This spectacular garden is the entranceway to Queen Victoria Park, the key central area of Niagara Parks that showcases the Falls. Located at the foot of Clifton Hill, this is the perfect spot for a superb panoramic view of the American and Horseshoe Falls. Concerts and special events are held here throughout the summer. Constructed in 1936, designers capitalized on the contours of the landscape to create a curved pergola overlooking a central amphitheatre. Rock gardens, lily ponds and shrub borders have been created around formalized gardens, with attractive ornamental iron gates and Queenston limestone around the perimeter.
Behind the pergola, is a beautiful and serene Japanese-style garden with a lily pond and wishing bridge, which is often used as a back-drop for wedding and other photographs. Surrounded by an ornamental stone wall, this surprising garden provides visitors with a feeling of fantasy and escape. The theatre has been used for band and choir concerts, corporate receptions, movie screenings and live broadcasts of internationally televised programs. Following the construction of the present Rainbow Bridge, the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission partnered with The Niagara Parks Commission in 1941 to create Rainbow Gardens as a link between the bridge and Oakes Garden Theatre and as an entrance to Canada and Queen Victoria Park. Oakes Garden Theatre is also home to the Secret Garden Restaurant with a patio that overlooks the American Falls.
