Tanger Family Bicentennial Garden

1105 Hobbs Road

Known for its massive annual plantings and bronze sculpture, this 7.5-acre garden is a popular and relaxing retreat.

A Wedding Gazebo adds an air of elegance, a man-made re-circulating stream provides texture, movement and sound, and a Sensory Garden engages visitors in an interactive landscape experience. A variety of sculpture placed throughout the garden provides artistic and historic interest, and a Paver Plaza, located at the garden's entrance, offers a way to lend your name to the garden.

The garden is open year-round from sunrise to sunset. Admission is free.

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In 1976, as part of the nation's Bicentennial celebration, Greensboro Beautiful began a project to develop a 7 1/2 acre tract of flood plain, owned by the City of Greensboro, into a public garden. Much of the property was roadbed fill dirt, and was covered with undergrowth. By October that year, it had been cleared, graded, an irrigation system installed, numerous trees, shrubs and flower beds planted, with paved walking paths installed, and it was dedicated as Bicentennial Garden. Over the next 4 years, the garden was expanded and several specialized areas were developed. Additional paths were added, as well as benches and sculpture.

For many years, the focal point of the garden was a life-size bronze sculpture entitled "The Student", which was symbolic of a typical male student who would have attended the David Caldwell Log College on the adjacent property during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The Reverend Dr. David Caldwell (1725-1824) was a Presbyterian minister, a self-trained physician, and an early educator in colonial North Carolina. At this site in 1767, he was the founder of the Log College which educated many prominent men of the day. Bicentennial Garden is part of the portion of land on which the academy, its campus, and his home once stood.

In 1995, Greensboro Beautiful commissioned a conceptual Master Plan to guide future garden enhancements. The Master Plan outlined a number of phases of development, including expanded Visitor Parking & Public Restrooms, a new Main Entrance, a Wedding Garden, a Sensory Garden and Woodland Water Feature, Stream Restoration, stone walls and raised beds, additional sculpture, an improved crosswalk on Hobbs Road and entrance to the adjacent Bog Garden, colorful plantings in the Holden Road median to draw attention to the garden, a possible Old Mill Site and development within the adjacent David Caldwell Historic Park. Greensboro Beautiful celebrated the completion of these enhancements in 1999.

In 2000, Greensboro Beautiful received a bequest for further enhancement of David Caldwell Historic Park, and for historical research, additional archaeological survey work, and for the construction of an interpretive center on the property. The Interpretive Center at David Caldwell Historic Park was dedicated on April 20, 2007, and educates visitors about David and Rachel Caldwell, the academy, David Caldwell's contributions to our state and region.

In 2006, Stanley & Doris Tanger made a significant financial commitment for ongoing support of Greensboro's public gardens, and the Greensboro Parks & Recreation Commission approved the re-naming of Bicentennial Garden to the Tanger Family Bicentennial Garden.

For more about this rich history, important Greensboro and North Carolina heritage, and ongoing research efforts, click here.

Parisian Promenade

June 2, 2013
12-5 pm

This event recreates the sights, scenes, sounds and smells of a spring afternoon in Paris - all in our own Bicentennial Garden. Sidewalk artists, live music, children's activities, family games, sidewalk cafes and more are featured - all within the colorful backdrop of the garden in bloom.

Download Artist guidelines and application

Download Food Vendor guidelines and application

Download event flyer

Weddings

For information about weddings at Bicentennial Garden, click here.