UNIQUE Connections
A Gift from City of Toyota: Japanese Stone Lantern at Belle Isle, Detroit
The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, located on Detroit's Belle Isle, is a greenhouse opened in 1904. It hosts a botanical garden with a large number of plants and flowers. It is outside of this Conservatory that a Japanese Stone Lantern made of white granite sits. This lantern, or Tohro as it is traditionally called, was presented to the City of Detroit by their sister city, Toyota, on September 21, 1985 to commemorate the 25th year of their sister city relations. The lantern is inscribed with the Japanese word for "friendship" and the Mayor of Toyota City along with Toyota City Council members visited Detroit for the ceremony. Additionally, behind the Conservatory, a second, smaller lantern rests in the middle of a pond. The Conservatory grounds are open for viewing Wednesday through Sunday from 10am to 5pm.
(Source: http://www.belleisleconservancy.org/explore-the-park/structures-monuments/)
