Florida's Missing Masterpiece
It was a scenario ripped right off the silver screen. A work of art hidden in a basement to avoid the bombing in Europe during WW2 is later shipped out of the country to avoid Russian capture. It ends up a Florida tourist attraction. The Great Masterpiece found a semi-permanent home in Lake Wales after being brought from Rockefeller Center in 1950. European artists painfully crafted the mosaic of Da Vinci's "Last Supper" over a two-year period. 300,000 pieces in over 10,000 color hues came together to form the whole. Lush vegetation surrounded the mosaic's housing, which was little more than a large outdoor wall with a pull curtain. Several rows of benches under palm trees provided a place for the devoted to reflect and the curious to gaze.
Promising visitors a different experience, The Great Masterpiece carved out a niche on the heavily tourist traveled Orange Blossom Trail. Coupled with Cypress Gardens and The Singing Tower, the attractions were coined “The Big Three” of central Florida. Accompanying the great work of art at its early inception was a museum with small-scale replicas of Leonardo Da Vinci's many inventions. There was a court of flags area and a small train named the Phantom Express which gave rides through "a virgin jungle." Of course, there was also the obligatory alligator pool. The attraction was active when it came to putting on a fresh face for the public. In the 60s the park expanded to include gift shop glass blowers. Fort Clinch, "a real Indian log fort reconstructed," was also added. When the early 70s rolled around, the park promoted itself as having eight major attractions in one tropical setting. Later additions had included Monkey Island, a deer feeding park and sky ride over the 38-acre landscape. During this period of expansion, The Great Masterpiece was renamed Masterpiece Gardens.
Although Masterpiece Gardens was a mere 30 minutes from Disney, the mouse would show no mercy. Disney's all-inclusive park would once again suck visitors into its magic and blind them from what else Florida had to offer. The allure of art and nature that Masterpiece Gardens held was dealt a crippling blow by Walt's fantasyland. Ken Curtis is one person who is all too familiar with Disney strategies. His family owned Masterpiece Gardens. Growing up and working on the attraction he witnessed first hand the white glove crunch of Mickey. "Disney changed the whole thing. They've done a marvelous job of marketing. Disney is interested in only one thing - Disney. The smaller attractions couldn't compete." In 1981, nearly 30 years after opening, Masterpiece Gardens met its maker. The rides went to auction. The property was sold to a religious group that now uses it for retreats. The Great Masterpiece mosaic found itself on the way to a South Carolina religious college.
There is an eerie feeling walking the paths and witnessing what is left to this once proud sanctuary. The jungle trail is almost impassable, as its pink bridge has become dilapidated. On the other side of it, overgrown plants and vines have grown up through and coiled themselves around empty, rusted animal cages. Other remnants of what was appear in various forms - an old sign, the weathered greens of a mini golf course, a dry gator pool and a large empty white wall, upon which, so many once looked in awe.
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Masterpiece Gardens |
