Visiting the Benjamin Rush Garden

The Rush Garden will be renovated by summer 2024. Visit it then or perhaps during the nation's 250th birthday in 2026.

Studio Bryan Hanes and Holzman Iron Studio

 

Location

The Benjamin Rush Garden is located at the corner of 3rd and Walnut Streets.

Hours and Fees

The garden is currently closed for a rehabilitation project.

Ticketing

No tickets are required to visit the garden.

Exhibits

A restful green oasis on the site of Benjamin Rush’s home and next to Bishop William White's, this classic 18th century style garden features symmetrical planting beds bordered by low boxwood hedges. In summer, leafy green shrubs and groundcovers soften the brick walls.

REHABILITATION PROJECT

This space will be the home of the Bicentennial Bell in the future. Independence Historical Trust and Independence National Historical Park are partnering to renovate this space to showcase this bell gifted to the United States from Great Britain in 1976. The new setting will feature the Bicentennial Bell surrounded by pathways, lights, and planting beds. The renovated garden will be fully accessible via a ramp connecting the upper garden to the lower garden.

Visitors will be able to stroll among the types of flowers and plants that played a role in the scientific network of the 1700s. Locals such as Benjamin Franklin and William Bartram exchanged seeds with their counterparts in England in the pursuit of knowledge.

The goal is to have the renovated garden open to the public in summer 2024.

Accessibility

When open, the Benjamin Rush Garden is wheelchair accessible through the Walnut Street gate on the upper path only. Learn more about the accessibility services offered throughout the park on our website.

More to Explore Nearby

Merchants’ Exchange Building
Portrait Gallery in the Second Bank