Landscape Information
Located south of Locust Street between 4th and 5th streets in Society Hill, the garden was conceived by members of the Philadelphia Committee of the Garden Club of America and dedicated in 1959. Designed and installed by the National Park Service Eastern Office of Design and Construction, it was developed as a connection between the new Independence National Historical Park and the Society Hill neighborhood. The small garden, 1/3 of an acre, pays tribute to the nation’s founders and in particular, to George Washington.
The wide, rectangular space is enclosed by a wrought-iron fence and features a central lawn panel edged with a walk paved with rectangular stone. White-painted iron benches provide seating around the lawn. The eastern garden entrance incorporates a wall fountain, while at the western end of the lawn lies a wide circular basin with a singular jet fountain. The perimeter of the garden is lined with planting beds containing English ivy groundcover, white azaleas, cotoneasters, and mature deciduous and evergreen trees - English oaks, honey locusts, hollies and thirteen saucer magnolias, which symbolize America’s original thirteen colonies. The garden was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966 as part of Independence National Historical Park.
