A spinning wind turbine, protected within a metal box that rises from the shallowly- pitched roofline of the Visitor Center in St. Landry Parish, rises above I-49 like high-tech signage designed specifically to catch a traveler’s attention. From a distance, the revolving, pinwheel-like structure looks like a digital LED sign.
In fact, the turbine is an echo of the past, re-adopted in this case to support a forward-thinking vision of people’s interaction with place, where, rather than always manhandling the landscape into submission and using its resources to mutual detriment, people find intersections of common interest with their environment.
St. Landry’s turbine represents, and actually functions to support, an ethos of symbiosis. Come to think if it, that wind turbine is as close as you can get to the perfect symbol for how so many residents in St. Landry Parish are combining work, place, and community.
The center was opened in 2011 and is one of the first tourist information centers in the state to follow sustainable construction practices. Landscaping around the facility mirrors the ecosystems that exist in the parish, using indigenous plants and trees. Other local materials, such as using oyster shells beneath the roof’s drip line to prevent soil erosion, have been integrated into the landscaping. Other features include a hipped roof to better withstand heavy winds, a water cistern to collect roof water runoff, and salvaged building materials.
The building offers a generous front porch with several benches available to enjoy the hundreds of irises that will burst into full, spectacular bloom in early spring. A walkway, scattered with educational kiosks, surrounds the grounds.
There really is no better recommendation than to tell you to start off your exploration of St. Landry at the Visitor Center, located just off I-49 at exit 23 about a mile north of Opelousas. It’s beautiful; and they can recommend activity options depending on the day of the week. In general it is best to plan your visit between Thursday and Sunday, when most stores and restaurants are open.
Also, you can jump easily from the Center onto Highway 182, the north/south portion of St. Landry’s Zydeco Cajun Prairie Scenic Byway from which you can access so many of the parish’s attractions. Start in Washington for some antiquing, travel south through Opelousas to Sunset and Grand Coteau for more unique shopping and sightseeing along the Corridor des Arts, and end up in Arnaudville, the tiny town with big ideas.
