Geography of Lafayette, Louisiana

The Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana (Latin: Dioecesis Lafayettensis, French: Diocèse de Lafayette en Louisiane), is a Latin Catholic ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans. The diocese was erected by the Vatican in 1918, and its current bishop is J. Douglas Deshotel. Covering St. Landry, Evangeline, Lafayette, St. Martin, Iberia, St. Mary, Acadia, and Vermilion parishes with exception to Morgan City of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux), the diocese is divided into four deaneries.

Lafayette (, French: [lafajɛt]) is the most populous city in and parish seat of Lafayette Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth-most populous city with a 2020 census population of 121,374; the consolidated city-parish's population was 241,753 in 2020. The Lafayette metropolitan area was Louisiana's third largest metropolitan statistical area with a population of 478,384 at the 2020 census. The Acadiana region containing Lafayette is the largest population and economic corridor between Houston, Texas and New Orleans. Originally established as Vermilionville in the 1820s and incorporated in 1836, Lafayette developed as an agricultural community until the introduction of retail and entertainment centers, and the discovery of oil in the area in the 1940s. Since the discovery of oil, the city and parish have had the highest number of workers in the oil and natural gas industry in Louisiana as of 2018. With the issuance of a bond ordinance for a series of roads connecting nearby settlements; the establishment of the University of Louisiana System's Lafayette campus; and the continued diversification of its economy, Lafayette and its metropolitan area have experienced population growth since the 1840 census and was promptly nicknamed "The Hub City." The city and parish of Lafayette are also known as the "Heart of Acadiana."As a result of its growth, the city and region have become major centers for the technology industry; Lafayette also became a major center for health care and social services, aerospace, banking and retail. Notable corporations with headquarters or a large presence in the Lafayette area have included Amazon, Brookshire Grocery Company, CGI, JP Morgan Chase, Ochsner Health System, Petroleum Helicopters International, and Rouses Markets.Lafayette is home to a diverse population from Louisiana Creole and Cajun backgrounds. In 2014, Lafayette was named the "Happiest City in America.” The city and region's cultural icons include Alexandre Mouton House, Brandt House, Charles H. Mouton House, the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist, Daigle House, First United Methodist Church, Holy Rosary Institute, Hope Lodge No. 145, and Old Lafayette City Hall. Its educational institutions include the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, South Louisiana Community College, and Remington College.

Blackham Coliseum is a multipurpose arena in Lafayette, Louisiana. It was built on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus in 1949 as the home to the then-named SLI Bulldogs, now called the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball teams. The arena was named for Stafford Morgan Blackham, former dean of the Department of Animal Husbandry at SLI, and as such it was built to host livestock exhibitions as well as athletics (in a similar manner to the usage of LSU's Parker Coliseum). It replaced the 1,500-seat Earl K. Long Gymnasium as home to the athletics teams. It remained the home for the men's team until the Cajundome was completed in 1984. The women continue to play the majority of their games at Earl K. Long. Blackham hosted the Southland Conference men's basketball tournament in 1982. In the 1960s, it became popular as a venue for pop concerts where acts like The Supremes, James Brown and Jackie Wilson. The Supremes played to soldout audiences on their "Symphony Tour 1965". Today it is still in use, seating 5,500 for basketball and up to 9,800 for concerts. It also features 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2) of space at the main arena, with two barns adding 46,500 square feet (4,300 m2) of space. Altogether, the three buildings can also be used for trade shows, rodeos and conventions. It was home to the Acadiana Mudbugs of the Southern Indoor Football League for their 2009 season, and in fall 2009, the revived Louisiana IceGators began play there as a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League.In April 2009, the venue held its first heavy metal concert, the 2009 No Fear Music Tour featuring Lamb Of God, As I Lay Dying, Children of Bodom, God Forbid and Municipal Waste. The venue serves as home to the Grammy-styled, annual Le Cajun Music Awards Festival held every August by the Cajun French Music Association, an association of Cajun music enthusiasts for the preservation of the Cajun music, language, heritage and culture. [1]

Lafayette Charity Hospital at 311 West St. Mary Boulevard in Lafayette, Louisiana, was a state-owned teaching hospital that opened on September 29, 1938, to provide free medical care for the indigent population of southwest Louisiana and the Heart of Acadiana. On June 12, 1982, Lafayette Charity Hospital (by then an outmoded facility) closed.It was replaced by the University Medical Center (Lafayette) at a nearby site to continue as part of the State of Louisiana's System of Charity Hospitals. The old hospital building on St. Mary Blvd. was demolished in January 1984.

Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park is a ballpark located on the South Campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Lafayette, Louisiana. Originally built in 1985, Lamson Park is the home of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's Ragin' Cajuns softball program. When Lady Cajun's Park was built, the Softball program had no budget, no money, and no stable foundation. Now, Cajuns softball is known as a national powerhouse, year after year, and Lamson Park continues to grow.The stadium went through a $2.1 million renovation from 2009 to 2011, which included a mostly-covered grandstand between dugouts, three private luxury suites, and a 50-seat Stadium Club. Additional seating was also added beyond the outfield fence, bringing it to its current capacity of 2,790.The 2011 renovations also included a new and larger press box with three broadcast booths, a larger and more functional locker room, a technology-driven meeting room and a new scoreboard in right field that debuted in 2010. The video board from 2010 was replaced in February 2020, with a new 30-ft screen.Finally, a state-of-the-art indoor hitting facility was completed in 2016. The structure is located in the left field corner and includes a total of 12 cages, which are mounted on zip lines so that they can be retracted to open up the facility for infield drills and/or pitching instruction. In 2019, a new artificial field turf was installed by GeoSurfaces at the commencement of the season. Lamson Park routinely ranks in the top-ten nationally both in attendance, as well as atmosphere. A new attendance record was established on February 15, 2020, with 3,107 in attendance to watch UL defeat LSU by a score of 2–1. The game also marked the 100th win for Coach Glasco.In terms of official seating capacity, Lamson Park is the largest softball stadium in the Sun Belt Conference and in Louisiana. In terms of overall stadium size and area it is smaller than others in Louisiana.

Elrose is a historic house located at 217 West University Avenue in Lafayette, Louisiana. Built in 1900 by Crow Girard, the house is a large 1+1⁄2-story frame residence in Queen Anne style with Colonial Revival elements. The distinctive roofline comprises an octagonal corner turret, a central dormer, and a very large side dormer.The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 14, 1984.

McNaspy Stadium was a 4,500-seat stadium built on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then called Southwestern Louisiana Institute) built in 1940, and remained the home for the school's football team until 1971. The stadium was located to the southwest of Earl K. Long Gymnasium, which had been built the previous year, and consisted of a large home grandstand on the north side and bleachers on the south, with a cinder track surrounded by hedges in the end zones. The grandstand had arches along its top (to reflect the arches in the "arcade" along the Quad, built at roughly the same time), and also contained men's dorm space, weight rooms, locker rooms, etc. The field was oriented in a northeast–southwest direction, mirroring the street grid of the rest of the campus. It was named for the first athletic director and football coach at the university, Clement "C. J" McNaspy. The Camellia Bowl was held there in 1948. Replaced by Cajun Field in 1971, the stadium was demolished in 2000 to make room for Oliver Hall, named after James R. Oliver, who created the computer science department at UL. Oliver Hall houses the university's computer science department. Between 1971 and 2000 the stadium was used by the university's men's soccer team until the mid-1980s, as well as for various other functions. It remained a popular place among students to jog along the track, as well as the stands being used so often as a place to tan on that "McNaspy Beach" was a common nickname. It was also temporarily used by the Pride of Acadiana as a practice field while a new parking garage was built on Hamilton Field, near the Angelle Hall where the music department is located. The band has since returned to a reconfigured Hamilton Field. Recently, trees were planted in the area that used to be mid-field during the McNaspy era, but will now be part of a new "Quad," once the planned buildings are constructed on either side of Oliver Hall.

KNHS-LP (93.1 FM) is an American low-power FM radio station broadcasting to the Lafayette, Louisiana, area. The station is based at Northside High School.

J. Arthur Roy House is a historic house located at 1204 Johnston Street in Lafayette, Louisiana. It is currently owned by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and houses the university publishing company as well as the Center for Louisiana Studies. Built in 1901 by J. Arthur Roy and designed by Arthur Van Dyke, the house is a two-story frame in Queen Anne and Stick-Eastlake style, with a two-story front gallery and a single story side gallery featuring Eastlake columns.The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 14, 1984.

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the second-largest enrollment in Louisiana, behind only Louisiana State University. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".Founded in 1898 as an industrial school, the institution developed into a four-year university during the twentieth century and became known by its present name in 1999. It offers Louisiana's only Ph.D. in francophone studies, Louisiana's only master's of informatics, and Louisiana's only industrial design degree. The university has achieved several milestones in computer science, engineering and architecture. It is also home to a distinct College of the Arts.

The Cajundome is a 13,500-seat multi-purpose arena located in Lafayette, Louisiana on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus. It is home to the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's and women's basketball programs in addition to hosting various university events and commencement ceremonies including high school graduations. The arena hosts many regional & national touring concerts (seating for concerts up to 13,500) and special events, such as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) events and the annual outdoor Cajun Heartland State Fair, an eleven-day state fair that attracts more than 50,000 guests. The arena also hosts the annual Jr. Beta Club Louisiana state conventions for middle and elementary school students and the Sr. Beta Conventions for high schoolers on occasion. The facility is a recognizable Lafayette landmark that was built by the State of Louisiana, partially funded by the City of Lafayette, and is owned by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and managed by the CAJUNDOME Commission.Currently, the CAJUNDOME is the largest basketball arena in the Sun Belt Conference, the largest college basketball arena in Louisiana, the third largest overall indoor arena in Louisiana (behind the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans and the Brookshire Grocery Arena in Bossier City), one of the largest mid-major college basketball arenas, and in the top 10 largest college basketball arenas in the Deep South.

The Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist or La Cathédrale St-Jean, originally called l'Église St-Jean du Vermilion, is the cathedral and mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana. It was the first parish in Lafayette Parish—founded in 1821—and was designated cathedral upon the erection of the diocese in 1918.The historic church—located at 515 Cathedral Street in downtown Lafayette—is the third structure built on the site. The land was donated in 1821 by Jean Mouton, a wealthy planter who had founded the town as Vermilionville. The cornerstone was laid in 1913, and the church was completed in 1916 in the Dutch Romanesque Revival style. A large red and white brick structure, its notable features include stained glass produced in Munich depicting the life of the patron, oil paintings of Christ and the Apostles, and a Casavant Frères organ.St. John's Cemetery is the oldest in the city of Lafayette. Notable burials include Jean Mouton, who donated the property for the church; his son Alexandre Mouton, a U.S. senator and governor of Louisiana; his grandson Alfred Mouton, a Confederate general in the American Civil War; and Jefferson Caffery, a distinguished U.S. diplomat who was a Lafayette native. The church and a 7 acres (2.8 ha) area comprising the Bishop's residence and the cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 27, 1979.