The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory (commonly and locally known as the Belle Isle Conservatory) is a

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

and a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

located on Belle Isle, a island park located on the

Detroit River The Detroit River is an List of international river borders, international river in North America. The river, which forms part of the border between the U.S. state of Michigan and the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ont ...

within

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. While located near the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

, the island is entirely within the U.S. The park itself consists of of preserved land for the conservatory and its botanical garden. Opened in 1904, the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory is the oldest continually-running conservatory in the United States. It is named for Anna Scripps Whitcomb, who left her collection of 600

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth ...

to Detroit in 1955.

History and architecture

The Belle Isle Conservatory, along with the neighboring Belle Isle Aquarium, was designed by the noted firm of George D. Mason and Albert Kahn, and built between 1902 and 1904. Kahn modeled the building after architectural exhibitions and garden pavilions of the mid- to late-nineteenth century, most notably

The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around ...

and the Palm House at

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

. P. 264. P. 21. Located in the center of the

Belle Isle Park Belle Isle Park, known simply as Belle Isle (), is a island park in Detroit, Michigan, developed in the late 19th century. It consists of Belle Isle, an island in the Detroit River, as well as several surrounding islets. The U.S.-Canada bor ...

, the conservatory covers , with a lily pond on its north side and perennial gardens on the west; the gardens house the Levi L. Barbour Memorial Fountain, designed by sculptor Marshall Fredericks. The Conservatory building is divided into five distinct sections: the Palm house (inside the domed center), the Tropical house (South Wing), the Cactus house and Fernery (North Wing), and the Show house (East Wing). The main feature of the building is the high central dome, which houses palm trees and other tropical plants. The conservatory, originally known as the Horticultural Building, opened on August 18, 1904, and is currently "the oldest, continually operating conservatory in the United States." Soon after its opening, it became a popular attraction, reaching an annual average of 1.5 million visitors in the mid-1920s. In 1953, the original wooden frame of the central dome was replaced by one made of iron and aluminum; the operation cost circa $500,000. In April 1955 Anna Scripps Whitcomb gave her 600 orchids collection to the conservatory, which was therefore renamed in her honor on April 6, 1955. Many of these exotic orchids had been saved from Britain throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Because of that contribution, the conservatory became "the largest municipally owned orchid collection in the country."

Botany

Detroit - Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory 01

The Palm house, maintained at 70 °F, is housed under the dome, and contains a variety of

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s and palms, including the Chinese fan palm ('' Livistona chinensis''), the fishtail palm ('' Caryota mitis''), the umbrella tree ('' Schefflera actinophylla'') and the Canary Island date palm ('' Phoenix canariensis''). When a tree reaches the top of the dome it must be cut down, as they cannot be pruned to height. The Tropical house, 70 °F, contains fruiting plants and trees such as the

common fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of tree or shrub in the flowering plant family Moraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, together with western and southern Asia. It has been cultivated since ancient times and is ...

, calamondin orange and bloodleaf banana, and tropical flowering plants such as the pink powderpuff ('' Calliandra brevipes'') and peace lily (''

Spathiphyllum ''Spathiphyllum'' is a genus of about 60 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas and southeastern Asia. Certain species of ''Spathiphyllum'' are commonly known as spath or pea ...

''). The Cactus house, 62 °F, is lined in

tufa Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitation (chemistry), precipitate out of water in ambient temperature, unheated rivers or lakes. hot spring, Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less ...

rock and holds a variety of

cacti A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...

and succulents, including jellybeans (), the silver dollar cactus ('' Opuntia robusta''), "old man" cactus ('' Cephalocereus senilis'') and jade plant (''

Crassula ovata ''Crassula ovata'', commonly known as jade plant, lucky plant, money plant or money tree, is a succulent plant with small pink or white flowers that is native plant, native to the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa, and Moz ...

''). The Fernery is sunken to provide cooler conditions and more humidity.

Fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

s such as the alsophila can be found here, as well as a small waterfall located in the center. The Show house changes its display many times throughout the year and is also used for the conservatory's many flower shows and special events. The perennial gardens are located outside to the north of the vestibule.

Lily pond

The lily pond is located between the conservatory building and the Belle Isle Aquarium. It was not part of the original design, but constructed in 1936. The rocky walls were created with 200 tons of moss-covered limestone boulders that were brought from the construction of the Livingstone Channel in the

near

Amherstburg Amherstburg is a town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. In 1796, Fort Malden was established here, stimulating growth in the settlement. The fort has been designated as a National Historic Site. The town ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The pond is home to Japanese koi that are maintained by volunteers and are held in the aquarium basement during winter.

Greenhouses

Located to the east of the conservatory building are 20

structures. 15 of the structures are used to care for the orchid, bromeliad, cactus, amaryllis and tropical plant collections. Five of the greenhouses are used by the Golightly Career and Technical Center's Agriscience Program for high school students in the metro Detroit area. These greenhouses help train for post-graduation jobs as green's keepers, florists, arborists, nursery owners and related fields. The first greenhouse was built on Belle Isle in 1903.

Non-profit involvement & volunteerism

The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory is opened to the public free of charge, and operates mostly on the budget designated by local and state Governments. However, Belle Isle has long history of support through private organizations and donors. Volunteerism plays an important role for all of Belle Isle. Specifically, four major volunteer organizations have been vital to the livelihood of the island park. Friends of Belle Isle, a non-profit

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

environmental organization, was founded in 1972 and is dedicated to the upkeep and preservation of Belle Isle through cleaning and the ridding of invasive species on the island. In 1988, the Belle Isle Botanical Society began raising money for projects to improve the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory. The Belle Isle Botanical society offered many services to the conservatory including volunteer tour guides and gardeners, and was also involved in raising funds to maintain and support the conservatory operation through repairs, equipment, purchase of plant material, etc. In 2004, the Belle Isle Women's Committee was created and its first project was to upgrade Sunset Point. The non-profit Friends of the Belle Isle Aquarium was formed in 2005 with the goal of restoring Belle Isle's historic

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

. In 2009, the four organizations put a plan in action to form a single organization that could pool all their efforts and ideas into a larger and more effective non-profit dedicated to improvement projects. Together, receiving assistance from the Cultural Alliance for Southeastern Michigan and the Michigan Nonprofit Association, they have joined forces to form a single all-volunteer organization named the Belle Isle Conservancy. The Kresge Foundation, based in suburban Detroit, has played a key role in the merger. Kresge gave the four organizations $100,000, in 2009, and in 2010 another $100,000. Currently, there are five employees, one manager and a supervisor from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources that make up the

Floriculture Floriculture (from ) is the study of the efficient production of the plants that produce showy, colorful flowers and foliage for human enjoyment in human environments. It is a commercially successful branch of horticulture and agriculture found ...

Unit at the Belle Isle Conservatory. The staff members are responsible for caring for all the plants in the Conservatory and the surrounding formal gardens. The Conservatory relies on volunteers for all its additional needs and workers.

Gallery

Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory2013.jpg, Entrance sign. Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, Belle Isle, Detroit, Michigan.jpg, Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory The Henry A. Johnson Memorial Gardens2013.JPG, The Henry A. Johnson Memorial Gardens Conservatory2013.JPG, Pathway through the Tropical house Show House Entrance.JPG, Entrance to the Show house Show Room2013.JPG, Show house (East Wing) Ferns Belle isle2013.JPG, Ferns Belle isle - Crown of thorns.jpg, Example of an information plate at the Conservatory Belle Isle - Cactus.jpg, Cactus at the Conservatory Belle Isle - Flowers.jpg, Flowers in the Conservatory

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.belleisleconservancy.org/ Buildings and structures in Detroit Tourist attractions in Detroit

Botanical gardens in Michigan {{Commons cat, Botanical gardens in Michigan Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries ...

Buildings and structures in Michigan Greenhouses in the United States Belle Isle Park (Michigan)