Plant Biology Greenhouse and Conservatory, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

The Daily Egyptian of 30 March 2015 places the botanical glasshouse behind the Life Science II building and says the first building dates from the 1940s, with the others added in the 1950s. The SIU Facilities page speaks of greenhouses "constructed in the 1950's" and notes that the "Botany Green House" was renamed Plant Biology Greenhouse and Conservatory in 2017.

The newspaper describes a living collection, "like a mini-botanical garden", some of whose plants are almost 75 years old, used for class field trips, research and student jobs. A renovation of the botany and agriculture greenhouses, administered by the Illinois Capital Development Board, received a recommendation to award in March 2015 before being halted in May by the state budget impasse; the Facilities page lists it as on hold for lack of funds. On 28 September 2026 the university announced an 8.4 million dollar project under the Rebuild Illinois plan that includes renovating the botany greenhouse; Eggemeyer Associates Architects was selected, with no published schedule.

According to the Daily Egyptian, the glasshouse has an E-shaped plan: a main house of tropical foliage, a south house for desert plants and succulents, a middle house for rainforest plants and ferns, and a last block for research and horticultural work. In 2015 a College of Science professor said the main structure, the brick base and the framing that holds the glass panes would be kept during the works: the building thus combines a brick base with glazing on a frame.

Climate control was manual: the operations manager explained that "everything is hand cranked" and that vents must be opened and closed through the day, with someone on site seven days a week. The 2015 project planned a cooling system, lighting, an improved heating system, sensors to automate temperature and moisture, and accessibility upgrades. SIU Facilities notes "moderate to severe structural deficiencies" and very limited environmental controls; the 2026 scope lists repairs to the framing and enclosure, hazardous-material abatement and upgrades to mechanical systems. OpenStreetMap traces the building over about 770 m².

The university describes "a diverse collection of living plants from all over the world", much of it photographically indexed so that a virtual tour is possible. The Daily Egyptian details the layout by house: tropical foliage in the main house, desert plants and succulents to the south, rainforest plants and ferns in the middle. The newspaper adds that some plants are almost 75 years old, making it a long-term collection, and that students carry out research there and are employed in it.

The university presents the glasshouse as a place to find a "tropical experience" in the middle of the Midwestern winter, and the newspaper compares the whole to a botanical garden in miniature.

The glasshouse stands on the Carbondale campus, at 650 Agriculture Drive according to OpenStreetMap, behind Life Science II. The college page, updated on 2 June 2026, says it is open to the public during normal business hours and offers a virtual photographic tour. Because an 8.4 million dollar renovation project was announced on 28 September 2026 without a schedule, checking with the university before travelling is advisable.

The visit combines with the Kumakura Garden, the campus Japanese garden run by the Sharp Museum according to OpenStreetMap, and with the Thompson Woods, both on campus.