Economy
In the 1970s, Natchitoches experienced an economic downturn that resulted in a sixty-five percent vacancy in the commercial district. However, because of efforts to revitalize the city, vacancy is now about 1 percent.
The Port of Natchitoches—a river port on the Red River—is located off the east bound part of U.S. Route 84 just outside Natchitoches. The port exports lumber from yards onsite, as forestry is a major industry in the area as well.
The Natchitoches Regional Airport serves cities (via FBO) such as Baton Rouge, Dallas, Houston, Little Rock, New Orleans, Monroe, and Shreveport. It is also adjacent to Northwestern State University; together they offer state-of-the-art flight training. Currently the airport is being renovated to become one of the country's most advanced non-towered airports.
The Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery is also based here. They handle over six species of fish and other wildlife.
The Natchitoches Christmas Festival is a well known celebration of the holidays for locals.
Since completion of Interstate 49, many business have either moved or have been built outside the city's central area. Gas stations and hotels have developed in this area and serve many of the Natchitoches Christmas Festival visitors.
Pecans are a staple of the area with a 400-acre (1.6 km2) pecan orchard located on the old Little Eva Plantation.
Natchitoches is an economic hub for the parish.
In 1998, Natchitoches was named one of the top six places in the United States to retire by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine.
Natchitoches is the home of the oldest general store in Louisiana, the still operating Kaffie-Frederick, Inc., General Mercantile, located on Front Street. The store was co-founded in 1863 by ancestors of Alexandria businessman and former city commissioner Arnold Jack Rosenthal (1923–2010).
Read more about this topic: Natchitoches, Louisiana
Famous quotes containing the word economy:
“War. Fighting. Men ... every man in the whole realm is in the army.... Every man in uniform ... An economy entirely geared to war ... but there is not much war ... hardly any fighting ... yet every man a soldier from birth till death ... Men ... all men for fighting ... but no war, no wars to fight ... what is it, what does it mean?””
—Doris Lessing (b. 1919)
“Quidquid luce fuit tenebris agit: but also the other way around. What we experience in dreams, so long as we experience it frequently, is in the end just as much a part of the total economy of our soul as anything we “really” experience: because of it we are richer or poorer, are sensitive to one need more or less, and are eventually guided a little by our dream-habits in broad daylight and even in the most cheerful moments occupying our waking spirit.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Wise men read very sharply all your private history in your look and gait and behavior. The whole economy of nature is bent on expression. The tell-tale body is all tongues. Men are like Geneva watches with crystal faces which expose the whole movement.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)