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Leila Arboretum

1922 establishments in MichiganArboreta in MichiganBattle Creek, MichiganBotanical gardens in MichiganProtected areas established in 1922
Protected areas of Calhoun County, Michigan
Leila Arboretum Children's Garden
Leila Arboretum Children's Garden

The Leila Arboretum is an arboretum and garden located at 928 West Michigan Avenue, Battle Creek, Michigan. The arboretum is 72 acres, and is open to the public. The Arboretum's collections include nearly 1,700 accessioned woody plants and about 25,000 total plants, comprising trees, shrubs, and perennial and annual plantings laid out in the manner of European gardens. Many plantings date back to the 1920s. Recently the Arboretum has focused on increasing the diversity of woody plants and developing demonstration gardens including a lilac garden, perennial walkway, native plant garden, and labyrinth. Perennial gardens feature daylilies, purple coneflowers, and daisies; the annual flower displays include a yearly planting of some 7,000 spring bulbs including tulips and daffodils, as well as approximately 5,000 annuals and 1,500 chrysanthemums. In addition, the Kingman Museum, a natural history museum and planetarium, is located on the Arboretum grounds. The Leila Arboretum dates back to 1922 when Leila Post Montgomery, widow of breakfast cereal magnate C. W. Post, purchased 72 acres (291,000 m2) of an old country club and donated the land to the City of Battle Creek “to be laid out and improved as a public Arboretum...”. This gift was part of the larger vision of Edward M. Brigham who started planning an educational campus consisting of a museum, an historical building for the Battle Creek Historical Society, a fine arts building, a hall of music, and a lyceum (lecture hall) building. Mrs. Charles E. Kolb, W. I. Fell and Burritt Hamilton donated additional land, and the combined property, which became known as Leila Arboretum, was designed and developed by T. Clifton Shepard between 1924 and 1930. However, the Great Depression soon overshadowed these plans and the gardens fell into great disrepair. They were finally revived in 1982 by a band of volunteers who styled themselves the Leila Arboretum Society and who set about the ultimately successful task of reclaiming the fine landscapes hidden under years of overgrown brush.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Leila Arboretum (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Leila Arboretum
Battle Creek Linear Path, Battle Creek

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N 42.33895 ° E -85.21359 °
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Battle Creek Linear Path
49017 Battle Creek
Michigan, United States
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Leila Arboretum Children's Garden
Leila Arboretum Children's Garden
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Battle Creek Sanitarium
Battle Creek Sanitarium

The Battle Creek Sanitarium was a world-renowned health resort in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. It started in 1866 on health principles advocated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and from 1876 to 1943 was managed by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg.The "San", as it was called, flourished under Dr. Kellogg's direction and became one of the "premier wellness destinations" in the United States. After a devastating fire in 1902 the Sanitarium was not only rebuilt, but also enlarged. At its zenith, the sprawling health and wellness complex of more than 30 buildings situated on 30 acres accommodated near thirteen hundred guests. It housed a hospital with research facilities and a nursing school, as well as the Sanitarium Food Company, among others. Following the disfellowshipping of Dr. Kellogg in 1907, the physician stated that he and his employees were "independents" who "did not belong to any church" and that the Sanitarium promoted his theory of "biologic living" based on Adventist principles. In 1928, a distinct 14-story addition to the main building, the "Towers", was constructed.The Great Depression forced the institution to constrict and sell assets to serve its debt. In 1942, the signature main building was purchased by the U.S. Army and converted into the Percy Jones Army Hospital, and the sanatorium moved to the former Phelps Sanitarium building. The hospital was disbanded in the 1950s, and the facility was managed by the General Services Administration. In 2003, it was re-dedicated as the Hart–Dole–Inouye Federal Center. In 1957, the floundering wellness institution was taken over by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which operated it under a different name until 1993, when it was sold.