Volunteer Park Conservatory

Shipped as a kit by the New York firm Hitchings Company and assembled by Seattle's parks department, this Victorian greenhouse opened in 1912 at the north end of Volunteer Park, on Capitol Hill. Its glass, wood and iron architecture, explicitly inspired by London's Crystal Palace, is divided into five houses devoted respectively to bromeliads, ferns, palms, seasonal plants and cacti. Listed as a city landmark, it also serves as a holding facility for exotic plants confiscated by federal fish and wildlife authorities. It draws more than 150,000 visitors a year.