Duke Gardens is getting a $30M remodel over the next year. What that means for visitors
Duke Gardens — it’s Durham’s hottest club when the cherry blossoms start blooming. And this year, it will be a lot harder to get into.
Starting Monday, the gardens’ main entrance and parking lots are closing for at least a year, and no weddings or parties will be held during the construction.
Duke is taking that year to build a large, new welcome center that remakes the entrance to the gardens. It’s projected to cost around $30 million.
Visiting by car is now discouraged on weekdays, since all the nearby parking lots require Duke University permits.
Most outdoor areas will remain open, but everything between Anderson Street and the start of the cherry blossom path will be closed off. A temporary entrance is being created nearby.
Bill LeFevre, executive director of the gardens since 2007, said the new entrance and driveway will be “much more intuitive and safer.”
The construction is beginning ahead of the busiest month, March, when the Cherry Allée is typically in full bloom. “(The timing) is not ideal, but the alternative was to close the gardens completely, and we didn’t want to do that,” LeFevre said.
The 55-acre botanical gardens, which are free, host an estimated 600,000 visitors a year. Garden staff said they’ve outgrown the existing building and event lawn.
“The facilities are starting to show signs of strain,” marketing director Lauren Smith Hong said.
What’s being built at Duke Gardens
Duke Gardens’ first seeds were planted in 1934, and the famed terrace gardens were built five years later. Sarah P. Duke, the gardens’ namesake and Washington Duke’s daughter-in-law, paid the initial $20,000 to establish the gardens.
Smith Hong said the new welcome center will be done “hopefully right before the cherry blossoms bloom next March.”
Visitors will exit the parking lot through a breezeway under the new welcome center, which includes a cafe, gallery and nicer restrooms. Outdoor seating will line the approach toward the existing building, the Doris Duke Center, which is getting its own upgrades for smoother event-hosting.
A large concert lawn will cover one of the existing parking lots, so new overflow parking plans were designed.
“We’re really excited to have a space that matches the beauty of the gardens,” said Christina Johnson, the gardens’ director of development and major gifts.
No on-site visitor parking will be allowed during the renovations.
- How to get in: Instead of entering on Anderson Street, pedestrians can enter through a temporary gate set up at 2000 Lewis St. The garden gates on West Campus along Flowers Drive will remain open.
- Parking on weekends only: The nearby Duke University H lot, along Anderson Street just north of the gardens, has pay parking on Saturday and Sunday. There are no kiosks, so bring a smartphone.
- Alternative transit options: Free buses operated by Duke and GoDurham stop within a quarter-mile of the temporary entrance.
The latest updates and photos can be found online at gardens.duke.edu/gateway.
This story was originally published February 3, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Duke Gardens is getting a $30M remodel over the next year. What that means for visitors."
