Bringing
new life to Brackenridge Park’s Japanese Tea Garden,
which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places,
is the focus of an initiative launched by the Friends of the
Parks with the support of the San Antonio Parks Foundation.
Opened originally in 1919, the Japanese Tea Garden, with its
beautiful walkways, glorious lily ponds, lush plants and a
waterfall, has been a favorite of San Antonians and visitors
alike for more than 80
years. Today, it is in great need of restoration to return
the garden to its former beauty. Jan Jarboe Russell synopsized
it well in a 2004 article for the San Antonio Express-News.
“The Japanese
Tea Garden used to be the kind of place that made San Antonio
feel like San Antonio, a city not isolated from other cultures
but so irresistible that the world beat a path to our door.
In 1934, when the garden was in its heyday, a guidebook to
San Antonio described the pagoda where a family by the name
of Jingu lived and served tea to visitors as ‘a
palm-thatched pavilion that offers a place of rest where light
lunches and teas are served by Japanese attendants.’
In addition to rest, tourists seated on what felt like a floating
terrace had a view of lily ponds stocked with brilliant-colored
koi, arched bridges, winding paths and a spectacular waterfall.
Today, it is difficult to exaggerate the degree to which the
87-year-old garden has deteriorated. The southern rim of the
decaying pagoda is held up by 2-by-4s. The ponds stand empty
of water. The koi are gone. The waterfall no longer exists.
If the garden once symbolized San Antonio's splendor, today
it symbolizes the opposite — lost glory.”
In a November 2003 bond election, voters approved $750,000
to initiate repairs to the garden. This city funding will
be used to repair the ponds, which are leaking, as well as
the roof and structural elements of the Pavilion and Jingu
House. These improvements are scheduled to be completed by
fall 2006, but funds are still needed to bring this important
San Antonio landmark back to life.
Once the renovation is complete, the Japanese Tea Garden will
remain under the stewardship of Friends of the Parks; the
facility will remain open to the public without charge; and
the management of the space will continue to be the responsibility
of the Parks and Recreation Department. Through the Friends
of The Parks, the Japanese Tea Garden will be available for
festivals, weddings, parties and other events that draw the
community together.
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Any organization or individual interested in donating money
or time to the Japanese Tea Garden fundraising project can
contact Bonnie Conner, Vice Chair of Parks Projects at 210.212.8423 or
email at
bconner@saparksfoundation.org.
