Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens
South Park ultimately became the home of the present botanical gardens, and was initially recognized “South Park Conservatory”. Tropical plants were in Olmsted’s original proposal for the greenhouse display, though the repose of the grounds was planned to introduce resilient varieties with a bush garden, a marsh garden, an arboretum, and a garden for pine trees and other conifers. Official gardens about the grounds directed guests toward natural grounds beside outdoor trails. A substantial body of water for riding a boat, a field, and a circle path for horse carts, were all proposed to be included at the original South Park. Nevertheless, the planned trails, ship yard, and pavilion weren’t ever finished.
Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens Designers
Lord & Burnham were the designers for the structure that showcased three domes. Lord & Burnham were some of the foremost greenhouse engineers at their period. The renowned Kew Gardens Palm House and Crystal Palace, constructed in England, were inspirations for the techniques used to build the gardens. The Botanical Gardens of Buffalo was uniquely of the biggest municipal glasshouses in the United States of America when constructed at a price of thirteen thousand dollars (to tax payers) between 1897-99. There are less than fifteen considerable Victorian greenhouses in the United States of America in the present day. There is only one other municipal greenhouse that showcases three domes in its design, the other being in Bronx, New York.John Francis Cowell, and American botanist, who practiced law in St. Paul, Minnesota and then moved to Buffalo in 1874 to teach botany at the University of Buffalo, was eventually brought on as the director of the Buffalo Botanical Gardens in 1894. He personally found and acquired rare tree varieties and administered the cultivating of florae for the gardens. Cowell travelled South America and the Caribbean for years, and sent back rare sources and petite florae for the greenhouse. The Botanical Gardens of Buffalo New York rapidly collected nationwide recognition in 1901 during the Pan-American Exposition when thousands of patrons visited the gardens due to the influx of activity from the convention, abruptly once it commenced.
The Botanical Gardens of Buffalo New York are located at 2655 South Park Ave, Buffalo, NY 14218 and is open between 10AM and 4PM daily.