Origin
of the
IMA Gardens
Horticultural Society Rescues the Greenhouse
Recent History and Accomplishments
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Note: This historical timeline relies heavily on a brochure prepared for the IMA by Irving M. Springer (Mrs. Frank C., Jr.), entitled "Blueprint for Tomorrow," and material assembled by former director of horticulture Chuck Gleaves for the Master Plan.
The IMA grounds include approximately 152 acres, divided into two distinct parts by the Indianapolis Water Company canal. Southeast of the canal, approximately 52 acres house the museum buildings and the historic Oldfields estate and gardens. Bordered by 38th Street and Michigan Road, this was once the unincorporated town of Woodstock, which included several residences and outbuildings interconnected with roads and access drives.
1907
Indianapolis Water Company, Mr. Linneus Boyd, and Mr. Hugh McKay Landon purchase
140 acres on both sides of the canal immediately north of Maple Road
(now 38th Street) and the Indianapolis Country Club (now the Woodstock Club).
Boyd and Landon take 40 acres of the highland on the east bank of the canal. The water company retains 100 acres of the lowland, intending to use it as a reservoir.
1909
Boyd and Landon sell an interest to Dr. Lafayette Page and incorporate their
properties as the town of Woodstock. They construct a road from Michigan
Road to Maple Road.
Mr. and Mrs. Boyd construct a residence on the site of the present Indianapolis Museum of Art. Dr. and Mrs. Page choose a wooded property on the east side of the new road; theirs is the first residence completed in Woodstock.
1912
The Landons build Oldfields estate. Also referred to as the Lilly House,
in recent years (until 1999) this building housed the IMA's decorative arts
collection.
1920
Landon hires Olmsted Brothers of Brookline, Massachusetts, to design
the 26-acre grounds of Oldfields. Landscape architect Percival Gallagher develops
the Ravine Garden, the Formal Garden, and the entire grounds.
1932
Josiah K. Lilly Jr. (grandson of the founder of Eli Lilly and Company)
purchases Oldfields. The Lillys expand Oldfields (both the house and the land)
and add a party house, the Garden Pavilion, which now houses The Garden Terrace
restaurant.
1939
The Lillys build Newfields residence for their son J. K. Lilly III. Landscaper
Miss Anne Bruce Haldeman of Louisville plants a double row of elms from the
entrance of Newfields to its gate at 38th Street. She also designs the Four
Seasons Garden by the Garden Pavilion. Later Mr. and Mrs. Guernsey VanRiper
(Ruth Lilly) occupy Newfields for some years. Today Newfields houses the Better
Than New Shop.
1956
J. K. Lilly III buys and razes the William Hifield house, situated on former
Boyd property. He later buys and razes the remaining houses in Woodstock, preserving
the fine trees and major plantings.
1967
Mrs. VanRiper and Mr. Lilly III donate the Woodstock lands to the Art Association
of Indianapolis, which later becomes the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
(Mrs. Springer's account says the property was donated to Herron Museum of Art
with the proviso that a museum be under construction within the year.)
To assist and advise the architects, a Grounds Committee is formed: Mrs. Bowman Elder, Mrs. Eli Lilly, Mrs. Herman Krannert, Mrs. Frank C. Springer Jr., Mr. Burton Beck, Mr. Allen Clowes, Mr. John Mead, and Colonel A.W.S. Herrington.
1970s
Main museum buildings and parking lot are completed.
1972
The Indianapolis general contracting company Huber, Hunt and Nichols donates
the "Island," 100 acres of flood plain west of the museum. Back
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1972
The
Horticultural Society is founded to help develop the Greenhouse and grounds.
Mrs. Bowman Elder and Mrs. Frank C. Springer Jr., are key players. The
museum chose not to operate the Greenhouse and discussed its removal. Volunteers
and the IMA Horticultural Society banded together to continue its operation.
1977
IMA joins the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta
(AABGA).
1978
On April 14, the IMA grounds are officially designated as The Eli Lilly Botanical
Garden, to commemorate the late Eli Lilly, brother of Josiah K. Lilly Jr.
1987
The Grounds Committee of the IMA Board of Trustees selects the landscape firm
of Johnson Johnson & Roy Inc. of Ann Arbor, Michigan, to develop a long-range
master plan to accommodate the new use of the museum grounds as a botanical
garden and to provide a better setting for a major museum of art. The plan is
to serve as a guide for all future development on the museum grounds.
The Horticultural Society raises $65,000 from its members to fund the
plan.
1989
Inaugural issue of the Horticultural Society newsletter, The Lilly Pad,
is published under the editorship of Gilbert Daniels.
1993
The Garden for Everyone is dedicated, designed by landscape architect
and Hort Soc member Claire Bennett.
1994
The Richard Wood Formal Garden is dedicated. Recreating the mood of photographs
taken in 1927, the garden was rebuilt and replanted with funding by the Eli
Lilly and Company in honor of retiring CEO Richard Wood. (See Chuck Gleaves'
detailed history in the Winter 1994 Lilly Pad.)
Additional funding was provided by Richard and Billie Lou Wood, and by the Horticultural Society (see references to the Arbor Fund in 1993 minutes) which funded a portion of the recreated historic arbors.
1994
IMA horticultural staff hosts the regional meetings of the AABGA. The
Horticultural Society funds the honorarium of keynote speaker Marco Polo
de Stefano.
1995
Construction is completed on a new retail and administrative wing of the
Greenhouse. The design preserves the original glass houses. The Greenhouse
operates on the income from plant sales and from an endowment by Madeline F.
(Mrs. Bowman) Elder. The museum provides administrative support, capital improvements,
and assistance with building maintenance.
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1999
After more than twenty years in the lower level of Oldfields, a space that the
Hort Soc renovated to house its board meetings, dinners, lectures, and its volumes
of horticultural and design books, the Horticultural Library moves to
accommodate the restoration of the mansion. The Museum provides temporary quarters
on the lower level of the Better Than New Shop (Newfields).
Hort Soc receives a generous bequest from George Smith in memory of his wife Marguerite to support library acquisitions and the lecture series.
Hort Soc funds a summer intern for the IMA gardens, and makes a contribution honoring the memory of IMA horticulturist Hollis Schuh.
Oldfields is awarded Centennial Medallion of the Indiana Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, recognizing the estate as one of Indiana's most outstanding works of landscape architecture.
2000
Funds raised at the Horticultural Society Auction Benefit pay for the recreation
of the Diana Robing statue that graces the path toward the Ravine Garden.
2002
Funds raised at the Horticultural Society Auction Benefit go toward a plan
to renew the Four Seasons Garden adjacent to the Lilly Playhouse on the
grounds of Oldfields.
2003
Horticultural Society moves to its new library and meeting quarters
on the lower level of The Garden Terrace Restaurant (Lilly Playhouse) and celebrates
its 30th anniversary with a gift of $30,000 to the IMA.
More to come... Back to top Home