LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville officials held a ceremony Thursday morning to officially break ground on a new Japanese Garden at Waterfront Botanical Gardens.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Mayor Greg Fischer and other leaders came together for the groundbreaking on Frankfort Avenue.
The $22 million garden will include a traditional Japanese tea house, meant to introduce the Japanese tea ceremony, one of the most prestigious and symbolic rituals in Japanese culture.
It will sit on 2 acres and will include a waterfall, lake, stream and bonsai garden. Renowned Japanese garden landscape designer Shiro Nakane is designing the garden.
"Think about the message that we are sending to the country and to the world, that you can take a landfill and turn it into one of the most beautiful places to visit in the entire country," Beshear said.
The state has allocated $1.5 million to create access roads to help keep heavy equipment off of the main driveway to the gardens during construction. That's expected to last about two years.
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