Empire of the Seed Properties

When the Great Fire of 1910 swept through Lake Charles, it destroyed buildings, city records, and homes that would never be restored. But with the event came a wave of emergence in Lake Charles that echoes in today’s growth. Lake Charles rose like a phoenix out of the ashes of the Great Fire with its spread of Greco-Roman-inspired buildings and unique architectural styles only found in Lake Charles.

Empire of the Seed identified the need for renovated historic structures and took the steps needed to return several buildings to their former glory, including the aptly named Phoenix Building, the Noble Building, and the Calcasieu Marine Warehouse. Today, these buildings are home to thriving businesses that make downtown Lake Charles a center of economic confidence, and the Phoenix Building became the flagship home of the Empire of the Seed offices.

Empire of the Seed’s properties are greater than the sum of their parts – each breathes a new life into a corner of Lake Charles history while collectively they meld the past with the present. They are living spirits of Lake Charles that have been revived and can now continue to tell their stories for generations to come.

The properties connect cornerstones of Lake Charles, from the main downtown strip to the Nellie Lutcher Cultural District and back to the lakefront, and they create a myriad of historic sites that now serve as multipurpose venues, business incubators, thriving cultural hotspots and small businesses. Experiencing Lake Charles is to experience Lake Charles history and culture, and Empire of the Seed properties embody the optimism, vision, and modernization that gripped Lake Charles after the Great Fire of 1910.