...

KIOC KIOC is an active rock-formatted radio station in Beaumont, Texas. It serves the entire Golden Triangle region and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. Its studios are located southeast of the I-10/US 69 interchange in Beaumont, and its transmitter is l ...

106.1 Active Rock, KJMH 107.5

Urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

KLVI KLVI (560 AM, "News Talk 560") is a commercial radio station in Beaumont, Texas. It broadcasts a talk radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The radio studios and offices are on Dowlen Road in Beaumont, near U.S. Route 69. By day, K ...

560

News/Talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

, KJEF 1290

Cajun Music Cajun music (french: Musique cadienne), an emblematic music of Louisiana played by the Cajuns, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Although they are two separate genres, Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem w ...

KAOK KAOK (1400 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States, the station serves the Lake Charles area. The station is currently owned by Cumulus Media and features programm ...

1400

Talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

KLCL KLCL (1470 AM) is a radio station licensed to Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States. The station is currently owned by Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media ...

1470

KHB42 NOAA Weather Radio NWR; also known as NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards is an automated 24-hour network of Very high frequency, VHF Frequency modulation, FM weather radio stations in the United States (U.S.) that broadcast weather information dir ...

162.400

NOAA Weather Radio NOAA Weather Radio NWR; also known as NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards is an automated 24-hour network of VHF FM weather radio stations in the United States (U.S.) that broadcast weather information directly from a nearby National Weather Servi ...

Infrastructure

Roads

The city's streets are laid out primarily in a

grid pattern In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogo ...

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...

passes through Lake Charles, connecting the city with

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

to the west and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

to the east. The Calcasieu River Bridge crosses the

and part of

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

. Featuring decorative flintlock pistols on the railing, it is high. About 50,000 vehicles pass over it daily. Despite its age of over 60 years, it is considered safe by the Louisiana DOTD. Interstate 210 is an interstate highway bypass that loops through the southern portion of the city. The curving Israel LaFleur Bridge goes over the

. This bridge has a 96% rating even after withstanding recent hurricanes. The loop has served Lake Charles commuters for 40 years, and carries about 40,000 vehicles per day. Other major highways include U.S. Highway 90, which runs parallel with Interstate 10, and

U.S. Highway 171 U.S. Highway 171 (US 171) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System and the only route within that system currently located entirely within the state of Louisiana. It spans in a north–south direction from the junction of U.S. ...

, which connects the city to the north with Moss Bluff, DeRidder, and Shreveport. Highway 165, which runs northeast to

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

terminates at Highway 90 just a few miles east of the city.

Louisiana Highway 14 Louisiana Highway 14 (LA 14) is a state highway located in southern Louisiana. It runs in an east–west direction from the junction of U.S. Highways 90 and 171 in Lake Charles to LA 182 in New Iberia. The highway connects a strin ...

ends at a junction with Highway 90, and runs south then east of the city.

Airports

Lake Charles is served by two airports.

, located south of the city, provides commercial airline service to

and

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, while a fully operational airport, is an industrial and maintenance center. The latter airport, a former

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

base during the Cold War, is named for Maj. Gen.

Claire Chennault Claire Lee Chennault (September 6, 1893 – July 27, 1958) was an American military aviator best known for his leadership of the "Flying Tigers" and the Chinese Air Force in World War II. Chennault was a fierce advocate of "pursuit" or fighte ...

, the aviator famous for commanding the

Flying Tigers The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China. Operating in 1941–1942, it was composed of pilots from the United States Ar ...

fighter group during

Seaports

The

Port of Lake Charles The Port of Lake Charles is an industrial port based in the city of Lake Charles, Louisiana, U.S.A. It is a major employer in Lake Charles. It is the twelfth-busiest port in the United States according to the American Association of Port Authori ...

is the thirteenth-busiest

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

in the United States, the fourth-largest liner service seaport in the U.S. Gulf, and a major West Gulf container load center. The City Docks in Lake Charles are the main hub of shipping activity. The

provides direct access to the Gulf of Mexico downstream. The ship channel, which has a projected depth of and a bottom width of , intersects the

Gulf Intracoastal Waterway The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is the portion of the Intracoastal Waterway located along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It is a navigable inland waterway running approximately from Carrabelle, Florida, to Brownsville, Texas. The waterwa ...

just north of Calcasieu Lake.

Public transportation

Lake Charles Transit Lake Charles Transit is the operator of public transportation in Lake Charles, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana Calcasieu Parish (; french: Paroisse de Calcasieu) is a parish located on the southwestern border of the U.S. state of Louisiana. ...

, the city's bus system, provides five routes throughout the city. It has one

Greyhound bus Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and p ...

station, and the

Amtrak station This is a list of train stations and Thruway Motorcoach stops used by Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation in the United States). This list is in alphabetical order by station or stop name, which mostly corresponds to the city ...

serves the Sunset Limited train route.

Utilities

Electrical needs are provided by the energy company

Entergy Entergy Corporation is a Fortune 500 integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations in the Deep South of the United States. Entergy is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and gene ...

. The city provides

drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...

and sewage service to residents within city limits. Water is treated at six water treatment facilities in the city.

Healthcare and medicine

Lake Charles is served by two hospitals with multiple locations. Christus St. Patrick Hospital operates the Lake Area Medical Center campus in south Lake Charles, and Lake Charles Memorial Hospital operates a birthing hospital called Lake Charles Memorial Hospital for Women.

In popular culture

* The musical ''

Caroline, or Change ''Caroline, or Change'' is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and lyrics and book by Tony Kushner. The score combines spirituals, blues, Motown, classical music, and Jewish klezmer and folk music. The show ran both Off-Broadway and on Broad ...

'' by

Tony Kushner Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Lauded for his work on stage he's most known for his seminal work ''Angels in America'' which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. At the turn ...

, which was nominated for the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

for Best Musical in 2004, is set in Lake Charles. * Lake Charles is mentioned in

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian a ...

's ''

On the Road ''On the Road'' is a 1957 novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, based on the travels of Kerouac and his friends across the United States. It is considered a defining work of the postwar Beat and Counterculture generations, with its protagonis ...

''. After leaving Sal Paradise in Mexico, Dean Moriarty's car breaks down in Lake Charles. *

Lucinda Williams Lucinda Gayle Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums: '' Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and '' Happy Woman Blues'' (1980), in a traditional country and blues style ...

, singer and songwriter, wrote the song "Lake Charles" about her hometown. * Lake Charles is mentioned as the traveler's destination in the song " Up on Cripple Creek" by The Band.

Films

Lake Charles is featured or mentioned in '' The Drowning Pool'', '' The Beyond'', ''A Taste of Louisiana with Chef John Folse & Co.'', ''

Passion Fish ''Passion Fish'' is a 1992 American drama film written and directed by John Sayles. The film stars Mary McDonnell, Alfre Woodard, Vondie Curtis-Hall, David Strathairn, Leo Burmester, and Angela Bassett. It tells the story of a soap opera star, ...

'', ''

Good Eats ''Good Eats'' is an American television cooking show, created and hosted by Alton Brown, which aired in North America on Food Network and later Cooking Channel. Likened to television science educators Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye, Brown explores the ...

'', ''

UFC 22 ''UFC 22: Only One Can be Champion'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 24, 1999 at the Lake Charles Civic Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana. History The event was headlined by a Light Heavy ...

: There Can Be Only One Champion'', ''

UFC 24 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

: First Defense'', ''

Blue Vinyl ''Blue Vinyl'' is a 2002 documentary film directed by Daniel B. Gold and Judith Helfand. With a lighthearted tone, the film follows one woman's quest for an environmentally sound cladding for her parents' house in Merrick, Long Island, New York. ...

'', ''

Little Chenier ''Little Chenier'' is a 2006 American drama film directed by Bethany Ashton Wolf and written by Jace Johnson and Wolf. It is set in the bayous of Louisiana, and stars Johnathon Schaech, Frederick Koehler, Tamara Braun, Jeremy Davidson, Clifton ...

'', ''Mercy'', ''

Split Ends Trichoptilosis (from the Greek language, Greek τριχο- ''tricho-'' "hair" and the New Latin ''ptilosis'' "arrangement of feathers in definite areas" from the Greek πτίλον "feather"), schizotrichia, and informally split ends, is the sp ...

'', ''All Over But to Cry'', ''Film Hustle'', ''Good Boy'', and '' 10 Cloverfield Lane''. * In the 1969 film ''

Easy Rider ''Easy Rider'' is a 1969 American independent drug culture road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda, and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American So ...

'', the as-yet unfinished I-210 Israel LaFleur Bridge can be seen in the background of a motorcycle scene with Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda traveling west through Lake Charles on the I-10 Interstate.

Sister cities

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County ...

, United States (1995) * Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales, France (1993)Sister City directory
*

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. With a population of around 13,000 inhabitants, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home to Ireland's ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, Ireland (2008)

References

External links

City of Lake Charles official website

Tourist information on Lake Charles

SWLA Chamber – Economic Development Alliance
{{authority control 1861 establishments in Louisiana Cities in Acadiana Cities in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana Cities in Lake Charles metropolitan area Cities in Louisiana Louisiana African American Heritage Trail Parish seats in Louisiana Populated places established in 1861

History

Geography

Climate

Hurricanes

Demographics

Race and ethnicity

Religion

Crime

Economy

Industry and manufacturing

Commerce and retail

Casinos

Arts and culture

Louisiana Pirate Festival

Mardi Gras

Cultural events

Libraries

Sports

Parks and recreation

Government

Education

Universities and colleges

Primary and secondary schools

Media

Print

Television

Radio

Infrastructure

Roads

Airports

Seaports

Public transportation

Utilities

Healthcare and medicine

In popular culture

Films

Sister cities

See also

References

External links