The
Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory on Belle Isle will be closed for
renovations until early November. The federal organization Save
America’s Treasures provided $340,000 in funding for the renovations,
which was matched by the City of Detroit.
Over 500 pieces of
glass will be replaced and cleaned in the conservatory’s central dome
and adjoining sections. The eighty-five foot high dome provides over
100,600-cubic-feet of space for the large collection of tropical plants
housed there. A utility-access ladder will be constructed for the dome
and a new heating system for the conservatory will also be installed.
The
conservatory was designed by Albert Kahn and built in1904 on a 13
acre-site on the southeastern side of Belle Isle. It contains one of
the largest municipality-owned collection of orchids in the country,
including 600 orchids donated by Anna Scripps Whitcomb, who the
conservatory was dedicated to in 1953.
Source: Jennifer Roberts, City of Detroit Recreation Department