Birmingham -- Red Ridge Park
Object Details
- General
- This native plant garden was established on 2.5 acres, inspired by Douglas Tallamay's, "Bringing Nature Home" publication as well as the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. The overall design was conceived with Zachary Westall in 2013 and featured predominantly native plants as the. The property, known as the Theodore Swann residence, Chaucer House, or Swann Castle, was designed in 1927 by William Warren of Warren, Knight and Davis for industrialist Theodore Swann. The English Tudor-style mansion features terraces and landscaped grounds with sophisticated drainage and irrigation. The garden was replanted during the 2010s to establish a high ratio of native Southeastern plants in an effort to support native insect and bird species. Persons associated with this garden include: Theodore Swann (former owner, 1925- 1944); Newman Waters, (former owner, 1944-1950s); Joseph and Carrie Lee Franklin (former owners, 1950s); Joseph Simpson (former owner, late 1960s- 1980s); Knapp Family (former owners, 1980s-early 1990s); Anthony Fant (former owner, 1993-2003); William Warren of Warren, Knight, Davis (Architects, 1926-1929); William Henry Kessler (landscape architect, 1926-1930); Thomas Paul Bates (Architect, 2002-); Zachary Westall (landscape designer, 2014-).
- Architect
- Knight, Warren
- Landscape architect
- Kessler, William H., 1924-2002
- Architect
- Bates, Thomas Paul
- Landscape designer
- Westall, Zachary
- Place
- United States of America -- Alabama -- Jefferson -- Birmingham
- Red Ridge Park (Birmingham, Alabama)
- Topic
- Gardens -- Alabama -- Birmingham
- Native plant gardens
- Architect
- Knight, Warren
- Landscape architect
- Kessler, William H., 1924-2002
- Architect
- Bates, Thomas Paul
- Landscape designer
- Westall, Zachary
- See more items in
- American Gardens Collection
- American Gardens Collection / Series 1: Garden Images / United States of America / Alabama
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Gardens
- Identifier
- AAG.AGC, File AL048
- Type
- Archival materials
- Collection Citation
- Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, American gardens collection.
- Collection Rights
- Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
- Related Materials
- Related materials are located in Birmingham Architecture and Design Collection at Birmingham Public Library Archives, William H. Kessler Business Papers (1880-1966). Original blueprints are owned by the heir to Warren, Knight, Davis.
- Record ID
- ebl-1555702463851-1555702463900-0
- Metadata Usage
- CC0
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