Forestiere Underground Gardens
Forestiere Underground Gardens located at 5021 W. Shaw Avenue in Fresno, California are an unusual manmade creation built by Baldasare Forestiere, an immigrant from Sicily, over a period of 40 years from 1906 to until his death in 1946. The gardens, while subterranean, do have many skylights and catchbasins for water. There is a wide variety of hybrids and grafted trees, and the underground temperature helps prevent against frost. It is still operated by members of the Forestiere family and can be considered a spectacular though unconventional example of vernacular architecture.
For a fictionalized account of Forestiere and his lonely obsession, see the short story "The Underground Gardens" by T. Coraghessan Boyle, published in The New Yorker, (May 25, 1998).
External links
- Forestiere Underground Gardens
- http://www.roadtripamerica.com/places/forest.htm
- http://forestiere.tribe.net/
- Maps and aerial photos for Coordinates:
- Maps from WikiMapia, Google Maps, Live Search Maps, Yahoo! Maps, or MapQuest
- Topographic maps from TopoZone or TerraServer-USA
See also
- Hermit House, a unique residence located in Herzliya, Israel with intricate mosaics entirely constructed by one man over thirty years.
- Nitt Witt Ridge a house in Cambria, California constructed in a similar style.
- Ferdinand Cheval, a french postman who constructed an "ideal palace" out of rocks in his spare time.
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