History

Cooley Gardens was established in 1938 with the gift of the land to the City of Lansing solely as a public park from Eugene F. Cooley, an important Lansing industrialist. The initial design for the gardens was created by Edward H. Laird of Birmingham, Michigan, a noted landscape architect. Construction was started in 1940 and by 1942 the major work was completed. The gardens were dedicated to "the horticultural education and pleasure of garden lovers". Cooley Gardens became a destination and source of enjoyment for both Lansing area residents and out-of-town visitors.

For over two decades, Cooley Gardens was a much-loved and cared-for public park, but time and changing patterns of land use were not kind to the gardens. By the mid-1960's the neighborhood of once grand residences surrounding the park had deteriorated, while the construction of I-496 cut the gardens off from the downtown business district. The perceived lack of interest in purely ornamental gardens on the part of the Lansing area residents seemed to doom Cooley Gardens as the city explored using the park land for other purposes.

But starting  in the mid-1980's, with the help of the Friends of Cooley Gardens, head gardener Eric Stinson,  and the City of Lansing, the gardens have undergone a dramatic transformation. Today, the gardens are well-maintained and filled with beautiful combinations of flowers and plants. David Tarrant,  host of the weekly TV show "The Canadian Gardener" , called Cooley Gardens "up there in the realm of great gardens of America."

Visit the gardens and see for yourself. The gardens are an oasis in the heart of Michigan's  capital city.