The СAPPСAPPs Center for Louisiana Studies flung open the doors to its new home СAPP the J. Arthur Roy House СAPP during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday.
The recently renovated Roy House is the only campus building listed on the National Register of Historic Places; itСAPPs now a hub for scholarly investigation of LouisianaСAPPs people and history. The Center for Louisiana Studies attracts academics and scholars from across the world.
The College of Liberal Arts center, established in 1973, is UL LafayetteСAPPs oldest research center. Its research division houses the , the largest collection of audiovisual materials related to the traditional cultures of southwestern Louisiana. The center also oversees the .
The two-story, 5,000-square-foot Roy House was built by businessman J. Arthur Roy. The Queen Anne-style structure was completed in 1901, the year that the СAPP СAPP then known as the Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute СAPP enrolled its first students. The Roy House stands at the corner of Johnston Street and СAPP Avenue.
An extensive overhaul of the 122-year-old structure makes it a fitting and accessible location for the Center for Louisiana Studies, СAPPits front door,СAPP explained Dr. Joshua Caffery, the centerСAPPs director. Portions of its materials will remain in , including its inventory of thousands of UL Press books and primary archival documents.
As part of the restoration, the Roy House holds a reading and listening room where scholars and patrons can access the centerСAPPs audiovisual archives, and a bookstore where UL Press and other Louisiana-focused titles will be sold. The house also will contain a collection of rare maps.
Caffery expects the Roy House to entice visitors who simply want to view its grandeur. Beyond utilitarian upgrades to plumbing, wiring, heating and cooling, the renovation was carried out with an eye on maintaining as much of the houseСAPPs original aesthetics and architecture as possible.
СAPPThe center is already a renowned destination for research and creative projects and, since Louisiana culture fascinates all sorts of people, I expect that having the center based in the Roy House will draw more scholarly interest as well as general interest,СAPP Caffery said.
The exterior of the Roy House features a two-story front gallery, three-sided bay windows and gables. Interior amenities include an intricate staircase, several elaborate mantels, wood floors, and restored light fixtures and repaired original stained glass.
СAPPItСAPPs not going to be a museum, but the entire house is a historical artifact. ItСAPPs one of the most beautiful houses in the region and a landmark people want to see,СAPP Caffery explained.
Photo caption: Representatives of UL Lafayette, its Center for Louisiana Studies and contributors to the recent renovation of the Roy House attended a Thursday ribbon cutting ceremony. Shown, left, are: Dr. Vaughan Baker, former department head; Scott Hebert, director of Facility Management; Scott Chappuis, Architects Beazley Moliere; Robert "Popie" Billeaud, J.B. Mouton Builders; Dr. Joshua Caffery, center director; Rita Durio, Rita Durio and Associates; Dr. Jordan Kellman, College of Liberal Arts dean; Dr. Joseph Savoie, СAPP president; and John Blohm, vice president for Advancement and chief operating officer of the UL Lafayette Foundation. Photo credit: Doug Dugas / СAPP