Philadelphia's Magic Gardens is a folk art environment that showcases the work of mosaicist Isaiah Zagar. Located on South Street at the site of Zagar's largest public mosaic installation, Magic Gardens includes a fully mosaiced indoor gallery and a massive outdoor labyrinthine mosaic sculpture. The space, primarily consisting of found objects and contributions from the community, covers half a city block with myriads of tiles, mirrors and other objects. Zagar has devoted himself to beautifying the South Street neighborhood since the late 1960s, when he moved to the area with his wife Julia. The couple helped spur the revitalization of the area by purchasing and renovating derelict buildings and adding colorful mosaics on both their private and public walls.
Zagar started working on the Magic Gardens in 1994 in the vacant lot nearby his studio. He began by constructing a massive fence to protect the area from harm and then spent the next fourteen years excavating tunnels and grottos, sculpting multi-layered walls, and tiling and grouting the 3,000 square foot space.
In 2002, the Boston-based owner of the once-vacant lot decided to sell the land in response to rising South Street property values. Unwilling to witness the destruction of Zagar's neighborhood art environment, the community rushed to support the artist, and over a period of several years, rasied the funds to buy the property. Zagar is also featured in a documentary made by his son called "In a Dream".
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