While in Florida I had the chance to visit Miami. I realized that there was a small Japanese garden there, named the Ichimura Miami Japanese Garden. The garden has an interesting history which started in 1957. The garden has also gone through several transformations and relocation since its original founding.
Website: http://friendsofjapanesegarden.com/history/
The garden was much smaller than I had anticipated, being wedged into a small location adjacent to a parking garage on Watson Island. The upkeep on the garden was also poor. Additionally, there was an over reliance on cement structures throughout, giving it a sort of industrial state-sponsored look, unsurprising given that it is city-owned land.
Perhaps if the garden had not been relocated from the original site, and the elements of the original San-ai en (Three Loves Garden) been maintained over the years, then the garden could have evolved into a more authentic Japanese garden.
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| original layout, 1961 |
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| redesign, 2004 |
