Hallmarks of University history enrich campus, though most students know little of the maintenance work that keeps them from crumbling.
Facility and Landscape Services are tasked with meeting the demands of modern structural requirements while preserving the integrity of historical areas of campus, said Tammy Millican, assistant director of Facility Services.
The Indian Mounds, more than 6,000 years old, bring challenges in maintenance, Millican said.
Millican said the mounds are subject to “scarring,” visible exterior damage, which could compromise structural stability. To minimize this, the University began fencing them off on game days.
People climbing on the mounds is largely harmless, said Fred Fellner, assistant director of Landscape Services. Rainfall and climbing creates potential problems that call for the site to be fenced off. Consequently, Landscape Services plans to use a more “aesthetically pleasing” green fence in the future as opposed to the standard orange fence.
Because the site is on the National Register of Historic Places, archaeological requirements restrict the use of certain equipment, Fellner said. Landscape Services uses weed wackers to cut the grass instead of a lawn mower and can do little to the mounds aside from seeding, soiling and irrigating them.
The Greek Theatre has seen changes over time and is still cared for today, Millican said. Originally seating 3,500, the size of the University’s student body at the time of construction, the Greek Theatre was initially used for rallies and commencement ceremonies. Huey P. Long, an ardent supporter of the University, made announcements at many of these gatherings. Events are no longer held at the theater.
In the early 1930s, the theater looked different from how it appears today, Millican said. Gardens complete with a reflecting pool and a statue of famous Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto lay behind the stage in the past. In 1960, the pool was filled in, and the statue was thrown into the Mississippi,
paralleling the fate of the real de Soto. Once the entrances to the gardens were blocked off, the area became known as the “Enchanted Forest.”
Fellner said the theater calls for periodic maintenance. In 2011, Landscape Services pressure washed the entire concrete structure and added a water sealant to prevent decay.
Vandalism that occurs at the theater creates a larger challenge, Fellner said. Vandals often throw objects or strike parts of the theater to break it. Repairs are made with wire framing.
“The framing can be difficult to work with, almost like a dentist filling in a tooth,” Fellner said.
With maintenance of these lankmarks, the University continues to be a place of historic beauty.