Conservatory of Flowers, Botanical garden and greenhouse in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, United States
The Conservatory of Flowers is a Victorian greenhouse of wood framing and glass set on a raised masonry foundation in Golden Gate Park. Its central dome rises nearly 60 feet, with arch-shaped wings giving a total length of 240 feet; the plan is a shallow E along an east-west axis. A wide staircase leads to a one-story glassed-in vestibule on the south side.
The building was commissioned in 1876 as a private project and later became the first municipal greenhouse in the United States. Wealthy residents donated the structure to the city, transforming it into a public educational space for everyone to enjoy.
The building shows how people in the 1800s became interested in plants from distant places and wanted to study them closely. Today you can see how orchids, ferns, and other tropical species are grown in different rooms designed to match their natural homes.
The entrance is a one-storey glassed-in vestibule with a gable roof on the south side of the central pavilion, reached by a wide staircase up the slope. Inside, the galleries are kept at different temperatures: the Lowlands room around 70 °F and the Highlands room around 65 °F, both very humid from misters, so a light layer helps.
The Aquatic Plants room holds two ponds, one of 9,000 gallons and the other half that size, kept at 83 °F and maintained with beneficial bacteria, filters and heaters. The soil there is nutrient-poor, so carnivorous plants thrive on insects caught in the humid air.
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