Baton Rouge Central Green

Together, Repentance Park and Rhorer Plaza are the centerpieces of a collection of municipal and cultural buildings occupying the high geologic plateau overlooking the Mississippi River. As the first phases of Reed Hilderbrand’s Plan Baton Rouge II Central Green proposal, this park and plaza unify a series of previously disconnected public spaces, linking downtown to the city’s historic neighborhoods and the river — reasserting the public realm as central to the life of Downtown.

A Powerful Investment in Public Space: The Central Green

Here, where the city of Baton Rouge was founded and where Louisiana’s 1847 Old State Capitol still stands, the modern downtown developed. In 1927, the Army Corps of Engineers’ levee separated downtown and its residents from the river, severing the connection between this community and its primary economic driver. By the 1960s, disinvestment had caused the area to deteriorate, leaving abandoned houses, parking lots, and a declining bus station. Urban renewal in the 1970s erased what remained in favor of a new civic core: building a City Hall, Theater, Convention Center, and Courthouse. The focus on architecture surrounded by open plazas and the absence of an expressive landscape idea left the new district fragmented and static.

Responding to the decade-long implementation effort initiated by Plan Baton Rouge, our work on Plan Baton Rouge II expanded the scope to address some 21 acres of public realm downtown. Identifying an opportunity to unite the land around key civic institutions into a continuous open space network – The Central Green creates a cohesive and accessible, active venue for civic life, fundamentally changing the way citizens used downtown’s streets and open spaces. 

The Realization of a Decade of Planning: Repentance Park & Rhorer Plaza

The design and reconstruction of the two sunken mid-century plazas resolved extreme technical complexities to dissolve the park perimeter and encourage free pedestrian movement. A new public park, an events plaza with performance venue, and associated streetscapes, compose the new Repentance Park and Rhorer Plaza, which unite the open spaces around a collection of civic and cultural institutions at the core of downtown.

The sweeping, crescent-shaped landform of Repentance Park, inspired by the river’s natural levee, reconnects critical circulation routes and frames a major civic space beneath the Old State Capitol. This landform embraces a large lawn, creating an amphitheater for civic events and spontaneous recreation. At the upper elevations of the park, a multi-level promenade defined by Elms and Live Oaks provides views to the river and serves as a connector between city streets and the convention center and between Rhorer Plaza and the park. Rhorer Plaza stretches across the entire high terrace, focusing on Galvez Stage with a new Trahan Architects sculptural stainless-steel 'Crest' marking this civic space as venue for concerts, festivals, and other public events. Catenary lights illuminate the site, promoting safety and accommodating evening activities.

Resolving Technical Complexity

The plaza’s restraint belies the complex infrastructure within the project. For years, this shared space was a harsh environment of large paved surfaces with little to no shade and rigid planters that prohibited accessibility and deterred a smooth, intuitive flow through the space. Below the new plaza, constructed over a multi-level parking garage, a network of structural soils, irrigation and sub-drainage support mature trees and event lawn that is resilient under heavy event use, an interactive fountain, and intensive utilities spanning the park and sub-surface garage. The new circulation system created by the park connects civic destinations and brings universal accessibility between Galvez Plaza, City Hall, Repentance, Park, and the River Center.

Landscape Leaders

Like Plan Baton Rouge II, this project represents a robust collaboration among landscape architects to reflect this profession’s diverse capacities and broad agency. Landscape architects in leadership positions for the city, including Elizabeth “Boo” Thomas of the award-winning non-profit Center for Planning Excellence, and Davis Rhorer of the Mayor’s Downtown Development District, directed the urban planning and design efforts. The design team joined them to shape the visioning, strategizing, public engagement, and programming. Their leadership extends to the stewardship of the project today, so that the Central Green will continue to expand and transform Baton Rouge.