Q. What is the origin of the name, "Repentance Park," which is between the River Center arena and the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge?

I checked a number of our reference books and vertical files and didn't come up with anything there. However, according to a newspaper article in the LSU Daily Reveille in which they had an interview with the executive director of the Downtown Development District, the park is named after Repentance Street which used to run through the area.

An article in 225 Magazine quotes from an interview with Suzanne Turner, the landscape architect who helped design the park.

There is a plaque near to the Repentance Fountain that gives some information on the street's history:

"During the Spanish domination of Baton Rouge, Repentance Street ran through this area. It was so named because convicted criminals walked along it on their way to receive sentencing at the Commandant's house where the Old State Capitol now stands."