In the mid-1850's, the Louisiana School for the Deaf occupied this beautiful building on the banks of the Mississippi River.This painting of the school was done in 1857 by Adrian Persac, whose work has becomea record of many old Baton Rouge landmarks.
An article in the local newspaper, then called the Daily Gazette and Comet, on July 21, 1857, describes this building as follows:
"Every citizen of the State who comes to the Capitol either on business or pleasure; should not fail to visit the proud monument to the Christian philanthropy of the Sugar Bowl State. There is no institute of a similar character in the Union of more beautiful proportions or greater extent. It stands out - on the landscape, and is one of the first objects to strike the eye, either ascending or descending the river."