Royalty-free images by Mike1 — No. 92 of over 1200 images
Thai Pavilion, Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Madison, Wisconsin, September 20, 2012
Thai Pavilion2
A pavilion, or sala, is a common structure in Thailand generally used as a shelter from rain and heat. Olbrich’s pavilion is more ornate than most roadside salas in Thailand and represents those found at a temple or on a palace grounds. However, Olbrich’s pavilion is not a religious structure.
The pavilion was a gift to the University of Wisconsin-Madison from the Thai Government and the Thai Chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association. UW-Madison has one of the largest Thai student populations of any U.S. college or university.
Olbrich was chosen as the site for the pavilion because of its garden setting and its proximity to water. Water is important to Thailand because of its implications for good health and prosperity.
The pavilion was built in Thailand, then disassembled and packed in shipping crates. The pavilion traveled seven weeks by sea, then by rail to Chicago, and to Madison by truck. Nine Thai artisans traveled to Madison to reassemble the pavilion after building it in Thailand. It took three weeks to reconstruct.
Amazingly, the pavilion is able to withstand the winter weather of Wisconsin with no protection because it is constructed of plantation-grown teak and weather-resistant ceramic roof tiles. The gold leaf, however, is delicate and not able to withstand the oils of the human hand.
- I am sharing some of my public domain images in periodic blog posts.
- Thai Pavilion and Garden – Olbrich Botanical Garden, accessed 11/9/2020
Notes:
- This image is also shared as public domain on Pixabay, Flickr, and Pinterest.
- Images are being shared in the sequence they were accepted by Pixabay, a royalty-free image sharing site.
- Only images specifically identified as such are public domain or creative commons on our pages.
- All other images are copyright protected by me, creative commons, or used under the provisions of fair use.
