Cypress Gardens Celebrates 80 Years of Nature's Splendor
From the LEGOLAND Florida Blog: Dick Pope Sr. was a man with a vision.
Where others saw swampland, he imagined a tropical wonderland unparalleled as a showcase of the world’s natural beauty. On a marshy tract of land adjacent to Polk County’s beautiful Lake Eloise, he created "Cypress Gardens," a color-saturated paradise of exotic flowers, plants and trees Pope imported from globe-trotting travels with his wife, Julie. Many of these plants are still present today.
Where others saw swampland, he imagined a tropical wonderland unparalleled as a showcase of the world’s natural beauty. On a marshy tract of land adjacent to Polk County’s beautiful Lake Eloise, he created "Cypress Gardens," a color-saturated paradise of exotic flowers, plants and trees Pope imported from globe-trotting travels with his wife, Julie. Many of these plants are still present today.
Dedicated by Florida’s governor in January 1935, the gardens formally opened Jan. 2, 1936, with visitors paying only 25 cents apiece to tour its winding, cypress-block pathways. Over the years that followed, Cypress Gardens drew millions of visitors to Florida for its tranquil splendor and dazzling water ski shows, among them movie stars, TV legends, beauty queens, royalty and world-class athletes.
Today, eight decades later, kids will delight in discovering the historic botanical gardens’ many charms around every tree-shaded corner, from the famous gazebo to the mammoth banyan tree. All beautifully preserved and maintained by the talented horticulturalists of LEGOLAND Florida Resort for the enjoyment of children for generations to come.
PHOTOS: © 2016 LEGOLAND Florida Resort. All Rights Reserved.
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