Bloedel Floral Conservatory
Encyclopedia
The Bloedel Floral Conservatory in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, Canada
, is a conservatory
and aviary
located at the top of Queen Elizabeth Park.
The Bloedel Floral Conservatory is open seven days a week, and is closed only on Christmas
day. There is a modest admission charge.
In November 2009, facing a large budget shortfall, the Vancouver Park Board
voted in favour of closing the Conservatory. The approximately $240,000 CDN annual operating subsidy and the need for a roof replacement and other major capital costs were cited by members of the board as reasons for the decision. The closure was to take effect on March 1, 2010, just after Vancouver had finished hosting the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. In response to the decision several groups formed in order to lobby both the board and city council.
In early January 2010, a commissioner reported that attendance numbers were up sharply in December 2009 over December 2008 now that construction projects at the adjacent reservoir on Little Mountain and along Cambie Street, which started in 2003, had been completed. By the end of January, the Friends of the Bloedel Association had helped raise $50,000, and was projecting $250,000 by the proposed March closure. In late February, the park board voted to keep the facility open, and asked for proposals on running the facility.
On April 29, 2010, the Friends of the Bloedel Association and VanDusen Botanical Garden Association
submitted a proposal to the Vancouver Park Board, to run the Bloedel Conservatory as part of the VanDusen Botanical Gardens. As of May 2010 the Conservatory remains open with regular operating hours.
At least one other proposal was received, but the joint proposal of the Friends of the Bloedel and the VanDusen Association was approved by the Services and Budgets Committee of the Vancouver Park Board on July 20, 2010. The full Park Board unanimously approved the plan on September 20, 2010.
The conservatory is home to Bougainvillea
s and Browallia
s, citrus
and coffee
trees, Eucalypti
and epiphyte
s, Euphorbia and various fig
s, Gardenia
and Hibiscus
. Magnolia
trees share space with delicate lilies, yucca
with pteris (ferns).
, the conservatory itself is 140 feet (42.7 m) in diameter, 70 feet (21.3 m) high. The triodetic dome (related to a geodesic dome
) consists of 1,490 acrylic glass
bubbles and is illuminated at night.
In the plaza adjacent to the Conservatory dome is Henry Moore's sculpture Knife Edge - Two Piece. It was donated to the Park Board by avid modern art collector Prentice Bloedel when he funded the redevelopment of original Queen Elizabeth Park Plaza and Bloedel Floral Conservatory. It is one of three casts of this work by the famous British sculptor.
, Stargate SG-1
, and Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda.
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, is a conservatory
Conservatory (greenhouse)
A conservatory is a room having glass roof and walls, typically attached to a house on only one side, used as a greenhouse or a sunroom...
and aviary
Aviary
An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds. Unlike cages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages...
located at the top of Queen Elizabeth Park.
The Bloedel Floral Conservatory is open seven days a week, and is closed only on Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
day. There is a modest admission charge.
History
The conservatory opened in 1969 and was constructed through a donation from Prentice Bloedel. That same donation was used to cover the water reservoir on top of Queen Elizabeth Park and to provide covered walkways, lighted fountains and art work.In November 2009, facing a large budget shortfall, the Vancouver Park Board
Vancouver Park Board
The Vancouver Park Board is an elected board with exclusive possession, jurisdiction and control over public parks in the City of Vancouver. Established by section 485 of the Vancouver Charter, the Park Board , is one of the only elected bodies of its kind in Canada...
voted in favour of closing the Conservatory. The approximately $240,000 CDN annual operating subsidy and the need for a roof replacement and other major capital costs were cited by members of the board as reasons for the decision. The closure was to take effect on March 1, 2010, just after Vancouver had finished hosting the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. In response to the decision several groups formed in order to lobby both the board and city council.
In early January 2010, a commissioner reported that attendance numbers were up sharply in December 2009 over December 2008 now that construction projects at the adjacent reservoir on Little Mountain and along Cambie Street, which started in 2003, had been completed. By the end of January, the Friends of the Bloedel Association had helped raise $50,000, and was projecting $250,000 by the proposed March closure. In late February, the park board voted to keep the facility open, and asked for proposals on running the facility.
On April 29, 2010, the Friends of the Bloedel Association and VanDusen Botanical Garden Association
VanDusen Botanical Garden
VanDusen Botanical Garden is situated in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Named for local lumberman and philanthropist Whitford Julian VanDusen, it has been a public garden since its opening on August 30, 1975 and is managed by the Vancouver Park Board and run by a large staff of volunteers...
submitted a proposal to the Vancouver Park Board, to run the Bloedel Conservatory as part of the VanDusen Botanical Gardens. As of May 2010 the Conservatory remains open with regular operating hours.
At least one other proposal was received, but the joint proposal of the Friends of the Bloedel and the VanDusen Association was approved by the Services and Budgets Committee of the Vancouver Park Board on July 20, 2010. The full Park Board unanimously approved the plan on September 20, 2010.
Plants and animals
Over 100 birds of various species reside within the dome and are allowed to fly free. Also on display are an array of tropical fish. The Bloedel Floral Conservatory is a lush tropical experience representative of about 500 species and varieties of plants from deep jungle to desert clime—all housed within the dome.The conservatory is home to Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea
Bougainvillea is a genus of flowering plants native to South America from Brazil west to Peru and south to southern Argentina . Different authors accept between four and 18 species in the genus...
s and Browallia
Browallia
Browallia is a genus of Solanaceae family. It is named after Johannes Browallius , also known as Johan Browall, a swedish botanist, physician and bishop.-Selected species:* Browallia americana L. - Jamaican forget-me-not...
s, citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
and coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
trees, Eucalypti
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
and epiphyte
Epiphyte
An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object , derives its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it, and is found in the temperate zone and in the...
s, Euphorbia and various fig
Ficus
Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
s, Gardenia
Gardenia
Gardenia is a genus of 142 species of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, southern Asia, Australasia and Oceania....
and Hibiscus
Hibiscus
Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world...
. Magnolia
Magnolia
Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol....
trees share space with delicate lilies, yucca
Yucca
Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry parts of North...
with pteris (ferns).
Architecture
Located 500 feet (152.4 m) above sea levelSea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
, the conservatory itself is 140 feet (42.7 m) in diameter, 70 feet (21.3 m) high. The triodetic dome (related to a geodesic dome
Geodesic dome
A geodesic dome is a spherical or partial-spherical shell structure or lattice shell based on a network of great circles on the surface of a sphere. The geodesics intersect to form triangular elements that have local triangular rigidity and also distribute the stress across the structure. When...
) consists of 1,490 acrylic glass
Acrylic glass
Poly is a transparent thermoplastic, often used as a light or shatter-resistant alternative to glass. It is sometimes called acrylic glass. Chemically, it is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate...
bubbles and is illuminated at night.
In the plaza adjacent to the Conservatory dome is Henry Moore's sculpture Knife Edge - Two Piece. It was donated to the Park Board by avid modern art collector Prentice Bloedel when he funded the redevelopment of original Queen Elizabeth Park Plaza and Bloedel Floral Conservatory. It is one of three casts of this work by the famous British sculptor.
Filming Location
The conservatory has been made popular as a filming location for several movies and sci-fi series such as Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica TV series in 1978, and was followed by a brief sequel TV series in 1980, a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, a board game, and video games...
, Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
, and Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda.