National Register of Historic Places

McKee Jungle Gardens

Vero Beach, Indian River County, Florida
Listed
January 7, 1998
Type
Site
Period
Listed
Ref No.
97001636

About this property

The McKee Botanical Garden with an area of 18 acres (7.3 hectares) is a non-profit, subtropical botanical garden in Vero Beach, Florida. It is located at 350 U.S. Highway 1, Vero Beach, Florida. The garden was founded in 1929, when Waldo E. Sexton and Arthur G. McKee, a millionaire engineer, purchased an 80-acre (32 ha) tropical hammock along the Indian River. Famous plant explorer Dr. David Fairchild was consulted and Tropical landscape architect William Lyman Phillips was hired to design its streams, ponds, and trails. Its indigenous vegetation was augmented with ornamental plants and seeds from around the world. In 1932, they proceeded to open the garden, then known as McKee Jungle Gardens, as a tourist attraction. Although the Garden was successful for several decades, it shut down in 1976, and most of its land was sold for development. The site remained vacant for twenty years until the Indian River Land Trust purchased it in 1995. The current Garden was formally dedicated in 2001. It is now a Florida landmark and on January 7, 1998, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places under its former name of McKee Jungle Gardens. Currently, there are several buildings on the garden including the office, gift shop, education center and a restaurant. Indian River County listings at National Register of Historic Places

Location

350 US 1
Vero Beach, Indian River County, Florida
27.60917, -80.38124

Categories

ENTERTAINMENT/RECREATIONCOMMERCELANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Old Palmetto Hotel
Industrial
2.1 mi
Vero Beach Diesel Power Plant
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2.2 mi
Royal Park Arcade
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2.3 mi
Gregory, Judge Henry F., House
Industrial
2.3 mi
Maher Building
Industrial
2.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was McKee Jungle Gardens listed on the National Register?

McKee Jungle Gardens was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 7, 1998.

What type of historic resource is McKee Jungle Gardens?

McKee Jungle Gardens is classified as a site in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for McKee Jungle Gardens?

The period of significance for McKee Jungle Gardens is recorded as the listed era.

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