Lord & Burnham
Encyclopedia
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
manufacturers, and builders of major public conservatories in the United States.
The company began in 1849 when Frederick A. Lord, a carpenter, started building wood and glass greenhouses for neighbors in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. It became Lord's full time profession in 1856 as production moved to Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
and then to Irvington, New York
Irvington, New York
Irvington, sometimes known as Irvington-on-Hudson, is an affluent suburban village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a station stop on the...
to be closer to his customers in the large Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
estates. In 1872 Lord's son-in-law William Addison Burnham joined the firm. Their first major commission came in the 1876 when California philanthropist James Lick
James Lick
James Lick was an American carpenter, piano builder, land baron, and patron of the sciences. At the time of his death, he was the wealthiest man in California, and left the majority of his estate to social and scientific causes.-Early years:James Lick was born in Stumpstown Pennsylvania on August...
hired the firm to create a 12000 square feet (1,114.8 m²) conservatory similar to that in Kew Gardens. Its parts were fabricated in New York and sailed to California. After Lick's death, it became the Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. Configured as a rectangle, it is similar in shape but 20% larger than Central Park in New York, to which it is often compared. It is over three miles long east to west, and about half a...
Conservatory of Flowers
Conservatory of Flowers
The Conservatory of Flowers is a greenhouse and botanical garden that houses a collection of rare and exotic plants in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California. With construction completed in 1878, it remains the oldest building in the park, and the oldest municipal wooden conservatory remaining...
.
In 1881 the firm constructed the first steel-framed curvilinear greenhouse in the United States for railroad magnate Jay Gould
Jay Gould
Jason "Jay" Gould was a leading American railroad developer and speculator. He has long been vilified as an archetypal robber baron, whose successes made him the ninth richest American in history. Condé Nast Portfolio ranked Gould as the 8th worst American CEO of all time...
, on a property now open as Lyndhurst
Lyndhurst (house)
Lyndhurst, also known as Jay Gould estate, is a Gothic Revival country house within its own park beside the Hudson River, located in Tarrytown, New York approximately one-half mile south of the Tappan Zee Bridge on US 9.-History:...
. In 1883 the partnership incorporated as Lord's Horticultural Manufacturing Company, and in 1890 the name was changed to today's Lord & Burnham Company.
Beginning in 1894, the company purchased underwater property beyond the tracks and began filling in to create new land for an expansion. The expansion complex was completed by 1912, at which time the company employed 250 men.
The company used the property as additional factory space in the production process of their greenhouses. By 1988, only about a dozen employees remained at the Irvington factory, and Lord and Burnham ceased to exist when the factory closed in that year.
Lord & Burnham's product line was acquired in 1989 by the Under Glass Manufacturing Corporation, which continues to manufacture Lord & Burnham greenhouses and solariums. Lord & Burnham's historical records are archived at the New York Botanical Garden
New York Botanical Garden
- See also :* Education in New York City* List of botanical gardens in the United States* List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City- External links :* official website** blog*...
. The collection includes over 140,000 architectural plan
Architectural plan
An architectural plan is a plan for architecture, and the documentation of written and graphic descriptions of the architectural elements of a building project including sketches, drawings and details.- Overview :...
s for more than 7,000 glass structures__notoc__
William Addison Burnham continued to make boilers and the company he founded, Burnham Commercial, continues to do so today.
Conservatories
The company's early greenhouses were made of cypress and iron or steel. Although experimentation with aluminum began in 1932 with the United States Botanic GardenUnited States Botanic Garden
The United States Botanic Garden is a botanic garden on the grounds of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., near Garfield Circle....
, commercial production was not economical until 1955.
Major Lord & Burnham conservatories include:
- Phipps Conservatory & Botanical GardensPhipps Conservatory & Botanical GardensPhipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is a complex of buildings and grounds set in Schenley Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States...
, Schenley ParkSchenley ParkSchenley Park is a large municipal park located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, between the neighborhoods of Oakland, Greenfield, and Squirrel Hill. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district...
, PittsburghPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, 1892–1893 - Buffalo and Erie County Botanical GardensBuffalo and Erie County Botanical GardensThe Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens are botanical gardens located at 2655 South Park Avenue, Buffalo, New York, USA in South Park. These gardens are the product of landscaping architect Frederick Law Olmsted, glass-house architects Lord & Burnham, and botanist and plant-explorer John F...
, Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, 1895–1899 - New York Botanical GardenNew York Botanical Garden- See also :* Education in New York City* List of botanical gardens in the United States* List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City- External links :* official website** blog*...
, 1899–1902 - Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic ParkSonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic ParkSonnenberg Gardens, also known as Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park, is a state park located at 151 Charlotte Street, Canandaigua, New York, USA, at the north end of Canandaigua Lake, in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York...
, Canandaigua, New YorkCanandaigua (city), New YorkCanandaigua is a city in Ontario County, New York, USA, of which it is the county seat. The population was 11,264 at the 2000 census...
, 1903–1915 - Reynolda GardensReynolda GardensReynolda Gardens thumb|right|Reynolda Gardens |Reynolda Gardens In Spring Time are gardens located off Reynolda Road, adjacent to the Reynolda campus of Wake Forest University and the Reynolda House in Winston-Salem, North Carolina...
, 1912 - United States Botanic GardenUnited States Botanic GardenThe United States Botanic Garden is a botanic garden on the grounds of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., near Garfield Circle....
, Washington, DC, 1933 - Volunteer Park ConservatoryVolunteer Park ConservatoryThe Volunteer Park Conservatory is a botanical garden and conservatory located in Seattle, Washington, at the north end of Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill....
, Volunteer Park, Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, WashingtonSeattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, 1912