Petersen Rock Garden
About this property
Petersen Rock Garden, formerly Petersen's Rock Garden and also known as the Petersen Rock Gardens, is a rock garden and museum on 4 acres (1.6 ha), located between the cities of Bend and Redmond in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. Rasmus Petersen, a Danish immigrant who settled in Central Oregon in the early 1900s, began constructing the garden in 1935 using rocks he found within an 85-mile (137 km) radius of his family home. Petersen constructed detailed miniature castles, churches and other small buildings and monuments from a variety of rock types. He incorporated other design elements such as bridges, water features, and natural landscaping. Petersen worked on the garden until his death in 1952; the garden has remained in his family's care since then. The garden, considered a roadside attraction with novelty architecture, includes roaming peafowl and a museum with a gift shop that sells rocks. In 2011, Petersen Rock Garden was named one of Oregon's Most Endangered Places by the Historic Preservation League of Oregon (now known as Restore Oregon). In 2012, accidental damage to one of the stone bridges by a contractor catalyzed an effort to document the garden using laser scanning and other technologies. The garden was closed temporarily in 2013 to undergo repair and review for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Petersen has been praised for his creative work, and the garden has received a positive reception for its uniqueness and local significance. Listing on the National Register was achieved on October 30, 2013. The garden closed indefinitely in 2016 because of high repair costs. In June 2022, Petersen was listed for sale.
Location
Categories
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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Questions about this property
When was Petersen Rock Garden listed on the National Register?
Petersen Rock Garden was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 30, 2013.
What type of historic resource is Petersen Rock Garden?
Petersen Rock Garden is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Petersen Rock Garden?
The period of significance for Petersen Rock Garden is recorded as the listed era.
Can I research the history near Petersen Rock Garden?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Petersen Rock Garden will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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