Visitors stroll through the Chairy Orchard on Wednesday afternoon following an announcement that the famous neighborhood attraction would close on June 18. The orchard, located at 1426 Churchill Road, was established by two neighbors in 2015.
Ann Pearson sits in a Chairy Orchard chair on Wednesday after announcing the orchard will close. Pearson and her neighbor, Judy Smith, are now in their 80s and want to step back from maintaining the orchard.
One of the Chairy Orchard founders, Ann Pearson, pictured left in her "I pick chairies" shirt speaks with visitors about the orchard on Wednesday. While Pearson and her neighbor Judy Smith are saddened by the closure, they felt the upkeep was too much to sustain.
Visitors stroll through the Chairy Orchard on Wednesday afternoon following an announcement that the famous neighborhood attraction would close on June 18. The orchard, located at 1426 Churchill Road, was established by two neighbors in 2015.
One of the Chairy Orchard founders, Ann Pearson, pictured left in her "I pick chairies" shirt speaks with visitors about the orchard on Wednesday. While Pearson and her neighbor Judy Smith are saddened by the closure, they felt the upkeep was too much to sustain.
What became one of Denton’s staple artistic displays beloved by locals and visitors from across the world, the Chairy Orchard announced Wednesday its closure as its founders sadly take their seats.
Neighbors Judy Smith and Ann Pearson established the Chairy Orchard, located at 1426 Churchill Drive in the space between their adjoined yards, in 2015. The free destination offered whimsically fashioned arrays of secondhand chairs, reading materials for those looking to relax with a good book, and a spot for lovers to immortalize their affection on the Locks of Love Chairish Wall.
Ann Pearson sits in a Chairy Orchard chair on Wednesday after announcing the orchard will close. Pearson and her neighbor, Judy Smith, are now in their 80s and want to step back from maintaining the orchard.
A place to share a passion for puns and affinity for thrifting, the orchard was seen as a labor of love by Smith and Pearson. But the chairy tale will come to a close June 18 as maintaining the orchard has lost its charm for the neighbors, who are now in their 80s.
“We’ve always said, ‘When it’s not fun, we’re going to close it up,’” Smith said. “It had become not fun.”
The Chairy Orchard has seen increased instances of vandalism, which included stolen items, smashed chairs and broken windows in the Little Free Libraries. But Smith said they never reported the damages, feeling it was too minor of an issue to bother the police with.
“What good would it do, you know?” Smith said. “Somebody would come in the middle of the night and rip off the chairs we had screwed to Anne’s wall and things like that. I mean, the Police Department has bigger problems.”
Starting Friday, residents can come chairy-picking at the orchard and take their favorite chair home to commemorate their visits. After June 18, most of the remaining items will be disposed of. The Chairy Orchard is taking donations via its Venmo to help pay for debris-removal fees.
In the hundreds of comments on the orchard’s Facebook post, many people called the closure “heartbreaking” and shared fond memories of visits to the Chairy Orchard.
City Council member Brian Beck asked on Facebook that the founders consider documenting or preserving elements of the orchard. The orchard’s Facebook post stated that they are looking for unique spots to house some of their “more iconic pieces.” Denton Plant Factory inquired about housing a chair at its business.
But preserving the orchard as a whole or handing it off to a new owner weren’t really options for Smith and Pearson. Given the efforts the pair have put into maintaining it, Smith said she can’t imagine it would be viable for anyone else to preserve the orchard.
“We take out chairs that are falling apart and every Saturday, we go garage sale-ing and find more chairs. Who’s going to do to that?” Smith said. “It has to be kept on top of because of the chairs start falling apart. It’s dangerous. You don’t just find these at a store. You have to go curb and dumpster shopping. We wanted it to end neatly — not somebody else takes it over and then not do what we were proud of.”
Smith said people have been respectful of their decision. Overall, she’s glad to have lived in a city and neighborhood where creating the Chairy Orchard was possible.
“Two little old ladies could do something like this totally out of the blue and make it successful because we loved what we were doing,” Smith said. “We were going to sales every Saturday buying more chairs and books. It took that kind of love to make it happen. We’re proud of that.”
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BROOKE COLOMBO can be reached at 940-566-6882 and via Twitter at @brookecolombo.
