North Dakota's first real motel, the Rainbow Gardens, Carrington, constructed in the spring of 1930, was a tourist attraction for many years. The facility was built by Harry and Anna Hayashi.
Harry Hayashi came to the United States from Japan when he was 16‑years‑old and worked in a millionaires Club in Spokane, Washington. He came to Carrington in the spring of 1921 and worked in a bakery. In 1922 he opened his own business, the Hotel Cafe, which was located in the Buchanan Hotel. Anna Firlus was a young waitress there and two years later she and Harry were married. They bought a five-acre tract of barren prairie land at the west end of Carrington. It was on this tract of land that Harry brought to reality his dream of a garden that would remind him of his homeland, Tokyo, Japan.
It took many months of hard work to make his dream come true. Trees were planted, there were flowers everywhere, a quaint, ten-story birdhouse that provided homes for 108 families of birds. The birdhouse stood seven feet tall and was mounted on a pole in a flower garden.
Dozens of gold fish were placed in a big lily pool that contained water lilies planted in boxes.
An artificial waterfall was constructed with an electric motor that provided the power to send a stream of water gushing over a 10‑foot stone waterfall that was built into the side of a little hill. The water then flowed over the rocks into a rock-bordered creek which wound its way through the rock garden and finally emptied into the lily pool, which was about 150 feet in size.
Odd little trolls standing eighteen inches to two feet in height were found scattered throughout the rock garden. There were queer gnomes with long beards dressed in bright red or green, with smiling elfin faces. Three of them had fishing poles and sat fishing or smoking at the big pool. Another gnome sat smoking by the waterfall. Others were scattered through the garden. A big yellow frog had a stream of water spraying out of his mouth into the big lily pool. The rock garden itself was a well-balanced arrangement of rocks, flowers, and tiny fir trees.
The rocks were native prairie boulders and big flat mossy rocks that were shipped from the Minnesota Lake region. They were beautifully arranged around the lily pool, on the tiny island, on the hill and waterfall, and scattered through the rest of the park. The hill had tiny fir trees growing between the rocks and behind the hill stood a big Dutch windmill. Off to one side was an open veranda with lounging chairs. Every once in a while, when the visitor least expected it, he would find another of the odd little whiskered gnomes sitting under a tree or beside a rock.
When the lily pond was first built, a flock of thirty pelicans tried to land while the crew of workman stood by and watched them.
A wading pool 16 by 30 feet was provided for the children as well as playground equipment, such as swings, teeters, and a steel acrobatic rack, and a toy merry‑go‑round. For a dime any youngster could find plenty to keep him busy for a long time.
Source: A History of Foster County 1983 Page 204