Conservatory of Flowers
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History
The conservatory describes itself as is the oldest existing conservatory in the Western Hemisphere. In 1876 the wealthiest man in California, James Lick died. He had purchased a 12,000 square foot (1100 m²) Victorian wood and glass greenhouse (Conservatory) for use on his Santa Clara property. At his death the Conservatory was still in crates. In 1877, a syndicate of San Francisco businessmen purchased the Conservatory from Lick's estate and donated it to the Park Commission. Over the next two years, the Conservatory was erected in Golden Gate Park. It opened to the public in 1879 and began a long and eventful career.
In 1883 the heating plant exploded setting the main dome on fire and reducing it to ashes. Railroad tycoon Charles Crocker donated funds for repair and the dome was restored. In 1906, the great San Francisco earthquake destroyed much of the city, but didn't significantly harm this "glass house."
In 1933 the Conservatory was closed to the public because of "structural instability" and did not reopen until 1946 after it had been repaired, reglazed and repainted. In 1995 a monster storm with 100 mph (160 km/h) winds blew in off the Pacific from the Gulf of Alaska and caused severe damage, shattering 40% of the glass. The Conservatory was again closed to the public in a sorry state of disrepair.
In 1998, the Conservatory was placed on a list of the 100 most endangered world monuments by the World Monuments Fund. Also in 1998, the National Trust for Historic Preservation "adopted" the Conservatory into it's Save America's Treasures program. The publicity from these efforts eventually led to a fundraising campaign to raise the millions of dollars needed to properly restore the Conservatory. The restoration effort lasted from 1999 until 2003. On September 20 2003, the completely restored Conservatory was once again opened to the public.
In May of 2005, a corpse flower species Amorphophallus titanum bloomed within the which attracted more than 16,000 visitors. The Conservatory also welcomed it's 500,000th visitor since reopening.
Today
Today the conservatory consists of a central chamber and two L-shaped wings, housing display areas for the lowland tropics, highland tropics, aquatic plants, potted plants, and special exhibits. It contains approximately 1,700 plant species. Its collection of high-altitude orchids - more than 700 of the 1,000 known species - is described as the largest and most comprehensive public collection in the world. Representative plants from its collections include:
- Lowland Tropics - including balsa, bamboo, banana, chocolate, cinnamon, coffee, taro, and vanilla, as well as Dioon spinulosum, Philodendron speciosum, Phoenix roebelinii, and Zamia lindenii.
- Highland Tropics - high-altitude orchids (pleurothallids) native to mid-elevations in Central and South America, as well as bromeliads, Chusquea circinata, Dracula spp., Trichoceros parviflorus.
- Aquatic Plants - Victoria amazonica, V. cruziana, etc.
- Carnivorus plants-Nepenthes spp., Drosera ssp.
- Potted Plants - various potted plants displayed on benches.
Statistics
The conservatory contains approximately 1700 species of plants from different countries. It has 16800 window panes. The upper dome of the conservatory weighs 14.5 tonnes.See also
External links
- [San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers Official Website]
- [Golden Gate Park Virtual Tour around Conservatory of Flowers]. In stereo.
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