Conservatory of Flowers
Victorian-era wood-and-glass greenhouse holding thousands of tropical plants under a soaring white dome.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco follows a greenhouse ordered in 1876 by millionaire James Lick, who died before a single pane of his crated kit was installed, and the businessmen who gave it to the city instead. It traces the building's run of disasters, from an 1883 furnace fire that tore through the dome to a second blaze decades later, and asks who kept rebuilding it and why. Best seen looking up at the white dome that has been raised, burned, and repaired more than once.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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