Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, located in Columbus, Ohio, is a botanical garden and conservatory. It is open daily and charges an admission fee. It is now a horticultural and educational institution that displays exotic plant collections, special exhibitions, and Dale Chihuly artworks.
There are over 400 plant species in the conservatory. The Himalayan Mountains, Tropical Rainforest, Desert, and Pacific Island Water Garden are all biomes that represent global climate zones. Among the other plant collections are a Bonsai Courtyard, a Showhouse with seasonal displays, orchids, tropical bonsai collections, and a Palm House with over 40 species of palms. The conservatory is located in the Franklin Park neighborhood, surrounded by Franklin Park, an 88-acre city park.
Built in 1895, the conservatory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. 1978 it was incorporated into the new Columbus Near East Side District.
History
In 1852, the Franklin County Agriculture Society bought 88 acres (360,000 m2) of land two miles (3 kilometers) east of downtown Columbus to host the first Franklin County Fair. By 1874, the Franklin County Agricultural Society recognized the significance of this plot of land, expanded it to 93 acres (380,000 m2), and designated it as the official site of the Ohio State Fair.
The state fair was held here until 1884, when it was relocated to a new location north of Columbus. The lot was abandoned as a result of the change. However, the site was officially revived on May 17, 1886, when the Ohio State Legislature passed a resolution declaring it open as a public park. Bed Bug Exterminator Columbus
The World Fair and Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 hugely influenced social and cultural events. It inspired Columbus to build a horticulture building inspired by the Exposition’s Glass Palace. This grand Victorian-style glass structure was built in Franklin Park and opened to the public in 1895 as the Franklin Park Conservatory.
Now
Blooms & Butterflies, the first seasonal butterfly exhibition in the United States, debuted at Franklin Park Conservatory in 1994. It was an instant hit. Since then, thousands of tropical butterflies have flown through the Pacific Island Water Garden as part of the annual exhibition. It receives tens of thousands of visitors annually, and other national conservatories have followed suit.
The Franklin Park Conservatory presented Chihuly at the Conservatory, a blockbuster exhibition that increased attendance by 182 percent in 2003 and 2004. The Friends of the Conservatory, a private, nonprofit group that supports the conservatory’s programming, then made a stunning move on October 29, 2004. They paid nearly $7 million for the entire exhibition of Dale Chihuly’s artworks. To this day, Franklin Park Conservatory is the world’s only public botanical garden with a signature collection of Chihuly’s magnificent glass artworks totaling over 3,000 pieces.
Address: 1777 E Broad St, Columbus, OH
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