Garden of Gethsemane

Really cool place! I've never seen anything like it. Lovely to reflect on the life of Jesus here and see amazing sculpture art.

Scratched, time-worn religious sculptures stand within the shade of the Congress Street Bridge, forming a lovely, peaceful sculpture garden. Quite miraculously, they've survived decades of floods, droughts, and vandalism.They exist because during World War I, a man named Felix Lucero lay seriously injured on a battlefield in France. Wounded and in agony, he proposed a deal with God: If he survived, he'd use his natural skills as a sculptor to create religious statues.After returning home from the war, Lucero set about making good on his word. In the late 1930s, he lived in Tucson, Arizona, in a shack beneath a bridge. From there, he began creating beautiful works of art.While in Tucson, Lucero spent years crafting detailed statues of religious figures out of sand and debris from the Santa Cruz River, which he then slathered in a protective coat of plaster. He created iconic Biblical scenes, including the Last Supper, Joseph and Mary, and Jesus on the crucifix.Though Lucero died in 1951, his work is still standing--which is amazing, considering the statues weren't built from lasting materials and have faced frequent vandalism over the years. Many are damaged, but they still stand tall. Dedicated locals have worked to salvage and repair the sculptures after each vandalism incident, and in the 1980s moved them to form this sculpture garden near the very bridge Lucero once lived beneath.

A hidden site in Tucson ... right off Congress that is a short visit and wheelchair accessible. There is a little plaque when you enter giving you a bit of history on the sculptor/ artist.

The Garden of Gethsemane is a small hidden sculpture garden that is located west of Downtown Tucson and is open to the public. This garden has a small parking lot (free parking). The beautiful sculptures that are here include the famous last supper with Jesus and his 12 disciples, Jesus on the cross, Jesus in the tomb and Joseph and Mary. These sculptures were created by artist Felix Lucero. During WWI, Felix Lucero was in France and he had made a promise to God that if he survived, he would dedicate the rest of his life to sculpting religious statues.Felix Lucero was born in Trindad, Colorado. He arrived in Tucson in 1938. In 1945, he began working on these sculptures. The statues were made of concrete, sand and debris that was found from the Santa Cruz River.Just some added history, the actual Garden of Gethsemane is located in Jerusalem. According to biblical times, Jesus came here to pray on the night of his betrayal by Judas and arrested. Felix Lucero does a beautiful job of creating events from that evening. Even if you are not a religious person, you can appreciate the attention to detail on these amazing sculptures and the idea of how it tells a story of the events that had occurred.This little sculpture garden is very peaceful and quiet. Definitely a good place to take a moment and reflect on things, find your zen, etc. Also a great place to pray if the mood strikes you.

My grandmother Delores Lucero was married to Felix Lucero during the last years of his life. She helped him with his art. After his death she was the one that personally cared for the garden and statues.I still remember helping my grandmother maintain the area before the City of Tucson made it a park.I truly appreciate what the city has done to improve the area and keep it safe.I don't live in Tucson now but whenever I visit I go to the garden and remember my grandmother.Thanks

Riding my bike I stumbled upon this garden for the fist time last year, but I've got to give credit where credit is due- Pokémon Go led me back to this spot (It's a gym, folks!). After marking it as a Pokémon stop on yelp...I realized that I had not contributed a review for this unique sculpture garden. The garden is tucked away off the river path on the corner of Congress and I-10, just west of the freeway. If you're out exploring the west side or cruising on the river path, it's worth making a stop to check it out. Unlike the majority of the public art in Tucson, which tends to be in the form of bright murals and rusted steel sculptures, the statues in the garden of Gethsemane are all made of concrete, sand and debris recovered from the Santa Cruz River. Famous scenes such as the Last Supper, Jesus on the cross are depicted. The sculptures date back to 1945 and have been at this location since 1982. The garden is open to the public and it's free to check it out. The garden is small but shaded. There are some areas to sit and enjoy a book, maybe bring a sketch pad or pack a little picnic.