Sunday, September 26, 2010
Mysteries The Japanese Gardens in Overton Park - I Think
Posted by Vance Lauderdale on Sun, Sep 26, 2010 at 9:25 PM
Robert Galloway, who was head of the Memphis Park Commission, was fond of all things Oriental, and in the early 1900s he had city crews scoop out a nice pond and build an island in the middle with a "snow-covered" Mt. Fujiyama. They installed a graceful arched wooden bridge, and added Japanese lanterns and other ornaments. It was a wonderful addition to the park — until December 7, 1941, when anti-Japanese sentiment boiled over and the entire thing was demolished. The Memphis College of Art stands on the site today.
I think Robert (Ferguson) is right. Some of the pictures show Japanese lanterns and other ornaments, and the photo of the man in the hat, who seems to be sitting on an invisible chair, shows the fake "mountain" in the background. But I don't know what to make of the woman sitting on the ground, since she seems to be perched on rocks piled on an old iron gate.
Robert wrote me: "I'm guessing the photos are from the Japanese Gardens that were destroyed in Overton Park. I'm 90% sure these are Memphis locations, because the old Midtown home where I bought them also shows up in some of the negatives [not shown here]."
Judging from the clothes, these were taken in the late 1920s or early 1930s, and one photo [not shown here; just take my word for it] shows an automobile with a 1935 license plate.
I think these do indeed show the long-gone Japanese Gardens, though I don't know what to make of the weird bare trees that seem to have wires dangling from the sawed-off branches. And does anybody recognize the family?
Other pictures are on the next page. Thanks, Robert, for sharing them.
- Hey, where did the little dog go?
- What on earth is she sitting on?
- See the Japanese lantern in the background?
- Notice the "mountain" behind him.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY ROBERT FERGUSON
Comments (16)
Showing 1-16 of 16
Awesome find. Love the rough-hewn dresses. The old and the current Japanese garden lack something in density and scale. Both are better than that crazy photo of the play Japanese garden on top of 100 North Main you once published. The current Japanese garden is very photogenic and pleasant if not so authentic.
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It's hard to tell from that picture, but is the fake Mt. Fujiyama possibly the same fake rock pile currently used in the penguin exhibit (formerly Monkey Island) at the zoo?
Jeff, I don't think so. For one thing, it seems to me it would be hard to move the thing, since it was cement poured over a form. Also, I've seen a few postcard views of the Japanese Garden, and it's a conical-shaped structure, with odd little protrusions (sort of visible in the above photo). The "mountain" at the zoo — to me at least — doesn't have the same shape. But, in the past half-century, I've been wrong maybe once or twice before, so I can't say with absolute certainty.
Thanks, Vance. Do you have any history about Monkey Island? I've always wondered about that structure. My earliest memories of the zoo, I must have been five or six, going on field trips from the juvenile detention facility and seeing the monkeys on Monkey Island.
I also loved the old penguin pool with its underground viewing window, where you could watch them swim. Now it's the snapping turtle and gar exhibit - honestly, I don't know what the zoo is thinking with that. If I want to see snapping turtles and gar, I need go no further than the swimming pool in my backyard.
The lanterns look familiar ... maybe same as the current ones or maybe the fact you can buy them at all Garden Centers now. The trees are a puzzle ... they almost look like "bottle trees" that people have in their yards, but with the wires I would almost venture maybe there was some critter running around that perched in trees. Was there any kind of Japanese Beastie roaming around? A monkey or a large perching bird perhaps? The strange thing the lady is sitting on seems to be in the water, looks like a large drain cover disguised with some rocks!
The size of the site pictured in these pictures far exceeded the Japanese Gardens lake. I lived only five blocks away and spent quite a time in the Overton Park area. I saw the destruction of the Japanese Gardens and have commented before the goldfish in the Japanese Lake were moved to Rainbow Lake only a short distance away. I do not think the photos are from the Japanese Garden lake. Although I grew up in the Evergreen area just a short distance away and spent all my school years at Snowden (class of 1945) I do not recognize the family pictured.
A couple of observations. That metal grate the woman is sitting on still has hinges attached, so it was apparently a gate of some kind. Why it is lying on rocks, with other rocks piled on top of it, is a mystery. But look at the reflection in the water, and you can see the arched bridge that was a key feature of the Japanese Gardens.
I agree that the site seems to be much larger than any other views I've seen of the gardens. I always thought the place was basically a tiny island in the middle of a pond, with a bamboo "gazebo" structure and a few stone lanterns. The postcard views that show the lanterns don't show the concrete "dogs," which are pretty large.
I finally found a postcard showing a white "mountain" in the middle of the island (or at least it looked that way), but since other postcards don't show the mountain, I always assumed it was either added later, or removed at some point. Regardless, the white "mountain" in the background of the photo of the man looks exactly like the fake Mt. Fuji that they built here. I'll try to find that old postcard and post it.
That iron grate thing is probably the shark cage. Every Japanese garden in the James Bond series has a shark cage.
And why didn't they ever just shoot the s.o.b.? Nooooo, they always had to cook up some elaborate, slow execution process involving cages and predatory fish and then LEAVE the room, giving Jim his opportunity to escape his chains and GTF outta there. With the girl.
My guess is that the iron gate is the spillway for the lake when the water rose to a certain height.
Hmmm, that's a good theory, vw. But if so, they used an old iron gate. As I said, look carefully and you can see old hinge plates at the top and bottom that are no longer attached to anything.
It looks like there is another weird sawed-off tree thing to the left in the photo with the male and female couple, and it appears it is just a support (along with the wires) for a climbing vine.
Also, I have this book at home, but I am at work...
http://www.amazon.com/Overton-Park-TN-Imag…
Definitely the Japanese Garden at Overton Park. The chapter on the Japanese Garden starts on page 67. It has photos with the leafless trees, "Mt. Fuji," the Komainu, etc...
Phoebe is right. Everyone should take a look at the fine Arcadia Press book "Overton Park" by Willie Bearden. He devotes an entire chapter to the Japanese Garden. The photos show how the place changed over the years, but several of them definitely show the same place as I've shown here. Regarding the location, he writes: "On December 8, 1941, the Japanese Garden lay in ruins, the victim of severe vandalism following the attack on Pearl Harbor. The remains of the gardens were removed and a fountain was installed in the center of the pond, both of which were removed in 1956 to make way for the parking lot of the Memphis College of Art."
Darn, I thought I had an answer. I was at the zoo yesterday and realized where I had seen that statuary ... the Japanese Garden hidden behind the "Round Barn." I was so happy I took photos to share but then when I checked today and they are not QUITE the same lanterns (though they are close) and the "Dog" is more Chinese, with a pearl under its paw and not the chesty one seen in these photos.
I wondered if the zoo had "rescued" them" but if they did they are not quite the same as these ones. Now I will have to get Willy's book. And what's more it seems "Natch" died a while ago. I must go to the zoo more often, maybe when they open the time capsule in 2056.
Hey Yalegrad, I lived at the corner of Cooper and Poplar in the '40s. Matter of fact, fished some of those goldfish from Rainbow, later.
Do you remember the Golf Pro (Teacher) at the Overton Park Course? An old gentleman named "Mr Smith."
