The Lees' Oriental Rock GardenLouie Foo Lee (1913 - 2006)
Extant
4015 East McDonald Drive, Phoenix, Arizona, 85018, United States
1958 to 2006
Currently closed for tours. Visitors may view the rock garden at 4015 E. McDonald Dr. but are advised to respect the privacy of the residents and view the site from the outside of the home.
About the Artist/Site
Louis Foo Lee emigrated from China in the 1920s and eventually found his way to Phoenix, Arizona, where he bought a house alongside the Camelback Mountains. He began creating his sculpture garden in 1958. The rock garden started as an ordinary wall around his house, but once the foundation was complete Lee developed a growing passion for installing increasingly more elaborate decorations.
The garden has no lawn, but rather consists of numerous arches built from adobe brick and tailored to match Lee’s stature. Embedded in the arches are rocks and plants as well as an assemblage of found objects including shells, bottles, trophies, toys, Christmas lights, and a copious number of Buddha statues, foo dogs, elephants, Samurai warriors, and other Asian themed bric-a-brac that Lee collected over the years. Neighbors soon became fascinated by Lee’s home and would leave him donations at his door in the hopes that their gifts of objects might find a place in Lee’s wonderland.
Lee continued his life long work in progress up until his last years, and passed away in 2006 at the age of 92. His son Errol Lee has promised admirers that the rock garden will be preserved and maintained for as long as the family owns the property. Visitors may view the rock garden at 4015 E. McDonald Dr., but are advised to respect the privacy of the residents and view the site from the outside of the home.
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Map & Site Information
4015 East McDonald Drive
Phoenix, Arizona, 85018
us
Latitude/Longitude: 33.5237411 / -111.9942844
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