
The Cleveland Botanical Garden
'Cleveland Botanical Garden', located in the
University Circle district of
Cleveland, Ohio, in the
United States, was founded in 1930 as the Garden 'Center of Greater Cleveland'. It was the first such organization in an American city. Originally housed in a converted
boathouse on Wade Park Lagoon, the center served as a
horticultural library, offering classes and workshops for gardeners and spearheading
beautification projects in the community. In 1966, having outgrown its original home, the Garden Center moved to its present location in University Circle, the site of the old
Cleveland Zoo. Remnants of the old
bear pit still remain in the Ohio Woodland Garden. In 1994, the organization's Board of Trustees changed the name to Cleveland Botanical Garden to reflect a dramatically expanded mission and launched an ambitious capital campaign to develop a facility that would support the enhanced program agenda. The expanded and renovated building, designed by
Graham Gund Architects of
Cambridge, Massachusetts, opened to the public in July 2003.
The centerpiece of the $50 million 2003 expansion is The Eleanor Armstrong Smith Glasshouse, an 18,000 square foot (1,700 m²)
conservatory home to plant and animal life from two separate
biomes, the spiny desert of
Madagascar and the
cloud forest of
Costa Rica. They feature over 350 species of plants and 50 species of animals.
There are also ten acres of gardens, including the award-winning Hershey Children's Garden (the first children's garden in Ohio), the Elizabeth and Nona Evans Restorative Garden, the David and Paula Swetland Topiary Garden, the Western Reserve Herb Society Garden, the Japanese Garden, the Sears-Swetland Rose Garden, the Ohio Woodland, the C.K. "Pat" Patrick Perennial Border, and the public Campsey-Stauffer Gateway Garden.
See also
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List of botanical gardens in the United States
External links
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Cleveland Botanical Garden