From celebrated beginnings in the University’s original vision and an elusive home of the Baton Rouge hippie movement to its present wonder, the Enchanted Forest is deeply rooted in the University’s history. The Enchanted Forest, the low-lying expanse of greenery between the Greek Theater, Pentagon dorms and the Kirby Smith parking lot, is often used by commuters for its makeshift dirt pathway.Mississippi River floods created the decline of the Enchanted Forest, said Associate Director of Landscape Architecture Van Cox. Early University landscape architects contrived the presence of the shady live oaks and cypress trees in the forest, or Sunken Garden as it was once known.A rectangular reflecting pool spanned the length of the forest in its early days, Cox said.The “lagoons,” or reflecting pools, were designed by James F. Broussard and were completed in 1932 under the Works Progress Administration, according to Sept. 30, 1954, reports by The Daily Reveille. The project transformed a formerly snake-, frog- and mosquito-infested “quagmire” into reflecting pools.A statue of Hernando de Soto, a Spanish explorer who was the first to cross the Mississippi River, stood at the head of the reflecting pool to symbolize the “spirt of progress in education,” according to The Daily Reveille reports.Construction on the Greek Theater finished in 1929, according to the University’s Building Information Guide. The Sunken Garden was constructed with the theater overlooking it, and the pair provided a picturesque scene for pageants, rallies, convocation ceremonies and religious services. Additionally, ROTC cadets threw officers into the reflecting pools after the final parade of each year, according to the Building Information Guide. FILLING IN THE HOLESThe reflecting pool was filled in 1960, and the area was replaced with a formal garden, according to “Under Stately Oaks: A Pictorial History of LSU.” The reflecting pool became a “dump site for students and a breeding ground for mosquitoes.”Wrecking crews caved in the sides of the pool and punctured the bottom after dead leaves ruined its drainage system, according to the June 14, 1960, edition of The Daily Reveille. Additionally, the emptied pool “presented various dangers” to students.The wrecking crew “chopped up” the statue of de Soto and dropped its remains into the Mississippi River. A formal garden replaced the pool after its destruction.With entry blocked on most sides, the Sunken Garden became known as the Enchanted Forest in the ’70s when the hippie movement became increasingly popular at the University, Cox said.”They would go back there to have a little privacy and do whatever hippies do,” Cox said. “It was dark and secluded, just like everyone’s image of the enchanted forest.”NATURAL LANDSCAPEThe embayment the Enchanted Forest lies in was created by the Mississippi River before the levees were constructed in the ’20s and ’30s, said landscape architecture Professor Buck Abbey.”That’s a natural erosion along the embankment,” Abbey said. “I suspect, during the flood stages before they had the levees over on the river, that [the Enchanted Forest] actually filled up with water.”The Enchanted Forest is the lowland compared to the land surrounding it.Because of drainage issues, each portion has its own naturally occurring plants, like lowlands defined by cypress trees — something the University’s landscape architects, who likely included early University landscape architect and arborist Steele Burden, would have considered. “[Burden] was actually trying to design this forest in keeping with the natural character of Louisiana,” Abbey said. “[He] would have understood that this whole space was sculpted by water.”FUTURE OF THE FORESTAncient Greek theaters often cannot be used for their original purpose because they aren’t compliant with life safety codes, said Facility Development Assistant Director Jason Soileau. But the University’s Greek Theater is sometimes used for unofficial gatherings. No steps have been made toward securing funding for the renovation of the forest or the theater, and Soileau said only concepts have been “tossed around.”Included in the concepts were facilitating safe pedestrian access in the Enchanted Forest or eventually renovating the theater into an arboretum.—-Contact Lindsey Meaux at [email protected]