The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Farrand Gardens

Click on image titles for larger views.

Institution Name: College of the Atlantic
Original/Historic Place Name: Rose Garden
Location on Campus: 105 Eden St.
Date(s) of Construction:

1928	original construction Farrand, Beatrice

Designer: Beatrice Farrand
Type of Place: Landscape site
Style: (Glossary)
Significance: architecture, culture, education
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Function:

1928-present (2006)	gardens
1928-present (2006)	outdoor space (for gatherings)

Narrative:
Beatrice Farrand designed these gardens in 1928 for the Byrnes of New York. Each terrace was intended as a "garden room," an extension of the grand summer cottage that perched above. The north and south sets of terraces were separated by a cedar hedge, fragments of which remain. The design is a geometric one, fashioned to display Mrs. Byrne's rose gardens and the view from the terraces and buildings above.

Today the gardens are maintained by College of the Atlantic and serve as an outdoor gathering and reception space. The gardens have been undergoing restoration since 1985. When the restoration is complete, it will be one of the few extant private gardens designed by Mrs. Farrand that is freely accessible to the public.

References:

"Campus master plan." Online (2000). College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME. www.coa.edu/masterplan.