Ouachita Parish History Tidbits

Tag: Forsythe Park

  • The Salt Water Natatorium right after it was built.

    This next photo is the Salt Water Natatorium from an angle I have never seen before. You can clearly see the Pavilion off to the right. I think in the…

  • The Naming of Lake Beulah

    The Times-Democrat (New Orleans, LA) June 7, 1906, Page 10 The engineering corps of the Municipal Street Railway and Forsythe Park have asked the privilege of naming the beautiful lake…

  • Windmill at Forsythe

    Did you know that Forsythe Park once had a big windmill? It was built to hide something. In the February 20, 1930 issue of the Monroe News-Star was the following…

  • Chlorine wading at the Forsythe Pool

    Anyone remember having to do this? https://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/state-lwp%3A166 This was right before you got in the pool at the Forsythe park. It was to kill any germs and bacteria that may…

  • An unusual view of the Salt Water Pool

    This photo: https://www.louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/lsu-sea-pvc%3A639 probably doesn’t look like much to you. It shows a mostly empty swimming pool. What caught my eye, was that it was the Salt Water Natatorium out…

  • Parks of Monroe

    This is a great paper by the WPA. It recounts the history of Forsythe, Bernstein and Stoval (aka Casino) parks. Casino park, of course, is where the legendary Monroe Monarchs…

  • Riverside Pavilion at the Saltwater Natatorium

    This is a great closeup of the pavilion that once stood at the old natatorium. From the clothing, I would guess this dates to the teens. The pavilion was used…

  • Veterans at the American Legion

    Over the next few days, I will be posting some photos that we need help identifying. If you recognize anyone in the photos, come by the library on 18th or…

  • The Salt Water Natatorium

    The Salt Water natatorium was a happy accident caused by Mayor Forsythe. The good mayor had authorized drilling in the Monroe park to look for oil in 1909. Instead, the…

  • Forsythe Park Racetrack

    Did you know Forsythe Park once had a horse racing track?  This clear photo was found in the photo archives of Ouachita Parish Public Library.  Before this clear photo, I…