If you have a chance to visit the beautiful isle of Kauai be sure to fit in a tour of Allerton Garden.
It is a must see!
It is a must see!
*Here's just a little history on the two mermaids
that stand in the garden...
The owners Robert and John Gregg Allerton visited the World’s Fair in 1939 where they noticed two statues of mermaids standing
on each side of the door to a restaurant in the Italian pavilion.
These statures were originally indirect lighting fixtures
in the luxury steamship liner Columbus,
sculpted by L. Andreotti in 1931.
sculpted by L. Andreotti in 1931.
Robert Allerton was so intrigued with the statues that he visited the Italian consul in New York where he asked to have duplicates made in bronze. Permission was granted and Robert made a down payment. Even though WW Two intervened, the statues did arrive in the Port of Baltimore during the middle of the war!
For a while, the Allertons had the statues at their Illinois estate.
For a while, the Allertons had the statues at their Illinois estate.
They then decided to ship them to Kauai and designed a water feature for the statues.
The mermaids differ from one another in some details.
The eastern one has both arms raised
to support the vase on her head,
to support the vase on her head,
while the one on the west
(with her back to the Lawai stream)
has her right arm akimbo.
The watercourse between the two mermaids was inspired by one at the Casino Garden,
located in the Villa Farnese in Caprarola, Italy.
*
"I would like to say mahalo to Wendy Rausch,
for taking time to send me this information."
This is Wendy on the job!
For more information ~ http://www.ntbg.org/gardens/allerton.php