/ Adam Purple and The Garden of Eden
In 1975, on the crime-ridden Lower East Side, Adam Purple started a garden behind his tenement home. By 1986, The Garden of Eden was world famous and had grown to 15,000 square feet. For Adam – a social activist, philosopher, artist, and revolutionary – the Garden was the medium of his political and artistic expression. It was razed by the city in 1986 after a protracted court battle.
Adam Purple died this Monday as he was bicycling over the Williamsburg Bridge. He was 84.

- Title: “Adam Purple and The Garden of Eden.”
- Authors: Amy Brost, photographs by Harvey Wang
- Date: September 19, 2011
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VfBvdzgQxY