Three historic green spaces complement the Frick’s distinguished collection and unique interiors. Visitors are invited to explore one oasis at the heart of the museum, while two viewing gardens may be enjoyed from the street and several interior vantage points. Together, these serene cultivated spaces serve as natural extensions of the visual splendor of our buildings and works of art.
Fifth Avenue Garden | Garden Court | 70th Street Garden
Fifth Avenue Garden
The Fifth Avenue Garden is set back against the façade of The Frick Collection facing Central Park. The grand lawn is embellished with limestone steps, neoclassical urns, and—its signature feature—three magnolia trees, some of the largest in the New York area.
Dating back to 1914, the Fifth Avenue Garden is original to the Frick mansion. During the residence’s 1935 expansion and conversion into a museum, the garden was updated by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., son of the famous planner of Central Park. The iconic magnolia trees—two saucer magnolias and one star magnolia—were added in 1939. One of the best views of the garden is from within the museum’s Portico Gallery, opened in 2011.
The Frick’s current renovation project restores the Indiana limestone façade that serves as the garden’s backdrop, as well as adding new vistas from the mansion’s second floor, which will be accessible to the public for the first time.
Virtual Tour MAGNOLIAS TIME-LAPSE MAGNOLIAS: SPRING 2022
Spring Garden Party
The museum’s Fellows and Young Fellows enjoy rare access to the Fifth Avenue Garden at the annual Spring Garden Party, a festive evening celebrating the Frick’s iconic green spaces.
Garden Court
The Garden Court, located at the heart of the Frick’s main floor, is beloved as a year-round oasis in New York City. Featuring stately columns, a central fountain, and a laylight ceiling, the space welcomes visitors to enjoy a respite in the galleries, with select sculptures displayed among the greenery.
Replacing the open carriage court of the original Frick residence, the Garden Court was designed in the 1930s by architect John Russell Pope, who was responsible for the conversion of the Frick mansion into a museum. The court’s Ionic columns and symmetrical planting beds were echoed in Pope’s later designs for the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Our current renovation replaces the Garden Court’s aged exterior skylights and restores the original curved laylight ceiling, which now incorporates energy-efficient LED lighting. Additionally, the limestone interior and fountain have been cleaned and repaired, and the court is being replanted with the atmospheric mix of palms and annuals for which it is known.
70th Street Garden
The 70th Street Garden is an elevated viewing garden with a central reflecting pool set within a small lawn, pea-gravel paths, and trees of different species that provide dappled shade. The space is framed by north and east walls featuring carved panels from the Frick mansion’s original porte-cochère, while the west façade is modeled after the Grand Trianon at the Palace of Versailles.
The garden was created in 1977, a rare public commission (and one of the last) by British landscape architect Russell Page, who conceived the design to create a sense of depth. After the garden was completed, Page continued to develop the space over the years and provided detailed maintenance notes that are still in use today.
As part of our renovation—and in collaboration with Lynden B. Miller, Beyer Blinder Belle, and MPFP—the Frick is in the final stages of reinstalling the 70th Street Garden, following its removal in winter 2020–21 to create new public spaces beneath the garden. Improvements to waterproofing and structural support have been carried out, and the reinstalled garden features conserved stonework, reinforced pathways, and water-efficient irrigation systems. The renovation offers the public new vistas from which to enjoy the tranquil scene, including a new education room on the ground level and an upper lobby, café, and shop on the second floor.
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Maeve Turner Appointed Head of Gardens and Horticulture (August 2024)