Oddity of the Week: A Philadelphia City Garden
Created | Updated Jul 14, 2013
July is garden month at the Create Challenge. What do gardens mean to you?
A Philadelphia City Garden
This colour lithograph by John C Sinclair was made in 1879. The Library of Congress describes it like this:
Print shows a view of a fixture constructed at the base of a hillside from which water issues into a small basin, with a small garden of flowers in the foreground, from a souvenir booklet of views of Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, part 1st, 1870.
It's a nice feature in a very spacious and attractive city park. But that's only part of the story.
Robert Morris was one of the Founders of the US. In fact, he financed the US War of Independence. Unfortunately, that was a costly undertaking: he went bankrupt. To make ends meet, he sold his country farm to another businessman, who built such beautiful gardens there that people were willing to pay admission to see them. Cool.
In 1843, the City of Philadelphia bought the estate for parkland to go with their new and impressive waterworks. In 1876, the park was the site of the Centennial Exposition, the first official World's Fair in the US. Among other wonders, it displayed the right arm and torch of the as-yet uncompleted Statue of Liberty. Most people got their first taste of a banana at the fair.
Today, the park system and zoo comprise 9,200 acres. People stroll, jog, bike, hike, and enjoy recreation in this urban paradise.
Not bad for a garden, eh?
