The State Exhibit Museum in Shreveport, Louisiana, is a circular monument to time travel—a place where visitors can walk through history, from ancient civilizations to the machine age, all under one domed roof. Born in 1939 out of a New Deal-era initiative to put artists back to work, the museum now stands as a testament to Louisiana’s evolving industries and enduring heritage.
dioramas That Defined an Era
Inside the museum’s compass-aligned rotunda, nearly two dozen hand-crafted dioramas serve as the heart of the exhibit. Created during the Great Depression by artists employed through federal relief programs, these miniature worlds portray life as it was in the 1930s. Farming, oil drilling, mining, and lumber operations are shown in striking three-dimensional detail—each scene a frozen moment of industrial progress.
“It was a ‘make work project,’ a Federal project for artists who could not make a living during the depression,” said Nita Cole, the museum’s education coordinator. She emphasized the economic toll on the arts: “If you didn’t have any money, you’re not gonna buy luxury items like artwork.”
Louisiana’s state exhibit museum featured on tv
The circular design of the State Exhibit Museum allows for an immersive experience. “There’s things on the inside of the circle, there’s things on the outside of the circle, and then there’s cases all in the middle of the circle divided into four quadrants,” Cole explained.
the museum’s signature treasures
Beyond the dioramas, the museum showcases rare relics of Louisiana’s past. One highlight is a gleaming blue Bour-Davis automobile, assembled from parts sourced across the country. It once symbolized Shreveport’s booming oil wealth of the 1920s. “People wanted custom cars, and so the Louisiana Motor Car Company bought the rights to a car that was designed in Illinois,” Cole said.
There’s also a remarkable collection of early American autographs, including documents signed by George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, and John Hancock—part of a private family’s long-running quest to collect the signatures of the country’s founding figures.
ancient earthworks to the red river
The museum’s timeline stretches back thousands of years with a powerful exhibit on Louisiana’s Native peoples. A sprawling model of Poverty Point—a massive earthwork site built at the same time as Egypt’s pyramids—anchors the gallery. Stone tools, pottery, and trade goods sourced from as far as the Great Lakes add further depth.
Perhaps the most striking artifact is a 30-foot-long dugout canoe, carved from a single cypress log by the Caddo Nation. “A half of a cypress tree was hollowed out… The nearly intact vessel was carbon dated to the year 1035 A.D.,” said Cole.
From prehistoric settlements to the dawn of industrial America, the State Exhibit Museum is more than a history lesson—it’s a time capsule, carefully curated for those curious about the roots and development of Louisiana.
getting there
The Louisiana State Exhibit Museum is located at 3015 Greenwood Road, Shreveport, LA. The museum is open Monday through Friday from 9am to 4pm. Admission is free. For more information, contact the museum at (318) 632-2020 during open hours.
3015 Greenwood Rd, Shreveport, LA 71109
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