Gardens Tour Preview

Designed by Albert Kahn and built in 1908, Cranbrook House is an Arts & Crafts inspired English Tudor style manor home. At over 100 years old, it is the oldest manor home in the metro-Detroit area. For the better part of its first century, the estate served as the family home of Cranbrook Educational Community founders, George Gough Booth and Ellen Scripps Booth, and their five children (James, Grace, Warren, Henry and Florence); the Booths entertained family and friends and conducted business here.

The Booth family was deeply involved in the social and civic life of Cranbrook and the community surrounding it. In the Library, for example, the idea of the Birmingham Community House was first conceived. The plans for Christ Church Cranbrook and Cranbrook and Kingswood Schools were set in motion in this same room by the Reverend Samuel Marquis and George and Ellen Booth. The first books for Cranbrook Academy of Art Library and the first minerals for Cranbrook Institute of Science all came from Cranbrook House.

Today, Cranbrook House & Gardens is part of Cranbrook Educational Community, a National Historic Landmark. Guided tours of the first floor are available throughout the year.

Location: Cranbrook House Courtyard

Aphrodites is the Greek goddess of love.

This area is located outside of the Cranbrook House Library. The central garden is called Ellen’s Garden, named for Ellen Scripps Booth. The two gardens to the north and south are planted to complement Ellen’s Garden like bookends.

Location: The Library Terrace
John Cheere
Lead

Commonly referred to as The Gardener & His Wife, these two English sculptures are made entirely of lead by artist John Cheere. George Booth purchased the pair in London, England in 1923. The Shepherd originally held a shepherd's crook in his hand, which at some point was replaced by the shovel he holds today.

Location: The Library Terrace

The ceramic panel in the chimney of Cranbrook House was made in the United States in about 1917, under the direction of Dr. Henry Mercer, founder of Moravian Tile and Pottery Works in Pennsylvania. It is one of four tiles that depicts the story of Bluebeard and one of his wives.

This long, narrow, grass terrace on the first level below the Library Garden was completed in 1911. Two rampant lions flank the steps and stone fruit baskets stand on alternate piers.

The lower level of the area west of Cranbrook House was landscaped in 1913 as an unobstructed, level expanse of lawn.

At age 11, the youngest Booth daughter, Florence, organized the district’s first dog show here in 1914. The entire family considered it a lovely place to view sunsets.

The long, perennial-bordered pool was built in the early 1920s. Harmony, a stone sculpture by Mario Korbel, was designed for this location at the east end of the pool.

60th Wedding Anniversary
In 1947, on the occasion of the Booths 60th Wedding Anniversary and the inauguration of Cranbrook Founders Day, 60 lighted candles were floated on the pool and the family and guests were treated to a spectacular fireworks display.

Ramp of the Chinese Dog
Visible to the west of this area is a hill leading to Cranbrook Art Museum. It is known as the Ramp of the Chinese Dog and derives its name from the sixth century stone sculpture which sits at its top.

Location: Reflecting Pool

Mario Korbel

Harmony was sculpted from stone by Mario Korbel specifically for this location. It was placed here in 1924.

Location: Reflecting Pool

A three-shelled cupid fountain purchased by George Booth in France in 1914.

Location: Birthday Garden
Mario Korbel
1924

Dawn was sculpted by Mario Korbel in 1924. Behind this sculpture, you can see the original stairway to the north terrace.

A pair of tall marble columns carved with Byzantinedesigns flank the gate across the walk below Dawn. Beyond the gate, the Travertine lions at the ends of the balustrade are copies of ones found on the tomb of Pope Clement XIII in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Location: Lower North Terrace

Purchased by George Booth in 1924 in Italy, the sculptures on the wall represent the four seasons and can be identified by what they are carrying: Summer has wheat, fall has grapes, winter a shawl, and spring has flowers.

Location: Lower North Terrace

The pair of lead sphinxes are copies from Greek sculptures and were purchased by Henry Scripps Booth in 1963 in England. In Greek mythology, the Sphinx is a monster with the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the head and upper torso of a human female. She sat on a high rock by the road to Thebes and would not let any travelers pass who could not answer her riddle: "What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?"

Answer: Man—crawls on all fours as a baby; walks on two legs as an adult; and uses a cane, the third leg, in old age. If the travelers couldn't answer correctly, she devoured them. Many travelers tried, but could not answer the riddle. Finally, Oedipus answered correctly and the Sphinx was so angry, she threw herself off the rock to her death. Oedipus was rewarded when the people of Thebes made him their king.

In 1908 this was a garden that looked northward from a barren hill to the recently restored millpond and the white buildings (no longer standing) of the Booth farm.

The wall initially made a complete semi-circle, blocking the view of the lake from the house. George Booth would often complain about this bad design; his sons James and Henry talked about changing it, but for whatever reason, George Booth resisted. One day however, when their father was away on business, the sons decided to do something about the wall. They took sledgehammers and began knocking holes in the wall. By the time George Booth returned home they had made about a three-foot opening. George Booth told the boys they needed to finish what they started, and for penance, he also made them cut down a tree that also interfered with the view of the lake.

The flagpole was a gift of the Booth’s grandchildren in 1964 and commemorates the 60th anniversary of the acquisition of the property.

The Sundial Gardenis named for the ginkgo leaf shaped sundial. Installed in 1982, this is the only garden that is a constant memorial to a former Cranbrook House and Gardens Auxiliary member. It was sculpted by Richard Robinson, a 1981 Cranbrook graduate.

Location: Circular Terrace

Turtle Fountain is a copy of Fontana della Tartarughe which stands in a piazza not far from St. Peter’s in Rome.

The original fountain was designed by Jacapo della Porta and sculpted in 1585 by Taddeo Landini. It was designed to have four men sculpted in marble and holding dolphins; but it was decided that was too clumsy, so the figures were made in bronze with no dolphins. The rim was bare until 1658 when the famous Baroque sculptor Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini added the turtles to the upper basin, thus suggesting the new name.

George Booth was in Rome in February of 1924 and ordered a copy of the fountain for Cranbrook. The fountain arrived from Naples in 1924 in 18 crates weighing 10 tons and was installed within the year.

There are at least two other known copies of this fountain in the US, one on Nob Hill in San Francisco, California and one in the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida.

At the end of this garden is the decorative white marble wishing well, which serves as an invitation to pause and make a wish.

The small building visible from this area was originally an open summer house. Later it was converted to a studio for sculptor Mario Korbel.

The Herb Garden is located on the east side of Cranbrook House, and has been a project of the Southeastern Michigan Branch of the American Herb Society since 1971.

In the Herb Garden, a Mario Korbel statue of Ecolo, Goddess of Earth, puts on her sandals to protect nature from man’s carelessness. George Booth commissioned the sculpture in 1927.

Location: Herb Garden

Andrea del Verrocchio

This male cherub, or putto, was sculpted by Italian Renaissance sculptor Andrea del Verrocchio. It was conceived to be viewed from all sides and appears animated, revealing the sculptor’s mastery of form.

Location: Herb Garden

This is a Mario Korbel statue of Ecolo, Goddess of Earth, puting on her sandals to protect nature from man’s carelessness. George Booth commissioned the sculpture in 1927. The original name given to the sculpture was Atlanta, the Greek Goddess of the hunt, travel and adventure. Henry Scripps Boothrenamed her Ecolo, a goddess he invented, in 1982.

Carved stone baskets of fruit stand on the paneled balustrade that borders this lawn area east of the Herb Garden. Below is the Sunken Garden and to the east, a decorative pergola.

The grassy area next to the wall overlooking the Sunken Garden was used as a bowling green by the Booth family.

Location: East Terrace

This is a 19th century Chinese statue of Kuan-Yin, Goddess of Mercy.

The Sunken Garden is a favorite of many visitors. It is a formal garden surrounded by fieldstone walls.

When first established, this was a vegetable garden used to feed all of the people living and working on the estate. The garden was sunken in order to lengthen the growing season for the vegetables. In later years, the Booths moved the vegetable garden to an area to the south and transformed this into a flower garden.

Each spring, Cranbrook House & Gardens Auxiliary volunteers create a true work of botanical art in this garden through distinctive patterns and color combinations. The beds along the wall are planted with a mixture of perennials and annuals, and the rows in the center are planted with about 2,000 annuals!

Additional Information
George Booth designed the shield crest at the top of the garden steps. The bees represent three generations of hardworking Booths.

At the base of the double stairway leading down to the Sunken Garden is a stone tank of Romanesque design carved with a frieze of human figures.

At the east end of the Sunken Garden are two Chinese stone lions and a small sheltered pool made from fragments of a fountain which once stood in this area.

Location: Service Court

Adjacent to the steps leading up from the service court area stands a bust of Menelaus, husband of Helen of Troy, King of Sparta, Greece. It was bought by Henry Booth from the same Scottish estate auction as the Weeping Zeus bust and closely resembles a similar piece in the Vatican.

Termed "The Mountain" by George and Ellen Booth, this area was built from soil excavated from the basement of Cranbrook House during its construction.

Location: TheMountain

1922, Marble

At the summit of The Mountain, under a cathedral of pines, sits a reduced copy of a travertine marble triton fountain. The original Fountain of Santa Maria in Piazza Bocca della Verita (or “Mouth of Truth”) in Rome, Italy, was designed by Carlos Bizzaccheri between the years 1717 to 1719.

The original was a papal commission, as signified by the triple crown of the Pope as well as the “keys to the kingdom,” the fountain depicts two tritons, holding a large shell over their heads, seated upon an outcropping of rock.

The replica was made in 1922 from marble.

Location: The Mountain (south end of the Cranbrook House courtyard)

If you step on the right stone at his base, Zeus will shoot water out of his eyes!

The Weeping Zeus bust was purchased by Henry Scripps Booth in 1960 at an auction from Mansion House in Scotland, where it had served for over 100 years as a decorative feature. Carved of Carrara marble in Italy in the early 19th century, it is a possible copy of Otricoli Zeus which was found in a town by that name north of Rome and is now in the Vatican Museum. His eyes were drilled out to add water works to the piece. This was done at the direction of Henry Booth, the youngest son of George and Ellen Booth.

Why is Zeus weeping?
Legend holds that this father of the Greek gods,accustomed to a more exciting existence on Mount Olympus, is unhappy with the peace and quiet of his present location.

Venue: Cranbrook House & Gardens

Location: West of the main parking lot

Marcus Burrowes, 1915

Cranbrook has one of the few outdoor Greek-style theatres in the country. The semicircle of stone seats 400 people for performances.George Booth designed the general layout of the theater and had the architect Marcus Burrowes finalize the plan. The reflecting pool was originally the family swimming pool. The bronze sculpture at the end of the pool is Persephone, goddess of fertility, by Michigan sculptor Marshall Fredericks.

Today, the theatre is used for performances by St. Dunstan’s Theater Guild of Cranbrook, Cranbrook Academy of Art graduation ceremonies, and the Cranbrook Theater School during the summer.

Location: The Greek Theatre

Marshall Fredericks

1965

This reflecting pool was originally intended to serve as the family swimming pool. The bronze sculpture at the end of the pool is Persephone, goddess of fertility, it was created by renowned Michigan sculptor Marshall Fredericks specifically for this spot in 1965. Marshall Fredericks studied under Carl Milles here at Cranbrook, and also sculpted The Spirit of Detroit on Woodward Avenue at the Civic Center and the work in the center of Shain Park in Birmingham.

According to the legend, Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, was abducted by Hades, god of the underworld. Demeter eventually persuaded Hades to let Persephone return to earth, but before doing so, Hades tricked her into eating a pomegranate, the food of the dead, forcing her to remain in the underworld for half of each year. When she left the earth, the flowers withered and died and when she returned, they blossomed.

Location: The brow of a hill overlooking the Meeting House

This altar was dedicated in 1954 as a symbol of man’sneed for atonement with God and with other human beings.

The event marked the 50th Anniversary of a Sunday school that was started on this spot by George Booth’s father, Henry Wood Booth, just four months after the property was purchased.

Directly across Lone Pine Road from the altar is Christ Church Cranbrook. Erected in 1927, this beautiful structure was given by the Booths as a gift to the community.

Venue: Cranbrook House & Gardens

Location: East of Kingswood Lake

This secluded garden was converted by the Booths from a Rock Garden to a Japanese Garden in 1915. Although not originally painted red, the bridge was in place at least a year prior. Today, with the support of outside funding, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research is working to rehabilitate and revitalize the Japanese Garden.

Location: North of the Japanese Garden

George Booth, Designer
Marcus Burrowes, Architect
Pewabic Pottery, Tiles
1916

Designed by George Gough Booth in collaboration with architect Marcus Burrowes, Rainbow Fountain was constructed in 1916, and soon became a favorite spot for Booth family picnics, outings and other activities. The fountain gained its name upon its first use, when the rays of the setting sun caught the spray of the water and enveloped the entire structure in a radiant rainbow.

Incorporated into the boundary wall on the west side of Cranbrook Road, the masonry structure was accented by carved limestone, Pewabic tiles (laid out by Merry Chase Perry Stratton, co-founder of Pewabic Pottery), and a reflecting pool that was added a few years after the original structure was completed. Pairs of corbels, benches, and urns all carved of limestone, completed the decorative elements.

Cranbrook’s first greenhouse was attached to Cranbrook House in 1908. In 1910, a new greenhouse was designed by Marcus Burrowes and built on the current site. It was destroyed by a fire in 1920, and wasn’t replaced until 1950. Renovations were done by Cranbrook House and Gardens Auxiliary in 2008. In 2013, it was designated as a Conservatory Greenhouse.

The Conservatory Greenhouse is operated by Cranbrook House and Gardens Auxiliary volunteers for the purpose of raising plants for Cranbrook Gardens and for public sale. Plant sales are generally held in the spring of every year and have become extremely popular events in the community, as well as excellent sources of funds for garden maintenance and improvement.