Gardens and Growth

GARDENS AND GROWTH

The roof of the Covenant Learning Center was set aside for the very specific purpose of creating a unique new garden. This intentionally-dedicated space is now the Stuart and Barbara Padnos Rooftop Sculpture Garden. It is a new expression of our horticulture and sculpture-based mission and helps fulfill our brand promise of being always new. The 15,000 square foot, fully-accessible space contains several garden areas with plants thoughtfully selected for this unique environment. The prestigious Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C. has loaned us four contemporary works by Alexander Calder, David Smith, Henry Moore and Marino Marini. In addition to the spectacular sculpture garden, the views over the wetlands are stunning. We remain forever grateful to the Padnos family for their generosity.

The Padnos Rooftop Sculpture Garden is part of our Welcoming the World: Honoring a Legacy of Love project. On June 4, 2019 we re-opened the Frederik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater. During the nine months from Labor Day, 2018 to Memorial Day, 2019, we tore down and recycled our old concessions building, built a new, soon-to-be LEED certified concessions and green room building, added a new sound-reflective coating to the stage area, opened the first portion of the new Frey Foundation Plaza, complete with new garden areas, and completed the second phase of our new parking lot. All these new additions and improvements were ready for the presentation of the 2019 Tuesday Evening Music Club and Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Meijer Gardens series. Our architecture and engineering partners of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects and Progressive AE, our construction partner Owen- Ames-Kimball, and the many firms such as Dean’s Excavating and Burgess Concrete helped make this possible. We are especially grateful to the men and women who worked outdoors through the winter months.

Now that the Welcome Center is taking shape, many members have asked about the aesthetics of the new facility. A careful look at the concessions building will give you a good idea of the look of the new building. The new Peter C. & Emajean (Pat) Cook Entryway and the new PNC Portico will start taking shape in the next few months. The Minnesota-sourced granite on the concessions building is the same granite being installed on the Welcome Center. Next time you visit, take a close look at the location of the Welcome Center. It has been intentionally located to compliment the profile of the majestic Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory. When the Welcome Center is ready in 2021, both facilities will beautifully stand together, welcoming guests from around the world to explore all we have to offer. At the ground level, both buildings will be surrounded by the new Ram’s Garden, the reimagined Tassel-Wisner-Bottrall English Perennial Garden and the Frey Foundation Plaza.

At the same time the expansion is happening, we continue to present all our exhibitions and programming. Rebecca Louise Law will be presenting her sculpture exhibition using dried and fresh plant material, creating art to be immersed in. Law’s exhibition is a perfect blend of the art forms Fred and Lena Meijer love, gardens and art, and which inspired our mission. The exhibition will open on September 20, 2019.

You may have noticed some work taking place near our Natural Environment Area. The Natural Environment Area is approximately 200 acres of land bordered by Bradford Street to the south, Crahen Avenue to the east and Leonard Street to the north. The Kent County Road commission has created a new intersection at the corner of Leonard Street and Crahen Ave. We are also filling in some low, non-wetland spots on the property with clean soil removed as part of our Welcoming the World: Honoring a Legacy of Love project. However, for the most part, this property will continue to return to a more natural state after being a golf course for many years. There are no specific plans for development of this property. However, whatever we eventually do with the property will be another exciting expression of our unique mission as given to us by Fred and Lena Meijer.

Please know your membership and advocacy for Meijer Gardens is sincerely appreciated.

Gratefully,

David S. Hooker

President and CEO, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park