What was the year that the Flower Show entry way had an allée of Acacia trees in full bloom?
Answer
Acacias were a regular feature of the Philadelphia shows in the 1920s-1930s when the Joseph E. Widener Acacia collection was routinely exhibited. The last year that that famous collection appeared at the Philadelphia Flower Show was 1940.
Acacias appeared in 1963, when the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Stone of Dedham, MA was on exhibit. This large private collection appeared again in the 1968 Flower Show. (See the article from the 1968 Philadelphia Flower Show program). That was a big year for the Philadelphia Flower Show because it was the first year that the Show was exhibited in the Civic Center's new exhibition hall. In 1966-67, the show was held in the basement of the Civic Center as the exhibition hall was still under construction.
The next time and, as far as I can tell, the last time the Stone acacias were exhibited was in 1972.
See the floorplan for that year.
Is this the show you were thinking of?
---- Janet Evans