Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens of Baltimore

The Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens of Baltimore, often known as the Baltimore City Conservatory, is a historic conservatory / greenhouse and botanical garden located in Druid Hill Park at 3100 Swann Drive, in the northwest area of Baltimore, Maryland.

H.P. Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens
A front view of the H.P. Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens (1888) in Druid Hill Park (1860)

Designed by George A. Frederick (1842-1924), who was the architect of the Baltimore City Hall (1867-1875), and semi-official municipal architect of Baltimore in the late 19th century.

The new conservatory opened to the public on August 26, 1888, 28 years after the city's largest park itself.[1] with a major renovation in the early 2000s that added two new side wing pavilions. It now contains five distinct areas: the 1888 Palm House, the Orchid Room, Mediterranean House, Tropical House, and Desert House. The surrounding 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) of grounds within Druid Hill Park, feature 35 flowerbeds.

The Rawlings Conservatory is on the National Register of Historic Places (kept by the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior), the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties (maintained by the Maryland Historic Trust), and is a Baltimore City Landmark (designated by the City's Commission on Historic and Architecturural Preservation [C.H.A.P.]).

It is the second oldest surviving glass botanic conservatory in the United States.[2]

See also

References
  1. Rasmussen, Frederick N. "Druid Hill Park Conservatory greenhouse is a whimsical collection of glass, curved steel and light," The Baltimore Sun, Saturday, November 20, 2010.
  2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/baltimores-rawlings-conservatory-withstands-the-test-of-time/2013/07/11/0fa9ee20-e820-11e2-aa9f-c03a72e2d342_story.html

Further reading
  • J. Dorsey and J.D. Dilts, A Guide to Baltimore Architecture (Third Edition), Tidewater Publishers, Centreville, MD (1997), p. 299.


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