Verrière / Catalogue / Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory

🇺🇸United States·Open to the public

Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory

Detroit, Michigan

Year
1904
Architect
George D. Mason et Albert Kahn
Style
Victorian glass palace modelled on the Crystal Palace and Kew's Palm House
Dimensions
26 m central dome, 5.3 ha site
« The dome, originally timber-framed, was rebuilt in iron and aluminium in 1953 at a cost of about $500,000. »

Built in 1904 on Belle Isle in Detroit, this conservatory is laid out in five sections: palm house, tropical house, cactus house, fernery and show room. It holds what is described as the largest municipal orchid collection in the country, seeded by Anna Scripps Whitcomb's gift of 600 orchids in 1955. The site reopened in 2024 after renovation work. Admission is free.

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42.34° N, 82.97° W

Further reading
The Glass House
John Hix
The definitive academic history of greenhouse architecture, from the Victorian era to modern structures.
 Glass Houses
May Woods & Arete Swartz Warren
A richly illustrated survey of greenhouses, orangeries and winter gardens around the world.
 The Crystal Palace
Patrick Beaver
The full story of the project that invented large-scale glass architecture.
 Greenhouse Gardener's Companion
Shane Smith
The practical guide for anyone dreaming of building their own greenhouse at home.

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