Rose Garden Center (Tyler, Texas)
United States historic place
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Rose Garden Center, or the Tyler Municipal Rose Garden, is a historic, municipal garden of roses in Tyler, Texas.[2] It is the largest collection of roses in the United States.[3] It is one of the largest tourist attractions in Tyler, it is the location of the Tyler Rose Museum, and is part of the annual Texas Rose Festival.[4][5][6]
Tyler, Smith County, Texas, U.S.
Tyler Municipal Rose Garden | |
| |
  Location within Texas  Location within the United States | |
| Location | 420 Rose Park Drive, Tyler, Smith County, Texas, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32.345393°N 95.321371°W |
| Area | 14 acres (5.7 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 100003539[1] |
| Added to NRHP | March 22, 2019 |
The Rose Garden Center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places since March 22, 2019, for its role in regional and state tourism.[5]
History
The Rose Garden Center was a 1938 Works Progress Administration (WPA) park project, and was mostly completed in 1941; but due to World War II, the center did not open to the public until 1952.[5] In 1956, the lawn at the Rose Garden Center started hosting the Queen's Tea event, a part of the annual Texas Rose Festival.[4] In 1992, they rebuilt the associated building and expanded its size, in order to home the Tyler Rose Museum.[4]
It is a 14-acre (5.7 ha) rose garden with more than 38,000 bushes and at least 500 varieties, including 50 types of heritage roses.[6] It is the largest public collection of roses in the United States.[3] It is also an All-America Rose Selections (AARS) test garden.[2]
It is one of the largest tourist attractions in Tyler, it is the location of the Tyler Rose Museum, and is part of the annual Texas Rose Festival in October.[5][6][4] In 2022, the center added QR codes near the plants in order to facilitate the identification of rose varieties.[3]
