McKee Botanical Garden

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McKee Jungle Gardens
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The Hall of Giants, McKee Botanical Garden
Location	350 U.S. Highway 1 Vero Beach, Florida
Nearest city	Vero Beach, Florida
Coordinates	27°36′27″N 80°22′55″W / 27.6076°N 80.3820°W / 27.6076; -80.3820Coordinates: 27°36′27″N 80°22′55″W / 27.6076°N 80.3820°W / 27.6076; -80.3820
Area	18 acres (7.3 hectares)
Architect	William Lyman Phillips
NRHP reference No.	97001636
Added to NRHP	January 7, 1998

The McKee Botanical Garden (area of 18 acres (7.3 hectares)) is a non-profit, subtropical botanical garden in Vero Beach, Florida. It is located at 350 U.S. Highway 1, Vero Beach, Florida. It was founded in 1929, when Waldo E. Sexton and Arthur G. McKee purchased an 80-acre (32 ha) tropical hammock along the Indian River. Tropical landscape architect William Lyman Phillips was hired to design its streams, ponds, and trails. Its indigenous vegetation was augmented with ornamental plants and seeds from around the world. In 1932, they proceeded to open the garden, then known as McKee Jungle Gardens, as a tourist attraction. Although the Garden was successful for several decades, it shut down in 1976, and most of its land was sold for development. The site remained vacant for twenty years until the Indian River Land Trust purchased it in 1995. The current Garden was formally dedicated in 2001. It is now a Florida landmark and on January 7, 1998, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places under its former name of McKee Jungle Gardens. Currently, there are several buildings on the garden including the office, gift shop, education center and a restaurant.

Flora[]

The Garden's collections currently include:

See also[]

• List of botanical gardens in the United States

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to McKee Botanical Garden.

• McKee Botanical Gardens web site
• Indian River County listings at National Register of Historic Places
• Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
  • Indian River County listings
  • McKee Botanical Garden
  • Great Floridians of Vero Beach