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Birmingham -- Red Ridge Park

Smithsonian Gardens

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.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1555702463851-1555702463900-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb61c63697b-8bd4-42e6-bbc7-b249e5e0cc0c

Related Content

  • American Gardens Collection

Birmingham -- Red Ridge Park
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