Wender·Vista
Shreveport
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
on the Red River, in the northwest corner of Louisiana

Shreveport

— — the river city where country music went on the air.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Shreveport sits on a bend in the Red River, about fifteen miles east of the Texas line. It is the city the Louisiana Hayride called home, the Saturday-night radio show that put Hank Williams and a young Elvis Presley on the air in the late 1940s and 50s. The old Municipal Auditorium still stands on Milam Street. The river runs the colour the name promises, and the bridges over it pick up the light at dusk.

from the studio
Shreveport
— bring it home

Shreveport, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Shreveport

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Shreveport is the seat of Caddo Parish in northwest Louisiana, on the west bank of the Red River about 290 kilometres east of Dallas. The city was founded in 1836 by the Shreve Town Company, named for Captain Henry Miller Shreve, who cleared the Great Raft, the massive logjam that had blocked the river for over a century. Shreveport sits at an elevation of about 43 metres and anchors the Ark-La-Tex region, the corner where Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas meet. The 2020 census recorded a population of just under 188,000.

— the year

From 1948 to 1960, the Louisiana Hayride broadcast live from the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium on Saturday nights, reaching listeners across the South on KWKH 1130. Hank Williams made his Hayride debut in August 1948; Elvis Presley first appeared in October 1954 and stayed on as a regular for more than a year. Johnny Cash, Kitty Wells, and Webb Pierce also passed through. The Municipal Auditorium, built in 1929, is on the National Register of Historic Places and still hosts performances.

— the visit

Shreveport Regional Airport sits about ten kilometres southwest of downtown. The riverfront has been the city's centre of gravity since the steamboat era; today the Red River District holds restaurants, a casino strip, and the long pedestrian walkway along the levee. The R. W. Norton Art Gallery, free to enter, holds a deep American collection and 40 acres of gardens. October and April hold the best weather; summers run long and humid. Mardi Gras in Shreveport is the largest celebration outside of New Orleans and Lafayette.

— where
United States · Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana
— elevation
43 m · 141 ft
— position
32.5252° N · 93.7502° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
3 km E
Bossier City
sister city
30 km NW
Caddo Lake
cypress lake
110 km SE
Natchitoches
historic town
65 km W
Marshall, Texas
Texas border town
N
Shreveport
Bossier City
Caddo Lake
Natchitoches
Marshall, Texas
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Shreveport — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Shreveport is known for the Louisiana Hayride radio broadcast that launched Hank Williams and Elvis Presley, for Mardi Gras outside New Orleans, and for its riverfront on the Red River. It anchors the Ark-La-Tex region.

The river carries fine red clay and iron-rich sediment from the southern Great Plains. The colour is strongest after rain. The river was once blocked for over a century by the Great Raft, a massive natural logjam cleared in the 1830s.

Yes. Elvis Presley made his Hayride debut on October 16, 1954, and stayed on as a regular performer for more than a year. The show ran from the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium from 1948 to 1960.

Shreveport sits on the Red River in Caddo Parish, in the northwest corner of Louisiana, about 290 kilometres east of Dallas and roughly 24 kilometres from the Texas state line. It anchors the Ark-La-Tex region.

The Shreveport Municipal Auditorium is a 1929 Art Deco hall on Milam Street where the Louisiana Hayride was broadcast. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and still hosts performances and tours.

April and October bring the most comfortable weather. Mardi Gras season in late winter is the city's largest celebration. Summers run long, hot, and humid; winters are mild with occasional cold snaps.

— about the piece in your home

It has carried well for customers with ties to Shreveport, Bossier, and the broader Ark-La-Tex. The Red River and the Hayride are local shorthand for home. A Small or Medium with a studio note travels well.

The river-and-sunset palette reads well in Southern-traditional, warm transitional, and jewel-tone maximalist rooms. The Voynich treatment also pairs with the deep wood and brass that runs through much of Louisiana decor.

Yes. Southern-modern is leaning toward specific-place anchors over generic magnolia prints. A Shreveport tile reads as the actual river, the actual city, which is what the trend is asking for.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large reads from across the room. Over a longer sectional or console, a 4-tile Mural carries more presence; a 9-tile Mural is the show-piece for a tall foyer or stairwell.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, so humidity and splash do not affect it. Glossy is for dry wall installations.

A microfibre cloth and water. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it, so it will not wear or fade with normal handling. Avoid abrasive pads on the glossy finish.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is made in our studio in Knoxville, Tennessee, under Reid Wender's eye. No licensing, no third-party prints, no resold imagery.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.