Hill Memorial Library, Baton Rouge

Hill Memorial Library, Baton Rouge

Hill Memorial Library is the historical library on the Louisiana State University campus. It was the first library built for LSU in 1903. John Hill, Sr., a Scottish-born sugar planter, provided funding for the library in memory of his son, John Hill, Jr.

Before Hill Memorial Library was built, the library operated in a powder magazine of a former U.S. Arsenal. The newly built library housed 60,000 volumes and had seating for 375 students. Within 30 years, the library had more than 200,000 volumes, which required additional library branches on campus.

Many volumes and manuscripts were removed from Hill Memorial Library in the mid-20th century when the new Louisiana State University Library was built. Hill Memorial Library became home to the LSU press and the architecture department. It also held a psychology clinic and a photocopying center.

In the 1980s, Hill Memorial Library was reorganized to hold special collections, which required massive renovations, including climate control, a new gallery space, and a lecture hall. Some unique and rare collections at Hill Memorial Library are several books from the first 50 years of printing, an atlas by Ptolemy, first editions from John Donne, and a Second Folio edition of Shakespeare's plays, printed in 1632.

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Hill Memorial Library on Map

Sight Name: Hill Memorial Library
Sight Location: Baton Rouge, USA (See walking tours in Baton Rouge)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Walking Tours in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Create Your Own Walk in Baton Rouge

Create Your Own Walk in Baton Rouge

Creating your own self-guided walk in Baton Rouge is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Baton Rouge Introduction Walking Tour

Baton Rouge Introduction Walking Tour

Baton Rouge is the capital of the state of Louisiana. The area that is now Baton Rouge was initially settled by the Houma and Bayougoula Indian Tribes. These two indigenous tribes used a giant cypress pole painted in red to mark the boundary between the tribal lands. Early French settlers dubbed that cypress pole "Le Baton Rouge" or Red Stick.

European settlement of Baton Rouge began...  view more

Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.4 Km or 1.5 Miles
Louisiana State University Walking Tour

Louisiana State University Walking Tour

Louisiana State University is the flagship university of the LSU system. It was originally founded in Pineville in 1860 as a seminary and military academy. The present campus in Baton Rouge was established in 1926.

The LSU campus is noted for its architecture and historical center. The campus has 250 buildings designed in the Italian Renaissance style. Among these are the Memorial Tower, Hill...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.4 Km or 2.1 Miles