In-depth look at Tigerland today: bars still big with LSU students despite shootings nearby
It was 1971 and the sun was rising over Tigerland. Large apartment complexes springing up offered LSU students what newspaper ads described as a "private paradise" close to campus.
Amenities included swimming pools, television antennas and an ideal location in what was then called the Tigerland Acres subdivision, an upscale residential community with streets named after such LSU sports legends as Alvin Dark, Y.A. Tittle and Bob Pettit. Developers soon recognized an untapped market for drinking establishments there and laid the foundation for LSU's storied bar district.
Now almost five decades later, no one would describe Tigerland as a paradise. In fact, concerns about crime and safety have LSU's student newspaper calling for Tigerland to be razed.
What's changed over the decades is that the apartment complexes — some now aging and rundown — are no longer filled almost exclusively with LSU students. They have instead embraced newer housing developments outside Tigerland. And adults and families not affiliated with the university have taken their place, introducing in some cases what police describe as a "criminal element."
Read more: https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_f607b5f2-0e28-11ea-a780-a78354525a1b.html