Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Elizabeth Park...Timeless Cool

This weekend my son and I had a free moment and we decided to visit Elizabeth Park. It is not something that I do often but when I do I am always reminded of what a beautiful treasure it is and I should visit it more. There were numerous wedding photographers beautiful brides and grooms enjoying the gorgeous outdoor space and day. I love gardens... peaceful, serene, and a place that make me smile inside.

The History of Elizabeth Park...

The area which is now known as Elizabeth Park was once owned by Charles M. Pond. Mr. Pond was a wealthy industrialist and statesman whose career included being a Director of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, Hartford Hospital, and the Phoenix Fire Insurance Company. Mr. Pond was also President of the Hartford Trust Company and he was Treasurer of the State of Connecticut.

When Mr. Pond passed away, he willed his estate to the City of Hartford with the stipulations that it be used as a horticultural park and that it be named for his wife, Elizabeth, who had died a few years earlier.

The City hired Theodore Wirth as its first park superintendent to design the garden areas. Mr. Wirth's first project was to create a rose garden because, in his words, "it would please the people." This first planting grew from 100 bushes to the two and a half acre garden of some 15,000 bushes that is the center piece of Elizabeth Park and is known throughout the world.

Today the park encompasses 102 acres and boasts many garden areas, pathways, greenhouses, lawns, a picnic grove, a pond and recreation areas.
















1 comment:

  1. also to note...The landscape firm Olmsted and Son Designed the Park before any planting was done

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