The Cleveland Cultural Gardens, stung out along MLK drive, are seen by most Clevelanders from the window of a car as they travel through Rockefeller Park from University Circle to the Shoreway. It’s worth it to pull over and get out of the car. They’re a treasure trove of landscaping, architectural elements, sculpture and history.
There are now 33 such gardens, some legacy gardens which are fully built out, such as the lavish, two-level Italian garden (1930), while others are still in development. Last summer, the new Ethiopian Garden was dedicated on the south end of Rockefeller Park. While the gardens were founded in 1916, they had a spate of growth in the 30s, mostly devoted to the eastern European that sent the most immigrants to Cleveland in the early 20th century.
There was a lull after that, but in the last two decades, there’s been a burst of new gardens dedicated to a more diverse group of cultures, from Albanian to Azerbaijani to Vietnamese to Indian to Syrian (a popular site for wedding photos with its triptych arches). The African-American garden (pictured) was founded in 1977, but construction just began in the last few years and is ongoing. Be sure to go up the St. Clair exit and turn left to see the spectacular view from the backside. You won’t get to them all in one day, but that’s a reason to return several times!