Volunteer Park Conservatory

Volunteer Park Conservatory, a Victorian-style greenhouse at Seattle’s Capitol Hill, was proposed in 1893 and completed in 1912 using a design and framework purchased from the Hitchings Company of New York. Set within park grounds reshaped under the Olmsted Brothers, it became a defining landmark with five display houses for specialized plant collections, later enriched by notable gifts and artworks. Serious deterioration prompted a public campaign and a major restoration from 1980 to 1985. Still city-owned and operated, it serves as both a public garden and working plant collection, draws more than 150,000 visitors annually, and houses confiscated protected plants for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Seattle, Washington · United States