McKee Botanical Garden

The McKee Botanical Garden (area of 18 acres (7.3 hectares)) is a non-profit, subtropical botanical garden in Vero Beach, Florida.[1][2] It is located at 350 U.S. Highway 1, Vero Beach, Florida.

McKee Jungle Gardens
The Hall of Giants, McKee Botanical Garden
Location350 U.S. Highway 1
Vero Beach, Florida
Nearest cityVero Beach, Florida
Coordinates27.6076°N 80.3820°W / 27.6076; -80.3820
Area18 acres (7.3 hectares)
ArchitectWilliam Lyman Phillips
NRHP reference No.97001636[1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 7, 1998

History

It was founded in 1929, when Waldo E. Sexton and Arthur G. McKee purchased an 80-acre (32 ha) tropical hammock along the Indian River.[3][4][5] Tropical landscape architect William Lyman Phillips was hired to design its streams, ponds, and trails. Its indigenous vegetation was augmented with ornamental plants and seeds from around the world. In 1932, they proceeded to open the garden, then known as McKee Jungle Gardens, as a tourist attraction. Although the Garden was successful for several decades, it shut down in 1976, and most of its land was sold for development. The site remained vacant for twenty years until the Indian River Land Trust purchased it in 1995. The current Garden was formally dedicated in 2001.[6] It is now a Florida landmark and on January 7, 1998, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places under its former name of McKee Jungle Gardens.[1] Currently, there are several buildings on the garden including the office, gift shop, education center and a restaurant.

Flora

The Garden's collections currently include:

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 15, 2006.
  2. McKee Botanical Garden listing at FL heritage website
  3. Great Floridians of Vero Beach
  4. Hutchinson, Hubbard (Sep 11, 1932). "Florida's Jungle Garden of Rare Plants: In the McKee Park the Riotous Blooms of Tropical Lands Have Been Added to the Native Growths With Unique Effect". New York Times. p. SM17.
  5. Clarke, Jay (December 12, 1971). "They Call It 'The Damndest Place You Ever Saw'—On the Beach Where Turtles Come to Cry". New York Times. p. XX3.
  6. Raver, Anne (10 February 2002). "A 1930's Roadside Attraction Blooms Again". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
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