Feeling stuck at home and wanting to get outside for something interesting to do? For a truly unique and fun activity, head over to the Topiary Park at East Town Street and Washington Avenue, in the Discovery District in downtown Columbus, OH. Topiary Park is a 9-plus acre garden park that hosts a one-of-a-kind display of topiary art. Topiary is a horticultural art form of shaping and trimming trees and shrubs into ornamental shapes. The word topiary is derived from the Latin word topiarius, which refers to an ornamental landscape gardener. Topiaries are often formed in geometric shapes but sometimes are formed in fanciful shapes.

It is the ultimate in fanciful, that the living sculptures of Topiary Park depict. The brainchild of Columbus artist James T. Mason. Mason’s spouse Elaine asked him to build a topiary garden in their backyard. Going way beyond the request, Mason came up with an idea in 1989 to renovate the Old Deaf School Park with a depiction of the classic 1884 pointillist painting “Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte” by post-impressionist artist Georges Seurat (remember the painting from art class?). Elaine was the original topiarist on the project and shaped the plants over the bronze frames that James designed. 

The city park came to be due to the existence of a school for the deaf that was built in 1829. By the mid-20th century, the school residents had outgrown the size of the school. Unable to expand because it had been surrounded by the growth of Columbus, the school relocated in 1953 to a larger site. The school buildings were left to the city and remained unused for decades but the school grounds were turned into a city park and named the Old Deaf School Park. With the creation of the topiary garden, the park has become affectionately known as Topiary Park (or Topiary Garden Park), though it is still officially Old Deaf School Park. 

The Topiary Park was officially dedicated in 1992 as part of the AmeriFlora Convention held in Columbus that year as part of the 500th anniversary observance of Christopher Columbus’ arrival to the Americas.  Today, the Park is owned and maintained by the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department. The topiary sculptures depict larger-than-life figures of the animals, boats, water, landscape, and people of Seurat’s painting. In all, there are fifty-eight people, eight boats, three dogs, a monkey, and a cat drawn from the painting and depicted in the topiary sculptures. The largest figure is twelve feet tall. The Park even includes installed hills and a pond to simulate the River Seine from the painting. When visiting the Park, make sure you go to the point marked “As He Saw It,” which represents the view that Georges Seurat depicted in his painting. With these incredible sculptures, the Topiary Park is the only such park anywhere in the world. The main entrance to the Park is the gatehouse, located at the Park’s southeast corner. Adjacent to the Park is the main branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. Inside the library, visitors can find an information desk, restrooms, and a gift shop.

Topiary Park is open daily from dawn to dusk, with free admission. Any time of year is fun to visit, though April through November is the best time, as the plants are in their best condition. The Park features a walking trail, picnic tables and benches, a pond stocked with fish, shade trees, flowerbeds, and a place for outdoor concerts.  To visit the topiary sculptures, take I-71 and exit at East Town Street. The Topiary Garden at Old Deaf School Park is located one block west of I-71 and four blocks south of East Broad Street. Come to the Topiary Park to enjoy both a visually stimulating and peaceful walk in the park!

Whetstone Park of Roses is another great outdoor activity.

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