Exposition Park Rose Garden
Encyclopedia
The Exposition Park Rose Garden is a historic 7 acres (28,328 m²) sunken garden
located in Exposition Park
in Los Angeles, California
. It has been called "one of the city's best-kept secrets." It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1991.
applauded the project: "No more fitting tribute could be paid to the spirit of Southern California than to erect in the center of her largest city the greatest rose garden in the world." During the Great Depression
, the lack of funding threatened the closure of the rose garden, then described as "the largest rose garden in the world."
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In the 1950s, the annual pruning demonstration drew thousands of rose enthusiasts to the park. By the mid-1980s, the garden had more than 20,000 rose bushes and more than 200 varieties of roses. The All-America Rose Selection, a rose growers organization, began donating its Rose of the Year to the garden in 1940. The garden is reportedly visited by more than a million people a year and is a popular location for weddings, reflection, and other events. The garden also has four gazebos, several statues, and a central fountain. The garden is located adjacent to the University of Southern California
campus, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
, and the California Science Center
.
football team to convert the garden into a practice field for the team. In order to protect the garden from such threats, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1991.
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
located in Exposition Park
Exposition Park (Los Angeles)
Exposition Park is located in University Park, Los Angeles, California, across the street from the University of Southern California. Exposition Park houses the following:* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum* Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. It has been called "one of the city's best-kept secrets." It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1991.
Establishment of the rose garden
From 1871 to 1911, the site of the rose garden was part of the city's Agricultural Park. The rose garden area was then used for horse, camel, dog, and later automobile racing; it also reportedly housed the city's longest bar and "one of its most stylish brothels." In 1914, the city announced plans to construct a wildflower garden at the park, but the rose garden was not built in 1927 with the planting of 15,000 bushes of more than 100 varieties. When the garden was announced, the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
applauded the project: "No more fitting tribute could be paid to the spirit of Southern California than to erect in the center of her largest city the greatest rose garden in the world." During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the lack of funding threatened the closure of the rose garden, then described as "the largest rose garden in the world."
Boldsen statues
In 1936, four large marble statues by Danish sculptor Thyra Boldsen were installed on pedestals at the four corners of the garden. The statues were titled "Nymph Finding Pipes of Pan," "The Blessing" (dedicated to the mothers of the world), "The Start" (awarded first prize by the Danish Academy of Fine Arts), and "Terpsichore" (or "Melody of Life"). The sculptor explained her intent with the statues this way: "In conceiving and executing these four figures dedicated to womanhood and motherhood, I have had in mind that men for centuries have erected statues symbolizing bravery—these symbolize love, life and joy."Popularity of the Rose Garden
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
campus, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County opened in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California, USA in 1913 as the Museum of History, Science, and Art. The moving force behind it was a museum association founded in 1910. Its distinctive main building, with fitted marble walls and domed and...
, and the California Science Center
California Science Center
The California Science Center is a state agency and museum located in Exposition Park, Los Angeles. Billed as the West Coast's largest hands-on science center, the California ScienCenter is a public-private partnership between the State and the California Science Center Foundation...
.
Threat to the Rose Garden and historic designation
In 1986, plans to dig up the garden to build an underground parking garage led to protests in the media. The Los Angeles Times ran an editorial opposing the plan: "There are times when the leaders of Los Angeles seem perversely intent on living up to the image that many outsiders have of them—insensitive and uncouth rabbits who would, say, dig up a garden to put in a parking lot." The garden had also been threatened by an earlier proposal by the Los Angeles RaidersOakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
football team to convert the garden into a practice field for the team. In order to protect the garden from such threats, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1991.