The Japanese Teahouse

Frank C. Havens built the first tea house in Piedmont Park, and it opened on June 30, 1907. It was a replica of the late-fifteenth century Silver Pavilion in Kyoto, Japan, and was the largest of its kind in the United States. Behind it were a koi pond, moon bridge, and Japanese style garden. When the City of Piedmont acquired the park in the 1920s, it tore down the tea house and many other park features to make room for a new civic center master plan. In 1976, through the efforts of the Piedmont Beautification Foundation, the City of Piedmont received a new tea house as a gift. After the Leander Redmon estate on Magnolia Avenue was razed to build a new Piedmont Middle School, the foundation provided funds to move the estate’s tea house to Piedmont Park. The new tea house was placed near the site of the original and continues to be used for public and private events.

Piedmont, California · United States