Dupree Gardens was a private botanical garden, located 17 miles north of Tampa on Ehren Cutoff (Pasco CR 583), off

US 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, ...

in what is now

Land o' Lakes, Florida Land o' Lakes is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pasco County, Florida, United States. Land o' Lakes is part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida MSA. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 31,145. The CDP grew rapidly dur ...

, that was opened up to the public as a tourist attraction. One of the first

roadside attraction A roadside attraction is a feature along the side of a road meant to attract tourists. In general, these are places one might stop on the way to somewhere, rather than actually being a destination. They are frequently advertised with billboards. T ...

s in the state, the 25-acre botanical garden was opened to the public on the first of December, 1940. Renowned as the “Blossom Center of Florida”, the garden received over 30,000 visitors per year until World War II gas and tire rationing restricted tourist traffic to Florida. A 1948

American Automobile Association American Automobile Association (AAA – commonly pronounced as "Triple A") is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 m ...

publication described the 900-acre estate as including "a beautiful 25-acre tropical garden with winding paths, meandering streams and sparkling waterfalls" and called it "one of Florida's major attractions". The gardens were also featured in other late 1940s and early 1950s guides.Complete guide to Florida Andrew Hepburn, Andrew Hepburn - 1952–12 pages A historical marker, now located at the edge of a suburban housing development on Ehren Cutoff (Pasco CR 583), marks the original entrance of the road that once led to the 25-acre tropical botanical garden. The original stone ticket gate has been left standing. In 2003, a project to restore a large portion of the original Dupree Gardens ponds, streams, and waterfalls was initiated by the design team of Amanda Slaz and David Laurence, owners of a section of the garden’s original 25 acres.

References

{{coord, 28.240754, -82.448852, display=title Gardens in Florida Pasco County, Florida Land o' Lakes, Florida

Further reading

References