| Abstract: |
The Cleveland Cultural Garden Federation was founded in 1925 by Leo Weidenthal as the Civic Progress League. In 1926 the name
was changed to the Cleveland Cultural Garden League, and in 1952 to the Cleveland Cultural Garden Federation. Weidenthal conceived
the idea of a series of gardens, each having a central theme concerning the history of a single nationality group in Cleveland,
Ohio. The City of Cleveland and the Work Projects Administration did much of the work on the earlier gardens after a 1927
ordinance set aside areas of Rockefeller Park next to the Shakespeare Garden for the development of similar gardens with ethnic
themes. The collection consists of articles of incorporation, constitutions, minutes, correspondence, histories, speeches,
financial records, proclamations, publications, clippings, scrapbooks, and miscellaneous material including membership lists,
resolutions, press releases, certificates, programs, and invitations. The minutes and correspondence contain information on
the role of the Work Projects Administration in helping to build the gardens.
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