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Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory on Belle Isle State Park, Detroit.
Special Attraction for Daffodil Day 2025:
Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory
Anna Scripps Whitcomb & her husband Edgar Whitcomb 1937. Her father founded the Detroit News. She & her family were wealthy philanthropists, contributing to Detroit Institute of Arts & other worthy causes.
Photo: Grosse Pointe Historic Society
The Belle Isle Conservatory, and its sister building the Belle Isle Aquarium, were built by architects George D. Mason and Albert Kahn. Completed in 1904, it is the oldest continually running conservatory in the United States. The architects were influenced by British horticultural buildings from the mid-eighteenth century, including The Crystal Palace and Palm House at Kew.
Over the last five years $12.5 million has been spent on a major restoration of the Conservatory on Belle Isle. In 2019 twenty steel beams in the center dome were replaced. More work was needed and the Conservatory closed again in 2022.
Lead paint and asbestos were removed, a new irrigation system was installed, catwalks in the dome were replaced, and much more. Fifteen hundred panes of glass were installed in the dome. The newly developed laminated glass helps control heat and light.
These renovations not only secured the structure of the Conservatory, they also created a better environment. Improvements in heat, light, and ventilation not only benefit the plants, they make the conservatory more comfortable for visitors and staff.
The Belle Isle Conservatory, and its sister building the Belle Isle Aquarium, were built by architects George D. Mason and Albert Kahn. Completed in 1904, it is the oldest continually running conservatory in the United States. The architects were influenced by British horticultural buildings from the mid-eighteenth century, including The Crystal Palace and Palm House at Kew.
Over the last five years $12.5 million has been spent on a major restoration of the Conservatory on Belle Isle. In 2019 twenty steel beams in the center dome were replaced. More work was needed and the Conservatory closed again in 2022.
Lead paint and asbestos were removed, a new irrigation system was installed, catwalks in the dome were replaced, and much more. Fifteen hundred panes of glass were installed in the dome. The newly developed laminated glass helps control heat and light.
These renovations not only secured the structure of the Conservatory, they also created a better environment. Improvements in heat, light, and ventilation not only benefit the plants, they make the conservatory more comfortable for visitors and staff.
For 27 years, William Crichton (right) was head gardener at Mrs. Whitcomb’s Grosse Pointe estate. Using a method developed at Cornell University to sprout orchid seeds on agar (seaweed) gelatin, they were remarkably successful in breeding new orchid hybrids. To learn more, CLICK ON PHOTO.
In the first half of the twentieth century the Conservatory suffered from deferred maintenance. By the 1950's it was in need of extensive repairs. Anna Scripps Whitcomb, internationally know for her orchid collection, provided half a million dollars for much needed repairs. She also donated her collection of over six hundred rare orchids, some rescued from Britain during World War II. The greenhouse was renamed the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory in her honor.
A Conservatory highlight is the Children's Christian Temperance Fountain with its charming statue of a little girl. However, the Conservatory was not the first home for the statue. It was part of a much larger monument built on the parkland of Belle Isle in 1910. Many temperance fountains were erected during the Prohibition movement. The fountains were to provide working men with fresh drinking water so they would go home to their families, rather than spending their wages on beer. The children of Detroit gave theirs pennies as a plea for temperance raising the then large sum of $2,500.
As Prohibition lost popularity, the temperance fountain fell into disrepair and was dismantled. The statue of the little girl, holding a cup of water and bunch of daisies, was moved to the Conservatory and used in various flower shows. In the 1960's, the statue was repaired and found a more permanent home in a fountain in the tropical room of the Conservatory. There she stands today, often surrounded by orchids from the Anna Scripps Whitcomb’s collection.
A Conservatory highlight is the Children's Christian Temperance Fountain with its charming statue of a little girl. However, the Conservatory was not the first home for the statue. It was part of a much larger monument built on the parkland of Belle Isle in 1910. Many temperance fountains were erected during the Prohibition movement. The fountains were to provide working men with fresh drinking water so they would go home to their families, rather than spending their wages on beer. The children of Detroit gave theirs pennies as a plea for temperance raising the then large sum of $2,500.
As Prohibition lost popularity, the temperance fountain fell into disrepair and was dismantled. The statue of the little girl, holding a cup of water and bunch of daisies, was moved to the Conservatory and used in various flower shows. In the 1960's, the statue was repaired and found a more permanent home in a fountain in the tropical room of the Conservatory. There she stands today, often surrounded by orchids from the Anna Scripps Whitcomb’s collection.
View of Children's Temperance Fountain located on Belle Isle in Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, as seen today .
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Children's Temperance Fountain located on Belle Isle. Fountain was designed by George E. Wade and depicts a young girl holding a cup of water and a bouquet of daisies,. Photo: 1931, Detroit Public Library Digital
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