Conservatory of Flowers

Golden Gate Park | San Francisco, California

Unlike most large public conservatories of the time, San Francisco’s Conservatory of Flowers is made from wood instead of steel. Old-growth redwood and Douglas-fir were then plentiful in the Northwest, and much of the wood used in its construction was cut and processed locally. The design of the conservatory, with a gently curving roof that sits on a low base wall, was inspired by the Palm House at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Four months after its grand opening, a giant waterlily, Victoria regia, arrived from Kew and became the first of many popular exhibits. 

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