Conservatory of Flowers
Golden Gate Park Conservatory
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The Conservatory of Flowers is an elaborate
Victorian greenhouse constructed of wood and
glass.
Location:
San Francisco,
California
Built/Founded:
1878
Architect:
Lord & Burham[1]
Architectural
style(s):
Italianate, Gothic[1]
Governing body:
Local government
Added to NRHP:
October 14, 1971
NRHP Reference#:
71000184[1]
The Conservatory of Flowers
is a large
botanical greenhouse in San Francisco’s
Golden Gate Park, constructed in 1878. It
houses an important collection of exotic
plants. It is the oldest building in Golden
Gate Park and the oldest municipal wooden
conservatory remaining in the United States.
It is also one of the first municipal conservat-
ories constructed in the country. For these
distinctions and for its associated historical,
architectural, and engineering merits, the
Conservatory of Flowers is listed on the Na-
tional Register of Historic Places, the Califor-
nia Register of Historic Places, is a San Fran-
cisco Landmark, and is a Historic Civil Engin-
eering Landmark of the American Society of
Civil Engineers.
Architectural Description
Front entrance of the Conservatory in 2006
The Conservatory of Flowers is an elaborate
Victorian greenhouse with a central dome
rising nearly 60 feet (18 m) high and arch-
shaped wings extending from it for an overall
length of 240 feet (73 m). It sits atop a gentle
slope overlooking Conservatory Valley. The
structural members are articulated through
one predominant form, a four-centered or Tu-
dor arch.
The Conservatory of Flowers consists of a
wood structural skeleton with glass walls set
on a raised masonry foundation. The entire
structure has a shallow E-shaped plan that is
oriented along an east-west axis. The central
60-foot
(18 m) high pavilion
is entered
through a one-story, glassed-in vestibule with
a gable roof on the south side of the pavilion.
Flanking the rotunda to the east and west are
one-story, symmetrical wings framed by
wood arches. Each wing is L-s