Cleveland Cultural Gardens Explained

Cleveland Cultural Gardens
Location:along both sides of Doan Brook and on both East Blvd and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Mainly between Lake Erie and Wade Park Avenue. All but one within Rockefeller Park.
Coordinates:41.525°N -81.6228°W
Built:1916 through 2019 and still building
Architect:Ernest J. Bowditch, et al.
Architecture:Classical Revival, Art Deco, Landscape Architecture
Added:2005
Designated Other1 Link:Cleveland Landmark
Designated Other1 Color:
  1. aaccff
Refnum:05000382[1]

The Cleveland Cultural Gardens are a collection of public gardens located in Rockefeller Park in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1896, John D. Rockefeller donated the land the Cleveland Cultural Gardens occupies today.[2] The gardens are situated along East Boulevard & Martin Luther King Jr. Drive within the 276 acre of wooded parkland on the city's East Side.[3] In total, there are 35 distinct gardens, each commemorating a different ethnic group whose immigrants have contributed to the heritage of the United States over the centuries, as well as Cleveland.[4]

History

The first garden of what would become known as the Cleveland Cultural Gardens was the Shakespeare Garden which was created in Rockefeller Park in 1916. This project inspired journalist Leo Weidenthal along with Charles J. Wolfram and Jennie K. Zwick to organize the Civic Progress League which became the Cultural Garden League by 1925.[5] In 1926, the Hebrew Garden became the first member of the Cultural Garden League with other gardens quickly following suit. The group would fulfill the vision of many unique gardens honoring different communities that make up Cleveland. In the 1930s and 1940s, more gardens were added in part through the help of the Works Progress Administration and the City of Cleveland.[6] Many of the early gardens represented European heritage due to the large number of European immigrants that made there way to Cleveland in the early 20th century. In 1952, the Cultural Garden League renamed itself the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation.

As of 2024, the Cultural Gardens Federation oversees over 30 garden sites.[7] Various ethnic groups sponsor gardens that are representative of their culture. In each of the gardens, one will find fixtures and statues with inscriptions depicting significant figures in each country’s cultural history. Artists, composers, peacemakers, saints, scientists, and philosophers are among those depicted as statues in the garden. The Cleveland Cultural Gardens continues to expand and welcome new gardens that represent various cultures from around the world.

The Gardens

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: National Register of Historical Places  - Ohio(OH), Cuyahoga County . 2011-07-05 . National Register of Historic Places . Nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com.
  2. Web site: 2023 . History – The Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation . 2024-03-14 . Cleveland Cultural Gardens . en-US.
  3. http://blog.cleveland.com/architecture/2008/08/cultural_gardens_in_clevelands.html Cultural Gardens in Cleveland's Rockefeller Park need - and deserve - TLC | cleveland.com
  4. Web site: Cleveland Cultural Gardens. The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History . . August 21, 2019.
  5. Encyclopedia: Cleveland Cultural Gardens . Encyclopedia of Cleveland History . Grabowski . John J. . Case Western Reserve University . Cleveland, OH . 26 October 2021.
  6. Web site: Cleveland Cultural Garden Federation Records . 27 October 2021 . digital.wrhs.org . Western Reserve Historical Society.
  7. Web site: The Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation . 27 October 2021 . clevelandculturalgardens.org/.

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