The Beauty of LSUFrom the red-tiled rooftops of its stucco buildings to the moss-draped oak trees that shade the landscape, LSU’s campus is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful in America. Even the opening line of LSU’s alma mater— “Where stately oaks and broad magnolias shade inspiring halls …” —captures the aura of campus, with its spectacular combination of Italian Renaissance architecture and impressive native landscaping.But the LSU campus, listed as one of the nation’s 20 most beautiful campuses in Thomas Gaines’ 1991 book, The Campus As A Work Of Art, has a history that is as intriguing as it is beautiful.If You Build It, They Will Come

 It all began with a campus master plan, designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm of Brookline, Massachusetts, around 1921. At that time, LSU was planning to move from downtown Baton Rouge to its current location on more than 2,000 acres in south Baton Rouge. About 1,000 students were enrolled in the university at that time.The Olmsted firm, planning for future growth of the university, designed the campus for 3,000 students. But for financial reasons, state officials asked the firm to scale the plan back to a design for 1,500 students. Today, LSU’s enrollment hovers near 30,000 students and supports nearly 5,000 faculty and staff.A View From the HillFrederick Law Olmsted, one of the firm’s founders, is widely considered the father of landscape architecture in America. As such, the firm’s original design for LSU took the natural environment into consideration, calling for the university to face the Mississippi River, with a ceremonial plaza on the bluff where the Journalism Building and the Gym–Armory—home of the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student–Athletes—are presently located. When traveling the Mississippi River by boat from the Gulf of Mexico, that ridge marked the edge of the flood plain—the first truly high and dry place along the river. From that ridge, the campus would have had a view of the river, and anyone traveling the river would have had a spectacular view of the University, high on the hill, while floating by. Less Is MoreHowever, when scaling back the plan, the firm redesigned it, centering the core of campus around a cruciform-shaped quadrangle similar to the one that exists today. But for reasons unknown, the Olmsted Brothers firm was dropped from the project, and an architect named Theodore Link, who was well-known for designing Union Station in St. Louis, Missouri, took over the campus master plan. He built the campus that the Olmsted firm had described in its plans. J. Michael Desmond, associate professor of architecture at LSU, has done extensive research on the history of LSU’s campus master plan, and said he feels that Link and Olmsted must have conferred, as it would be too incredible a coincidence for them to have both come up with the same exact design. Whoever came up with the idea, the concept worked, and the design remains one of the most beautiful campus layouts in the nation. “It’s a beautiful campus plan,” Desmond said. “It’s unrivaled. There is no university plan in the U.S. that has the richness of LSU’s design.” Cruciform or Quad?The beauty of the plan, Desmond said, lies as much in the relationships of the buildings to one another as it does in the architecture. The heart of campus was—and still is—the quadrangle. But the quad, now in the shape of a rectangle, was originally shaped like a cross. Foster Hall was the northern tip of the cross and Atkinson Hall served as the southern end. Hill Memorial Library flanked the west and the Memorial Tower was on the east. In Link’s plan, Foster Hall was designed to be the student union and cafeteria, with open plaza areas that were welcoming to students. At the opposite end of the quad was Atkinson Hall, the flagship academic building housing the College of Engineering, which was LSU’s most prominent academic program at the time. Atkinson Hall stood as a symbol of academia, opposite the symbol of student life. The design of Hill Memorial Library was loosely based on that of the Boston Public Library, which was the first public library in the U.S. It was a reminder, not only of scholarship and research, but also of the noble idea of free, public education. Opposite the library was the Memorial Tower, which is a World War I memorial. The tower, complete with its church-like chiming bells, represents sacrifice and freedom with a religious flair.The flanking academic buildings that formed the rest of the quad represented the major disciplines at the University, and their placement was modeled after that of buildings on the University of Virginia’s campus, which was designed by Thomas Jefferson. The main entry into the heart of campus was at the Parade Ground, which represented nature; then past the tower, which represented sacrifice; and into the Quad, which represented knowledge.“The buildings were designed to be seen in relationship to each other,” Desmond said. But that changed when, in the 1950s, the new, larger Middleton Library was built in the center of the cruciform, dividing the cross shape into one main quad and three smaller quads. While the placement of Middleton Library is considered a blunder by many architects, Van Cox, professor of landscape architecture at LSU, likes the smaller, more intimate spaces that were created as a result. Cox said the smaller areas are more conducive to student socializing, a pastime that has become so much a part of student life in the Quad that LSU students often refer to it as “Quadralizing.” Italian Renaissance . . . or Spanish?When the Olmsteds were working on the plan, they provided some vague sketches of what the campus buildings might look like, Desmond said. The style or architecture in those sketches appears to have a Spanish or Mexican flavor. But when Link took over the plan, the buildings he designed were Italian Renaissance, and reflected the style of 14th-century Italian architect Andrea Palladio, with their tan stucco walls, the red-tiled rooftops and the columns and archways. The oldest building on the LSU campus is the Journalism Building, which is currently under a major renovation. The building was moved from LSU’s downtown site and rebuilt on the present campus. The first building actually constructed on the present site was “Swine Palace,” the former livestock show barn that is now the Reilly Theater. Most of the buildings in the Quad were built between 1922 and 1926. Desmond said several buildings were constructed later, but share the same features of the original quad buildings. Hatcher and Hodges Halls were built on one side of the quad, and Laville and Highland Halls were built on another side. They are all good examples of buildings that were built later, but were sympathetic to the past, Desmond said. Stately Oaks and Broad MagnoliasCox said the old buildings are made even more attractive by the landscaping on campus. “The mature live oaks and crape myrtles contrast beautifully with the Italian architecture,” Cox said. “The combination of trees and buildings is wonderful. LSU is an urban campus with a rural quality to it.” Like Olmsted, Cox sees the campus in relation to its surroundings. He credits the vision of legendary LSU landscape architect Steele Burden, who planted most of the campus’s signature oak trees in the 1930s and 40s. “It’s not just the buildings that count, but also the trees and the open spaces,” said Cox, whose 1989 sketches of several LSU buildings were turned into note cards and posters for the University. “Spatially, LSU is one of the nicest campuses I’ve ever seen.” Growing PainsBecause the original campus was designed to accommodate 1,500 people instead of 35,000, space is now at a premium at LSU. Over the years, new buildings have been constructed in modern styles, wherever space has allowed, and an influx of cars has changed the campus from its former pedestrian nature to one dotted with parking lots and concrete.“In 1921, nobody was thinking that LSU would one day be 20 times larger than it was then,” Desmond said. “And the automobile completely changed everything.” “Also, modern construction is much larger and more efficient, so it’s difficult to build new buildings that blend with the old ones.”But that’s exactly what LSU is doing now. During the 1990s, LSU officials created a set of design guidelines that call for all newly constructed buildings to have an Italian Renaissance flavor. Desmond said one of the best examples of this is the Lod Cook Alumni Center, which was completed in 1994. It shares the look of the older buildings, while still exhibiting its own modern style, he said.  The New Master PlanRecognizing the need for LSU’s campus to maintain its beauty and atmosphere while growing, LSU officials hired Michigan-based design firm Smith Group JJR in 2000 to create a master plan for the future of the University. The comprehensive plan will guide the placement and architectural appropriateness of new buildings and the restoration and renovation of existing buildings. It addresses ways to improve vehicular and pedestrian traffic patterns and suggests ways to improve and increase green space on campus. The plan also looks at available land and physical resources and how the use of those resources contributes to the academic goals of the University. “This is the first comprehensive master plan that LSU has done since the original,” Desmond said. “It’s a visionary document that offers some interesting and ambitious ideas for the future.”Cox agreed and said the new master plan offers suggestions that could help preserve the character of the campus. “There are a lot of opportunities that LSU is just beginning to explore,” he said.

LSU Researchers Protect Secrets Of LSU’s Indian Mounds

For more than 75 years, LSU has been at its present location. While the campus has seen many changes, the Indian mounds, located on the northwest side of campus, have remained virtually untouched.

In the 1980s, scientists from the LSU Museum of Natural Science, the Department of Agronomy, and the Department of Geography & Anthropology collected soil samples from the bases of the mounds and discovered that they were part of a group of Archaic mound complexes located throughout the state.

Over a dozen of these mound complexes have been identified and more are likely to be recognized in the future. These mound groups are older than any in North America, Mesoamerica, and South America, and predate the construction of the great Egyptian pyramids.

Built more than 5,000 years ago by Native Americans, the mounds at LSU were part of a much larger trend. Native Americans built large mounds in the eastern part of North America for many reasons. Archaeologists think Native American mounds served as ceremonial and social centers. To date, archaeologists do not know the exact purpose the LSU Indian Mounds, but the structures do not appear to have been burial places, temples or houses. Researchers believe the mounds may have been symbols of group identity where peoples living in scattered bands congregated from time to time for religious and ceremonial purposes, and to feast, dance, exchange information, and select mates.

The western side of both LSU mounds were tested in 1985 to provide information prior to the damage that would result from the construction of brick retaining walls. Currently, the structures and artifacts within are protected from vandals and treasure hunters. In 1999, the Indian Mounds at LSU were listed on the National Register of Historic Places.