Bush's Pasture Park, Botanical garden and historical park in Salem, US
Bush's Pasture Park is a 90-acre botanical garden in Salem featuring extensive walking trails, tennis courts, and natural oak groves alongside cherry and apple orchards. The estate includes the historic Bush House and an art center with multiple exhibition spaces.
Asahel Bush, founder of the Oregon Statesman and later of the Ladd and Bush Bank, built the Italianate Victorian house and laid out the park in 1877–1878. In 1882 he added a conservatory for his daughters, said to be the first greenhouse west of the Mississippi River. The house joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and has been open to the public since 1953.
The estate's former farm-equipment barn now houses the Bush Barn Art Center, run by the Salem Art Association. Its A.N. Bush Gallery shows regional, national and international artists, the smaller Focus Gallery is reserved for local artists, and a crafts gallery sells consigned works; admission is free. The association also organizes the Salem Art Fair and Festival in the park on the third weekend of July.
The park is open daily from 5:00 am to 9:00 pm. Bush House Museum guided tours run Wednesday through Sunday with no admission fee. The Bush Barn Art Center galleries are also free to enter. Willamette University's McCulloch and Spec Keene stadiums sit inside the park, so expect event-day crowds.
The 1882 conservatory was added by Asahel Bush for his daughters and is described as the first greenhouse west of the Mississippi River. It is now planted with period plants rather than rare botanical collections. The structure stands beside the 1877–1878 Italianate house, which has been open to the public since 1953.
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