Garden of Gethsemane

About

Felix Lucero Park holds the Garden of Gethsemane, a sculpture garden of religious statues on Congress Street near the Santa Cruz River. Sculptor Felix Lucero promised to devote his life to religious art if he survived his World War I wounds, and he began these figures in Tucson in 1945. The statues show scenes such as the Last Supper, Jesus on the cross, and Pilate with Roman soldiers. Lucero built them from concrete, sand and debris he pulled from the Santa Cruz River. The small city park is free and open from sunrise to sunset, with benches and a drinking fountain. The garden was moved in 1971 to make way for the Congress Street bridge, and its current home was built in 1982.