CHAPTER IV 



THE PRESENT UNITED STATES BOTANIC GARDEN 



A NEW LOCATION AND A NEW CONSERVATORY 



On November 12, 1931, Senator Simeon D. Fess of Ohio, 

 chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library, helped 

 lay the cornerstone of the new Botanic Garden Conservatory 

 at the foot of Capitol Hill. 1 The rectangular Conservatory, 

 which has been in continual use since January 13, 1933, is 

 approximately 183 feet by 262 feet and contains 47,674 square 

 feet of floor space. 



It was designed under the general supervision of David 

 Lynn, Architect of the Capitol. The Chicago firm of Bennett, 

 Parsons and Frost served as consulting architect. Structural 

 engineer for the project was Louis E. Ritter of Chicago, and 

 the New York firm of George A. Fuller Co. served as general 

 contractor. Glazing for the Conservatory was done by the 

 Lord & Burnham Co. of Irvington, New York. The total cost 

 for constructing the Conservatory was $633, 585. 2 A special 

 feature of the conservatory is that it was the first large build- 

 ing to use aluminum for structure. 3 



The main or north entrance of the building, which is 

 approximately 40 feet high, is made of limestone and has 

 a flat concrete roof. At the top of the facade are four dif- 

 ferent keystones: Pan (a satyr head with horns, surrounded 

 by wild flowers and oak leaves), Pomona (a female head with 

 a band around it, surrounded by wild flowers), Triton (a male 

 seagod head with aquatic flowers, water drops, and shells), 

 and Flora (a young, smiling female face with roses). The front 

 portion of the building, which is 17 feet by 200 feet, is 



1 According to an article in the Washington Star the following day, a 

 box containing a record of the legislation pertaining to the Garden's im- 

 provement and a brief history of the Garden was placed inside the cor- 

 nerstone, but a copy of these materials has not been found. Garden 

 Cornerstone Laid, Washington Evening Star, November 13, 1931, p. Bl. 



2 Annual Report of the Architect of the Capitol, 1937, p. 48. 



3 Federal Conservatory Uses Aluminum Alloy Framing, Engineering 

 News-Record, April 14, 1932, pp. 539-542; and Hughes, U.S. Botanic 

 Garden, p. 102. 



49 



