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International
Friendship Gardens
601 Marquette Trail, Michigan City
(219) 878-9885
International
Friendship Gardens as the name implies is a collection of gardens
representing some of the leading countries around the world. It
is maintained by various groups of volunteers who work hard to maintain
it's beauty and even harder to restore the gardens to their former
glory. The perfect afternoon get-away lies on the outskirts of Michigan
City. Pack the kids and pack a lunch and prepare to journey back
in time.
International
Friendship Gardens began in 1934 at the Chicago “A Century
of Progress” World’s Fair. The Fair was extremely popular
in 1933 that the organizers decided to carry it over. The developers
of “An Old Mill Garden” wanted a new twist on their original
idea to attract tourists to their venue for a second year. They
came up with the idea of International Friendship Garden Favorite
Flowers of the most distinguished flower lovers of the world. They
wrote to various people from around the world to find out the name
of their favorite flower. The flowers were then compiled into a
small booklet that people would obtain at the fair. Many fair go-ers
would also seek the autograph of those listed in the book in a special
space provided in the booklet.
Dr. and
Mrs. Frank Warren, developers of Pottawattomie Park visited
the Century of Progress Fair. Dr and Mrs. Warren met the Stauffer
brothers there. Mrs. Warren fell in love with the idea of the
International Friendship Gardens and wanted it for her own backyard.
They entered into an agreement for 99 years for $1 renewable
for another 99 years to bring the gardens to their present site.
International
Friendship Gardens has adopted a 12 Year Master Plan that details
where our they are now and where they intend the gardens to
be 12 years from now. This is an ambitious plan that with dedication,
hard work, and perseverance they can achieve.
We encourage
you to visit their web and find out more! www.friendshipgardens.org
If
you have a site we should see, let us know!
We'll pin point it on our map.
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