Standing high above the city on the 10th floor of the City Club Apartments, and resurrected from the history that has stood here before our time, The View at Shires’ Garden is inspired by the first amusement resort in this part of the country.
William Shires, an English Aristocrat, purchased the plot of land between 3rd and 4th streets, from Race to Vine, in 1825 from Judge Jacob Burnet, who supposedly had some debts to settle. Opening the gates to Shires’ Garden in 1842, he had completely transformed the block of property into a destination for amusement and recreation. Shires planted magical gardens with fruit trees and flowers from around the world, and constructed a square-framed theatre where the first matinée show was produced. Vendors with refreshment offerings lined the walkways through the gardens, and a grand restaurant and hotel was housed in the old Burnet Mansion. It was just six years later when the amusement resort was sadly burned to the ground in “a most picturesque fire,” on a snowy evening, in January 1848.