October 08, 2017
Source/Longwood Gardens
Rendering of Main Garden Fountain at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
For the second straight year, Longwood Gardens shattered an attendance record as more than 1.5 million visitors turned out to see the dazzling Main Garden Fountain at the longstanding destination in Kennett Square.
The most frequented public garden in the United States notched 1,530,237 visitors in fiscal year 2017, good for a 15.7 percent increase over last year's record.
“We are thrilled to achieve this record attendance,” Paul B. Redman, Longwood Gardens president and CEO, said in a statement. “Yet we are ever mindful of the role we play in our community and in our world beyond the numbers – providing a place of beauty, a place of learning, and a place of legacy and stewardship. Our investment in the preservation of our historic Main Fountain Garden and our free virtual field trips offered to schools across the nation are just two examples of the diverse work we do to fulfill our mission."
Longwood Gardens debuted the $90 million revitalization of the Main Garden Fountain at the end of May, directly drawing 609,000 guests in the months that followed.
The light performances, which drew rave reviews from publications throughout the region, have been extended through Halloween.
