Cheekwood, Coffee, and Art History

Cheekwood Property and Gardens

Nashville, Tennessee

When artwork, gardening, and a love of a very good cup of espresso fall in line, good issues occur. Within the early twentieth century, Individuals started their love affair with espresso. President Teddy Roosevelt is credited with coining the phrase that espresso was “Good to the final drop” and thus coined some of the memorable advertising taglines. The Cheek household made their fortune on that espresso commerce. Leslie Cheek had labored in his father’s grocery distribution firm, ultimately taking it over and made a sequence of sensible investments in household espresso firms together with Maxwell Home espresso, owned by his cousin, Joel Cheek. That advertising tagline was extremely efficient.

Leslie Cheek was quickly rich sufficient to buy 100 acres and construct his dream home. He and his spouse Mabel traveled to England in 1929 and fell in love with the grand English nation property type houses they noticed. They needed to duplicate that grand really feel again house in Nashville. Their new property home was accomplished in 1932. In naming the property, as all magnificent houses should have a grand identify as effectively, they selected Cheekwood, combining his final identify and her serendipitous maiden identify. 

Leslie started a horticultural assortment of boxwoods – figuring out it might probably take years for them to develop and turn into established sufficient to be as spectacular as these they noticed in England. A lot of his unique boxwoods are nonetheless thriving within the backyard at the moment. The couple loved internet hosting extravagant events and filling the house with artwork. Sadly, Leslie was not capable of get pleasure from his dream house for lengthy, as he died in 1935 only a few years after the home was accomplished.

Mabel lived there as a widow till 1944 along with her two kids, Leslie, Jr. and Huldah. She ultimately turned the home over to their daughter Huldah whereas her son Leslie selected to take a distinct path as an artwork historian. Each kids had been launched to the world of artwork and theater by their mom, visiting artwork museums and accompanying her on artwork gathering journeys throughout the globe. Leslie grew to become an teacher in superb arts on the Faculty of William and Mary and ultimately the director of the Baltimore Museum of Artwork. Huldah was well-known for her appreciation of artwork and nature – an ideal individual to take over the property. Each she and her husband have been closely concerned within the native artwork neighborhood.  When the native Nashville Museum of Artwork disbanded in 1957, they supplied to make Cheekwood a public backyard and switch the home right into a superb artwork heart to assist fill the void and share the sweetness for all to get pleasure from

In the present day, you possibly can admire Cheekwood’s inside and artwork assortment, go to the 55 acre botanical backyard, wander within the cool shade of magnificent bushes and take heed to the sound of flowing water from its many water options together with the Swan Garden fountain, reflecting pool, Titan’s Cup, and man-made creeks and ponds. You’ll additionally discover a Japanese Tea Home backyard, an herb backyard and peaceable walks underneath arbors overflowing with colourful flowers. The numerous rooms of the backyard have completely different makes use of, and are used for poetry readings, rose reveals, summer time teas, and musical performances, amongst many others. The park is effectively beloved and effectively used! 

Take time throughout your cruise or land tour starting or ending in Nashville and spend a day exploring the fantastic thing about this magnificent backyard.

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