Japanese Tea Garden at Packard Park

The Japanese Tea Garden at Packard Park in Warren, OH, was stablished in 1915 by William Doud Packard, a founding partner of the Packard Motor Co. and Packard Electric.

The Japanese Tea Garden was only the second tea garden in the United States. Mr. Packard, inspired by a visit to the San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden, decided to create one as part of  Packard Park. Doing so, he believed, would provide a relaxing atmosphere for local residents.

Starting in 2016, the W.D. Packard Foundation has funded and implemented improvements at the garden, including a restoration of the original pagoda, building and installing a fence, cleaning a visual path to the river, and adding new signage.

Honestly, it has a long way to go. There is a small, sad, looking Japanese Maple in front of the pagoda, but very little additional new plantings. Additionally, the "gazebo" looks more Chinese than Japanese. 

Instead, the garden (and its main structure) was, and remains, a classic example of late 19th/early 20th century "Oriantalism" in garden design that swept the country (Sonnenburg in western New York is a similar example). 

 

 

Perhaps future efforts will continue to add some of the planting features from the original design. Doing so might help the garden move closer to reflecting the period of tea gardens of the late 19th to early 20th century.