Ogden Gardens is named for Otto Ogden, a beloved park employee hired in 1958 as the first park district gardener. He meticulously transformed the flower garden at Harrison and Campbell, and by 1964 park department employees petitioned to rename the area in honor of his hard work and dedication. Guided by his belief that more flowers in the parks would make the city more beautiful, his original plan began as a 5-pointed floral star planted with perennials that created a colorful late-spring display. The floral design, measuring 23 feet from the core to the tip and 74 feet in diameter, quickly became a community favorite. Extensive changes in the fall of 1983 and spring of 1984 added a flagstone walk from the parking lot to the center of the garden and east to the perennial bed, while beds were constructed and planted along about 560 feet of the east-west walk and benches were installed. In the 1990s, the pathways were upgraded to brick pavers. In 2005, a Japanese garden area was developed with a teahouse, shaded trails, bridges crossing streams, and a 22,000-gallon koi pond. Today, Ogden Gardens is a cherished place for weddings, photoshoots, and enjoying its carefully maintained floral displays.