Barnes Family Foundation Gift Names New Duke Gardens Welcome Center
Duke University has received $7 million from the Durham-based Barnes Family Foundation to fund the Garden Gateway project at Sarah P. Duke Gardens, aimed at transforming the visitor experience with a redesigned front entrance and expanded spaces for events and programming.
The gift will name the Barnes Welcome Center, which will feature a café, a dedicated visitor lobby, indoor and outdoor classroom spaces, upgraded restroom amenities, gallery space, and an outdoor gathering plaza.
“We are so grateful to the Barnes family for their leadership in the Garden Gateway project,” said President Vincent E. Price. “Their generosity will help shape a welcoming and engaging setting that enriches each visitor’s experience and expands opportunities to discover the beauty of the Duke Gardens.”
Construction on the Garden Gateway project began in February 2025, with the Gardens remaining open throughout. The front entrance has been redesigned, enhancing accessibility and visitor engagement. Expanded classroom spaces and a new unloading zone for increased safety will benefit the more than 6,000 schoolchildren who visit Duke Gardens each year.
The Doris Duke Center was also renovated and enlarged. Kirby Horton Hall was expanded to accommodate larger community and private events. New features include an enlarged catering kitchen and an event lawn that will double as a modern performance venue that accommodates up to 2,000 attendees. Reopening is expected this spring.
“The Barnes family was instrumental in updating our facilities to provide an optimal experience for everyone,” said William M. LeFevre, executive director of Duke Gardens. “We are delighted that the new welcome center will bear the family’s name as we realize the completion of this project, which will provide a richer experience for both the Duke and Durham communities.”
The $30 million project was inspired by a vision of enhancing Duke Gardens as a vibrant hub for students, the university, and the public, while retaining the character that has made it one of the region’s most beloved places. It was funded by private contributions, including $7 million in grants from The Duke Endowment and generous gifts from Duke alumni, parents, and community members.
Duke Gardens’ earliest funding was through individual philanthropy: The idea of a public garden at Duke arose in the early 1930s, when Dr. Frederic M. Hanes, an original faculty member of Duke Medical School, persuaded one of his close friends to make an initial gift toward the financing of a garden space at Duke. That friend was Sarah P. Duke, widow of one of the university’s founders, Benjamin N. Duke, who gave $20,000 to start the garden that would eventually be named in her honor.
The Barnes Welcome Center honors Barnes family patriarch and foundation founder Marvin Barnes ’59, P’95. While a student at Duke, Barnes played trombone in the marching band, ran on Al Buehler’s second cross country team, was a cheerleader, and joined Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity. Barnes, a Durham businessman, also chaired the Duke-Durham Campaign, raising funds to support the university’s work in the neighborhoods and schools close to campus.
“It speaks volumes of our beloved Duke University, that this fine institution of higher learning has a publicly welcoming outdoor space,” said Lee Barnes M.B.A.’95, president of the Barnes Family Foundation. “The foundation supports keeping this space public, accessible, and welcoming for everyone. This gift is a part of the vision that Duke and the Barnes Family Foundation share. We are humbled that the part we played made it possible for the wonderful entryway and building at Duke Gardens to be completed.”
The mission of the Barnes Family Foundation is to support and reinforce the foundational structure of the individual. It helps hyper-local and hyper-public nonprofit organizations that educate, promote, and refine the knowledge, skills, and abilities in order to help individuals attain the agency and liberty for a practical, productive, and fulfilling life.
