Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden is a historic home and garden located at
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
,
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Mecklenburg County is a county located in the southwestern region of the state of North Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,115,482, making it the second-most populous county in North Carolina (after Wak ...
. It was built in 1948–1949, and is a small -story, five-bay,
Colonial Revival
The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture.
The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...
style frame dwelling. The house is set on landscaped grounds designed and laid out in 1949–1950. It includes paths, beds, and borders. It was the home of
Elizabeth Lawrence (1904-1985), American garden writer and the first woman graduate in
landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructio ...
from (present-day)
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...
.
designed the property a historic landmark in 2005 and it was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2009.
[
Elizabeth Lawrence moved away from the property in 1984. In 1986, Mary Elizabeth "Lindie" Wilson purchased the property, and immediately started resurrecting the garden, which had fallen into disrepair. Lindie Wilson's incredible stewardship for the next 23 years ensured the survival of a significant number of plants original to Elizabeth Lawrence--most still thrive in the garden to this day. During her ownership, Lindie Wilson engaged the help of many regional and national experts to figure out the best way to preserve the property, out of which was born the Friends of Elizabeth Lawrence. The Friends worked tirelessly to help Lindie place a conservation easement on the property and negotiate the terms of sale of the property to the Wing Haven Foundation in 2008.
Today, the Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden is open to the public as a historic and cultural resource. It is owned and operated by the Wing Haven Foundation, and managed in a partnership with ]The Garden Conservancy
The Garden Conservancy is an American nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve, share, and celebrate America's gardens and diverse gardening traditions for the education and inspiration of the public.
Founded in 1989, by Frank Cabot, ...
, which holds the conservation easement on the property. The house and garden are part o
Wing Haven
References
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina
Colonial Revival architecture in North Carolina
Houses completed in 1948
Houses in Charlotte, North Carolina
National Register of Historic Places in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
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