460 votes

Sunken Gardens

S 27th St, Lincoln, Nebraska 68502 USA

Independent

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“built on a former abandoned neighborhood dumpsite”

Built in 1930, the Sunken Gardens was a Depression-era project, built on a former abandoned neighborhood dumpsite. The 1.5 acres were originally donated by the Seacrests, the Faulkners and the Freys -- long time Lincoln families. As a part of a city program helping unemployed men to earn money, E.M. Bair hired crew members to work on this garden. The men worked eight-hour shifts, two days a week for a total of $6.40 per week. Lincoln's "Rock Garden" (as it was originally called) reflected the popular 1930's trend for rock gardens in progressive communities. Rocks were used for the garden's skeleton, structures like water fountains and retaining walls at different heights to create terraced levels.

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Reviewed by
Evee Moroz

8 Reviews
2 Helpful

October 09, 2015

Rated 4.0

Free stop along the road, great chance to snap pictures.

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
tiffany.craigie

1 Review
0 Helpful

June 29, 2014

Beautiful little place to walk around and stretch your legs.

1 person found this review helpful

Reviewed by
julieryan2

2 Reviews
0 Helpful

August 08, 2018

Rated 5.0

We stopped here in May and saw people playing music and planting flowers. It was nice. Then we happened to be going through the area again the beginning of August. We wanted to see how the garden looked then. So glad we stopped again! It was amazing and so beautiful! Definitely one of my favorite places on our roadtrip. I definitely recommend it. Nice place to take a break from driving and take pictures and be refreshed.

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