Building Busch Gardens...

A four-acre parcel abutting and west of the house property was acquired in May of 1904. It was a steep, badly eroded, ravine that swept up to encompass a hill jutting south towards Madeline drive. Mr. Busch favored a rustic bridge to connect the knoll to the rear of the house property but was convinced by the newly hired gardener, Robert Gordon Fraser, that sufficient fill could be had by leveling the top of the knoll to create a gentle, sweeping access. This plan was adopted and the precipitous highs and lows of the eroded gullies were filled and then sculpted horizontally into gently, rolling terraces.