A sad discovery

20 years ago

On my vacation to Texas, I stopped by a Japanese Garden that was in San Antonio. Built in a limestone quarry in 1918, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The entrance was promising:

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Walking thru the gate brought me up to a limestone, ah, teahouse? More like a gazebo, but nice.

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Venturing further on, I found this to my dismay-the pond empty

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and the grounds planted with bedding plants

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wandering around, I stumbled across this information-

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what a shame it's been neglected, it has very nice "bones"

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It must have been very nice at one time, it's quite large. What a shame to see a Japanese garden in ruins.

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Comments (4)

Archer55
20 years ago
It doesn't look like a Japanese garden to me. It looks like some other kind of animal. Allowing it to slowly die in peace might be be kindest course of action.
Herb
20 years ago
I think pictures 1 and 3 come nearer than the others, with perhaps picture 2 - the 'teahouse/gazebo' having the least Japanese feeling. Rather than leaving it all to die in peace, I incline to the Capability Brown approach, which was to declare it "Capable of great improvement".

Incidentally, Sue has posted, in the Gallery, some pictures of other Japanese-style gardens that she saw on her visit to Texas.
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DonPylant
20 years ago
Sue, it is not a traditional Japanese garden as known today, but it is an historical site worthy of restoration. And that is exactly what is happening. It was constructed in an old quarry, construction lead by a Japanese man named Jingu. It is quite a story, and was once the crown jewel of San Antonio. I will post more info soon.

Meanwhile, another neglected JG is being restored in San Antonio and I do not have time to breath!
keithnotrichard
20 years ago
Not all historical sites are worthy of restoration. There's likly a good reason why it is no longer the "crown" of San Antonio.