Huntington Library to temporarily close Japanese Garden for renovations

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Visitors who want to take advantage of the Huntington Library’s Japanese Garden during the warm spring weather have less than a month to make the trip to San Marino. On April 4, the Huntington will shut down the scenic outdoor attraction for renovations that are expected to last a year.

The Huntington said the Japanese Garden is scheduled to reopen in the early spring of 2012, to commemorate its centennial year. The renovations will include major work on the existing Japanese house, the ponds, water infrastructure and more. In addition, the Huntington will install a ceremonial teahouse donated by the Pasadena Buddhist Temple.

Renovations will be led by Long Beach architect Kelly Sutherlin McLeod, landscape architects Takeo Uesugi and his son Keiji and two experts from Kyoto, Japan. The project is being funded by an endowment gift from a board member and several other major gifts made specifically for this project.

The Japanese Garden, which occupies nine acres of land, was created in 1912. The garden was used as a filming location for the 2005 Rob Marshall movie ‘Memoirs of a Geisha,’ adapted from the popular novel by Arthur Golden.

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-- David Ng