Originally a rock quarry, part of the tea garden came from a donation by George W. Brackenridge and another section from Emma Koehler. In 1915 Ray Lambert, city parks commissioner, thought it would make a nice location for a lily pond. Ultimately, it grew to become a tea garden. The latest renovations began in 2007 and cost about NULL.6 million, compared with the NULL,000 Lambert originally spent to open the park. It is a Registered Texas Historic Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places.