The New Orleans Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located in City Park, New Orleans, Louisiana. The first classical garden in New Orleans, it was funded by the Works Progress Administration. History and development 1930s: Planning and construction The New Orleans Botanical Garden City Park, (Originally known as The Rose Garden), was unveiled in 1936, as a part of the massive restructuring and development project of City Park that took place in the 1930s. Although development plans for the new City Park were originally chosen in 1930, it was not until the mid-1930s that funding came from the Works Progress Administration, which administered the $12 million project that employed nearly 20,000 workers in New Orleans City Park. Design and construction was overseen by three innovators: Architect Richard Koch, Landscape Architect William Wierdorn, and Sculptor Enrique Alférez. Together, the three artists designed the Gardens in the style of the widely popular "art-deco" era of the 1930s, constructing the clearly defined and elaborate grounds that would come to be New Orleans' first public classical garden. Using a combination of natural landscape, historic architecture, and surreal artwork, the garden was intended to be a place where families from all around New Orleans could enjoy the City Park. Mid-20th Century: Neglect and decay With the end of the economic stagnation of the 1930s, and the "war boom" of the 1940s, the WPA program ended and federal funding dried up, leaving City Park and the Botanical Garden to largely fend for itself. The period from the 1940s to the early 1980s saw a decline in the quality and cleanliness of the garden. Upkeep was lagging, vandalism was common, and attendance was down; the park had lost the allure that had made it one of the most popular public places in New Orleans. 1980s: Reconstruction With the founding of the Friends of City Park, the 1980s brought a new push to improve, renovate, and rebuild the historic Rose Garden. Paul Soniat was hired as the Garden's first Director in 1982, and the Garden's name became The New Orleans Botanical garden. The garden was fenced, the original Enrique Alferez sculptures were cleaned and refurbished, and the renovation began. The restoration of the Garden followed a plan developed by Landscape Architect,Neil Odenwald from Louisiana State University. This original Odenwald plan stabilized the garden and directed the installation of new rose beds, trees and shrubs, and many areas of