Lambert Gardens was a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

of over in the Reed neighborhood of

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, USA. It opened in 1930 and closed in 1968 and had a total estimated visitor count of 2,000,000, most of them believed to be out-of-towners.

History

Andrew Lambert, a landscaper in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, visited Portland in 1925 and liked the flora so much he decided to settle there permanently. He gave his half of the family business to his brother and purchased land at 5120 SE 28th Avenue in the late 1920s. He also bought 25 unused and overgrown acres from the nearby

Reed College Reed College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, E ...

to start his gardens and by 1930, it was a tourist attraction. Despite the high unemployment rate during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, Lambert was able to employ 20 landscapers to look after the gardens, including the Sunken Rose Gardens and the Italian Court. The gardens were home to peacocks, cranes such as the

grey crowned crane The grey crowned crane or gray crowned crane (''Balearica regulorum''), also known as the African crowned crane, golden crested crane, golden crowned crane, East African crane, East African crowned crane, African crane, Eastern crowned crane, ...

, and

flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes () are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbe ...

s. Money from the wishing well was given to the Oregon School for the Blind. After thieves stole hundreds of dollars from the wishing well on multiple occasions, Lambert decided to put up a 10 foot fence around the perimeter of the gardens. While most of the visitors to Lambert Gardens were from out of town, Lambert was an active part of the community. He sold plants, including tulips imported from

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

, out of the gardens' nursery and collaborated on a number of projects with

Meier & Frank Meier & Frank was an American department store chain founded in 1857 by Aaron Meier. He partnered with Emil and Sigmund Frank in the early history of the company, and opened the Meier & Frank Building flagship store in Portland, Oregon, Portland ...

. Each June, he reserved a plot for the town's Rose Festival so the elected queen and her court could take photos in front of it, and each Christmas, traditionally the slow season for botanical gardens, the Lambert Gardens had what was described as "one of the largest illuminated displays in the city". The gardens were used for weddings, entertaining dignitaries, and political speeches. Gardens employees also appeared on local TV to give gardening demonstrations, such as preparing a flowerbed for planting. The landscaping was so popular that in 1934, Lambert and his crew were hired to plant around the nearby U.S. Customs Courthouse. Some years later, they were also hired to overhaul and renovate the grounds at the

University of Portland The University of Portland (UP) is a private Catholic university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1901 and is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross, which also founded UP's sister school, the University of Notre Da ...

. By 1968, Lambert sought a buyer for the gardens as he was becoming too old to maintain them but was unsuccessful. A development company eventually bought the plot to build a $16 million, 1,000-unit apartment complex, called Lambert Gardens Apartments. In 2005, another company bought the complex and renamed it Wimbledon Gardens. Lambert died in January 1974.

External links

Cushman photo collection
at

University of Indiana Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IU Indianapolis. The flagship campus of In ...

archives.

References

{{reflist History of Portland, Oregon Botanical gardens in Portland, Oregon Reed, Portland, Oregon Botanical gardens in Oregon 1930 establishments in Oregon 1968 disestablishments in Oregon