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Tucson, Arizona: Garden of Gethsemane

Artist Felix Lucero sculpted it to thank God for sparing him in World War I. He lived under a nearby bridge.

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Jesus crucified below the local power grid.

Garden of Gethsemane

The Garden of Gethsemane is a tiny park in downtown Tucson that features life-size statues of the Last Supper, Mary and Joseph, Jesus on the Cross, and the body of Christ in his tomb, plus a wonky miniature depiction of the Judgment before Pontius Pilate. The statues are made out of concrete coated with plaster and are the work of self-taught artist Felix Lucero, who, when wounded on a French battlefield in World War I, swore to God he'd devote his life to religious sculpture if he survived. He didn't have any training in sculpture, but that doesn't seem to have deterred him. He moved to Tucson in 1938, lived in a cardboard and plywood shack under the Congress St. bridge, and began making sculptures out of riverbed sand. When those washed away, he graduated to concrete. He died in 1951, but the statues have been maintained over the years by the Knights of Columbus and have survived floods, vandalism, and relocation.

[Dean Jeffrey, 03/23/2003]

Garden of Gethsemane

Felix Lucero Park

Address:
602 W. Congress St., Tucson, AZ
Directions:
I-10 exit 258. West on Congress St. one block. On the western bank of the Santa Cruz riverbed, at the corner of Congress St. and Bonita Ave in a gated park.
Phone:
520-791-4873
Admission:
Free
RA Rates:
Worth a Detour
Save to My Sights

Nearby Offbeat Places

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Wishing Shrine of El TiraditoWishing Shrine of El Tiradito, Tucson, AZ - < 1 mi.
Toby the Red GriffinToby the Red Griffin, Tucson, AZ - < 1 mi.
In the region:
Big Ed - Muffler Man, Tucson, AZ - 6 mi.

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