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Highland Park, also known as Highland Botanical Park, is an
arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
in
Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, United States. Its administrative office is located at 171 Reservoir Avenue in Rochester. The park is one of several in Rochester originally designed by
Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...
, including
Genesee Valley Park Genesee Valley Park, originally named "South Park," is located in the south side of Rochester, New York along the shores of the Genesee River. The New York State Barge Canal (the currently in-use portion of the Erie Canal) crosses the Genesee Riv ...
,
Maplewood Park Maplewood Park, also known as Seneca Park West, is a landscaped public park in Rochester, New York, situated between Lake Avenue and the Genesee River. The park features many trails along the river gorge and the river bank below, scenic views of ...
, and Seneca Park, which is now a
zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes. The term ''zoological g ...
.


History

In 1888, nurserymen
George Ellwanger George Ellwanger (December 2, 1816 – November 26, 1906) was a German-American horticulture scientist. Early life Ellwanger was born in Großheppach, Kingdom of Württemberg on December 2, 1816, and emigrated to the United States in 1835. H ...
and Patrick Barry endowed the Rochester community with of land which became Highland Park, one of the nation's first municipal arboretums. Highland Park is one of many parks designed by
Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...
, and was designed with the purpose of retaining a natural appearance. Horticulturist John Dunbar, later known in local circles as Johnny Lilacseed, started the park's famous
lilac ''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering plant, flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and wid ...
collection in 1892; some of the 20 varieties he installed were descendants of native
Balkan Mountain The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border betw ...
flowers brought to North America by early colonists.


Features

The park occupies most of a
glacial A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...
moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...
, sharing the hill with a water
reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
and
Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School is a Baptist seminary in Rochester, New York It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History 1820s-1960: Early history Four Baptist institutions merged over the course of the 19th and 20t ...
. Highland Park covers and features over 1,200
lilac ''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering plant, flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and wid ...
shrubs representing over 500 varieties. Additional woody plants include
Japanese maple ''Acer palmatum'', commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Japanese: ''irohamomiji'', , or ''momiji'', (栴), is a species of woody plant native to Japan, Korea, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russia. ...
s, sweet-smelling
magnolias ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...
, and other tree species; a selection of shrubs including
barberries ''Berberis'' (), commonly known as barberry, is a large genus of deciduous and evergreen shrubs from tall, found throughout temperate and subtropical regions of the world (apart from Australia). Species diversity is greatest in South America an ...
,
azaleas Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...
, mountain laurel, andromeda, and 700 varieties of
rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...
; and a
rock garden A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small A ...
with dwarf evergreens. The gardens also feature herbaceous plants including spring bulbs, wildflowers, and a
pansy The garden pansy (''Viola'' × ''wittrockiana'') is a type of large-flowered hybrid plant cultivated as a garden flower. It is derived by hybridization from several species in the section ''Melanium'' ("the pansies") of the genus ''Viola'', p ...
bed with 10,000 plants, designed into an oval floral "carpet" with a pattern that changes each year. Highland Park has a natural
amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
, sunken garden, a Gothic-style edifice (known as the "Warner Castle"), and a conservatory greenhouse called Lamberton Conservatory. A statue of
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...
overlooks the amphitheater. The outdoor amphitheater (Highland Park Bowl) is used for summertime concerts, Shakespeare in the Park, and the Free Movies in the Parks series. The park consists of many themed / memorial gardens: The Greater Rochester Vietnam Veterans Memorial, The AIDS Remembrance Garden and the Poet's Garden are located in Highland Park South.


Events

Highland Park hosts Rochester's annual
Lilac Festival Lilac Festival is the name of various festivals which celebrate the Lilac ''(Syringa).'' Canada * Lilac Festival (Calgary) - since 1989 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada * Lilac Festival (Franktown) - since 1995 in the Lilac Capital of Ontario, Frankto ...
in May, which is the largest festival of its kind in North America and draws spectators from all over the globe. The Rochester Civic Garden Center, housed in Warner Castle, offers public access to a
horticultural Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
and
botanical Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
library of over 4,000 volumes and sponsors an ongoing series of educational courses. Since 1997,
Rochester Community Players The Rochester Community Players (RCP), the oldest community theatre in New York State, is a local theater group in Rochester, Monroe County, New York, in the United States. Incorporated in 1923, its first production, '' Wedding Bells,'' by play ...
' Shakespeare Players have performed an annual free Shakespeare in the Park production of one of
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's plays in early July at the Highland Park Bowl.


The Goethe Monument

On September 17, 1950 a monument was completed in Highland Park to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. A committee, chaired by Ewald P. Appelt, raised the required funds. Regional artist and Head of the Sculpture Department at the University of Rochester, William Ehrich (1897-1960), was chosen to construct this monument, describing it as such: "For the portrayal of Goethe's personality, I considered no particular phase of his life. His spiritual aristocracy appears to me to be the point requiring stress, culminating in his immortal appearance around the age of sixty-five." During the month of July 2015, the Goethe monument was stolen from Highland Park.


See also

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