New Entryway Unveiled At Friendship Botanic Gardens

Friendship-Botanic-Gardens-Opens-for-the-2017-Season 01Visitors who enter Michigan City through the Eastern Highway 12 gateway will be greeted by a dazzling new landscape feature along the roadside. The entrance to Friendship Botanic Gardens has been extensively renovated into a spectacular mosaic of garden plots, stonework, and an aluminum sculpture of undulating ribbons created by renowned artist John Searles.

Thanks to funding from the Michigan City Redevelopment Corporation, Friendship Botanic Gardens’ main entrance and a hundred feet of Highway 12 frontage have been transformed into a magnificent first impression conveying that visitors have arrived at a lakefront destination community. Friendship Botanic Gardens Board Member Stu Franzen designed and planned the extensive landscaping that weaves a tapestry of colorful plots along stone walls at the Friendship Botanic Gardens entrance. A new 20 foot digital LED sign broadcasts the offerings of the Gardens to millions of passing motorists annually. Horizon Bank provided funds to provide electrical infrastructure that powers the new sign.

The new Friendship Botanic Gardens Board of Directors launched this ambitious renovation project as part of a comprehensive effort to reintroduce the community and the world to Friendship Botanic Gardens. The Gardens were a renowned tourist destination in the mid-twentieth century, but in recent decades they had slipped from the public consciousness almost entirely. Now, thanks to the efforts of countless supporters and donors from across Northwest Indiana, thousands of people every year are rediscovering the beauty and unlimited potential of Friendship Botanic Gardens. The FBG Board of Directors wishes to express its sincerest thanks to Horizon Bank, The Michigan City Redevelopment Corporation, and Marquiss Electric for making this project possible.