Evangeline Hotel

Evangeline Hotel was built in 1928 by the Downtown Real Estate Corporation, operated by A. C. Glassell, Jr., a prominent hotel investor from Shreveport, Louisiana. Evangeline Hotel was an integral part of Lafayette’s business, social, civic and tourism activity for over 35 years. Being the largest and most modern hotel at the time, and also being located a short block from the train depot, it was the most popular place for visitors in Lafayette to stay. Celebrities such as Elvis Presley and Ronald Reagan were once guests at the hotel. Around 1950, an expansion was built at the rear of the building, and in 1960, the building was modified again. When downtown suffered an economic decline in the early 1970s, the hotel was left abandoned. In 1995 the building was rehabilitated into an independent living facility for the elderly and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The project received prior approval from the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation for the adaptive reuse renovations in order to receive commercial rehabilitation tax credits. The tax credits are designed to encourage the redevelopment of income-producing historic buildings in Louisiana’s Downtown Development Districts and Cultural Districts.