Garvan Woodland Gardens, University of Arkansas to Break Ground on Chapel

WHAT:  Garvan Woodland Gardens, the University of Arkansas’ botanical gardens located on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, will break ground for the 160-seat Anthony Chapel, a new architectural landmark for the state.

WHEN:  Thursday, September 9, 2004 at 11:00 a.m.

WHERE: Garvan Woodland Gardens is located at 550 Arkridge Road, just off Carpenter Dam Road (Highway 128), in Hot Springs.

From Interstate 30:  Take the Malvern/Hot Springs exit — exit 98A — and travel north on Highway 270 west.  Turn left on the Martin Luther King Expressway and take the Carpenter Dam Road/Highway 128 exit (# 7) and travel approximately 4 ½ miles to Arkridge Road and turn right.  Travel a mile and a tenth (1.1miles) and enter the Gardens through the stone entrance gates.  Drive to the top of the hill.  The groundbreaking site is located to the north and east of the main parking lot. 

From Highway 7:  Take Highway 290 for approximately seven (7) miles to Carpenter Dam Road/Highway 128 and turn left.  The first street to the left is Arkridge Road.  Follow it one mile and a tenth (1.1 miles) to the entrance of the Gardens.  At the top of the hill, parking is on the left.  The groundbreaking site is located north and east of the parking lot.

PHOTO AND INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES:  Confirmed participants in the groundbreaking ceremony include Dr. David Gearhart, vice chancellor of University Advancement; Jeff Shannon, dean of the School of Architecture, major chapel donors — John Ed & Isabel Anthony, Bob & Sunny Evans, Leon & Betty Millsap, and Dick & Carol Pratt; David Davies, executive director of Garvan Woodland Gardens; Maurice Jennings and David McKee, architects for the Anthony Chapel project.  Participants will be available for photos and interviews following the ceremony.

IMPORTANT FACTS:  Garvan Woodland Gardens is a department of the University of Arkansas School of Architecture.  The 210-acre forested peninsula, located on 4 miles of Lake Hamilton shoreline, was donated to the UA Department of Landscape Architecture by Verna C. Garvan.  The Gardens feature a pavilion designed by internationally acclaimed architects E. Fay Jones and Maurice Jennings, a nationally ranked Japanese garden, an amphitheater, elaborate water features, and other architectural structures in a natural woodland setting accented by thousands of native and exotic plant and animal species.