Louisiana's abandoned landscape is unlike any other American state — the subtropical climate, the Mississippi River and 300 years of French, Spanish, Creole and American history layered on top of each other have left behind plantation ruins draped in Spanish moss, a sugar mill where the jungle has reclaimed every surface within a decade of closure and post-Katrina ghost neighborhoods where streets run to nowhere. Here are 5 of the best abandoned places in Louisiana, selected from our Abandoned Places Map USA — 5,000+ GPS locations across the United States.
Why Louisiana Is a Hidden Gem for Abandoned Buildings & Urban Exploration
Louisiana's urbex landscape is shaped by its climate — heat, humidity and subtropical vegetation reclaim abandoned structures faster here than almost anywhere else in America. A building abandoned in 1990 looks like it was abandoned in 1890. The combination of antebellum plantation history, the sugar industry's collapse, the oil economy's boom and bust and Hurricane Katrina creates layers of abandonment that span three centuries.
1. Nottoway Plantation – 1859 Largest Antebellum Plantation House in the South, 64 Rooms, White Ballroom with Original Plasterwork, Iberville Parish (Known Location)
Built in 1859 for sugar planter John Hampden Randolph, Nottoway Plantation is the largest surviving antebellum plantation house in the American South — 64 rooms, 53,000 square feet and the famous White Ballroom with its original plasterwork ceiling and cast-iron columns still intact. The house miraculously survived the Civil War after a Union naval officer spared it because he had once been a guest. After decades of abandonment and neglect it was restored as a hotel and museum, but significant outbuildings, slave quarters ruins and the surrounding plantation landscape remain in their original decayed state. One of the most architecturally extraordinary abandoned places in Louisiana and the most imposing example of antebellum plantation excess still standing.
🔗 Learn more: Wikipedia – Nottoway Plantation
2. Loews State Palace Theatre – 1926 Atmospheric Movie Palace with Intact Auditorium, Closed and Reopened Multiple Times, New Orleans (Known Location)
Opened in 1926 as one of the grandest movie palaces in the South, the Loews State Palace Theatre on Canal Street in New Orleans seated 4,000 under an ornate ceiling designed to evoke a Mediterranean sky — stars twinkling, clouds drifting, architectural details in every direction. After decades of operation it closed, became a concert venue, closed again post-Katrina and has existed in a state of suspended restoration ever since — the auditorium largely intact, the ornate plasterwork visible under years of neglect, the atmospheric ceiling still extraordinary. One of the most architecturally spectacular abandoned places in Louisiana for theater interior photography.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Best Abandoned Places in the USA →
3. Abandoned Louisiana Sugar Mill – 1890s Processing Complex Consumed by Subtropical Vegetation, St. Mary Parish (Exclusively on Our Map)
An 1890s sugar processing mill in St. Mary Parish — Louisiana's subtropical climate has been reclaiming the brick and iron structures since closure, with vines covering every wall surface, fig trees growing through the furnace room floor and the distinctive cylindrical sugar processing vessels rusting in a jungle of their own making. Louisiana's sugar industry consolidated dramatically in the late 20th century; the smaller mill complexes that couldn't survive consolidation were abandoned and the Atchafalaya Basin vegetation has been consuming them ever since. One of the most visually extraordinary abandoned places in Louisiana for tropical industrial decay. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
4. Abandoned Creole Cottage Row – 1840s-1860s Louisiana Vernacular Housing in Advanced Decay, Tremé Neighborhood, New Orleans (Exclusively on Our Map)
A row of 1840s-1860s Creole cottages in New Orleans' Tremé neighborhood — the oldest African American neighborhood in the United States — abandoned when post-Katrina population displacement made renovation economically impossible for their owners. The distinctive Louisiana vernacular architecture — steep hip roofs, front galleries, brightly painted facades now faded — slowly consumed by the subtropical climate. Each cottage holds layers of New Orleans cultural history in its crumbling plaster. One of the best abandoned places in Louisiana for vernacular architectural photography. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
5. Abandoned Louisiana Oil Field Ghost Town – 1920s Boom Community with Company Housing and Store Still Standing, Caddo Parish (Exclusively on Our Map)
A 1920s oil field service community in Caddo Parish — built when north Louisiana's Caddo Lake oil boom made the region one of the most productive fields in America, emptied when the wells dried up and the major companies consolidated operations. The company store, worker housing rows and the oil field support infrastructure still stand in various states of subtropical decay. One of the best abandoned places in Louisiana for oil boom-era small-town archaeology. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
Safety Tips for Urban Exploration in Louisiana
- Mold & heat: Louisiana's subtropical climate creates extreme mold in abandoned structures — always wear an FFP2 mask and avoid midday exploration June through September
- Wildlife: cottonmouth snakes, alligators and feral animals inhabit abandoned Louisiana sites — always check before entering and never reach into dark spaces
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person and let someone know your location
The urbex code applies everywhere: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."
❓ FAQ – Abandoned Places in Louisiana
What is the most famous abandoned place in Louisiana?
Nottoway Plantation in Iberville Parish — the largest surviving antebellum plantation house in the American South, with 64 rooms and the famous White Ballroom with original plasterwork intact. Built in 1859 for sugar planter John Hampden Randolph, it survived the Civil War when a Union officer spared it.
What is the Loews State Palace Theatre?
A 1926 atmospheric movie palace on Canal Street in New Orleans seating 4,000 under a ceiling designed to evoke a Mediterranean night sky. Closed and partially reopened multiple times since the mid-20th century, it remains in a state of suspended restoration with its ornate plasterwork largely intact.
Why does Louisiana's climate destroy abandoned buildings so quickly?
Louisiana's subtropical combination of year-round heat, extreme humidity and abundant rainfall creates ideal conditions for mold, rot and vegetation growth. Structures abandoned for ten years look like they've been abandoned for fifty. The same climate that makes Louisiana's landscape lush and beautiful makes its abandoned buildings among the most dramatically decayed in America.
🎯 Summary
Louisiana's abandoned buildings are shaped by the subtropical climate that consumed them — a 64-room antebellum plantation house that survived the Civil War, sugar mills wrapped in jungle vines and a 1926 movie palace with a Mediterranean ceiling decaying above Canal Street. Each of these 5 abandoned places in Louisiana captures a different layer of a state where three centuries of history decay simultaneously in the heat and humidity of the Mississippi Delta.
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