Place 2 of 4California, USA
Conservatory of Flowers
The history
The oldest building in Golden Gate Park and the oldest public wood-and-glass conservatory in North America. It began as a private greenhouse ordered by James Lick, the real-estate magnate; when he died in 1876 before it was ever assembled, 27 prominent San Franciscans — including Leland Stanford and Charles Crocker — bought the crated kit and donated it to the park. Built in 1878 by the Lord & Burnham glasshouse firm and opened in 1879, it survived an 1883 fire (rebuilt with Crocker's money) and 1995 storm damage that closed it for years. 12,000 square feet, 8,000 panes of glass, and still growing tropical and aquatic plants exactly as it did in the 1880s.
My photos
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