History of Scott Sunken Garden and Its Restoration
Information provided by Marilyn Lee and Marilynn Bezdek
Original Photography by Marilynn Bezdek
Original Head Gardeners: Crystal Noecker and Barbara Spottek
Original Assistants: Sharon Burton, Lorane DeYoung, Barbara Lowes, Mary McCulloch, Reba Torongo, Beulah Voorheis
Original Scott Circle Gardener: Crystal Noecker
Originally, located close to downtown Lansing, at the corner of Washington and Main Streets was a small, walled public garden known as Scott Sunken Garden. This garden was appreciated by visitors to the Women’s Hall of Fame, walkers, and Lansing workers in the area who enjoyed a few moments of beauty and solitude enjoying the manicured lawn, water feature, and the many types of perennials, bulbs, and shrubs.
Reduced in grandeur from what it was originally, the Italian style sunken garden remained a visually beautiful reminder of Lansing’s history. It was created by the prominent Lansing businessman and philanthropist, Richard H. Scott, as a showplace for beautiful plants in the early 1900s. It was restored in the 1980s by the Garden Club of Greater Lansing, and since its restoration, the Sunken Garden was maintained by the Garden Club.
In 2017 the City of Lansing approved the construction of a Board of Water and Light substation on the site of the garden. The garden has been rebuilt between Cooley Gardens and the new substation. The garden was dedicated on July 10, 2019 along with the new BWL substation. The garden was rebuilt exactly as it was at the old location with many of the same plants. The plants were stored in the Cooley Gardens through the construction period. The Garden Club has resumed its stewardship and care of the garden in cooperation with the Lansing Department of Parks and Recreation.
The Garden is slowly coming back to its original beauty as the plants establish themselves under the current care of The Garden Club members Master Gardener Daiva Devereaux, Barbara Spotteck, Master Gardener Sue Kesti, Master Gardener Joan Lenhard and Sharon Drake. Below are some photos from the summer of 2020.
