The Bloedel Floral Conservatory |
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| Date opened | 1969[1] |
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| Location | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Number of animals | 100 birds[2] |
| Number of species | 500 plant species[2] |
| Website | http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/parks/parks/bloedel/index.htm |
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.
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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 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.[3][4] The closure was to take effect on March 1, 2010, just after Vancouver had finished hosting the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.[5] In response to the decision several groups formed in order to lobby both the board and city council.[4]
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.[6] 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.[1] In late February, the park board voted to keep the facility open, and asked for proposals on running the facility.[7]
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.[5][8][9] As of May 2010 the Conservatory remains open with regular operating hours.[10]
At least one other proposal was received,[11] 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.[12][13] The full Park Board unanimously approved the plan on September 20, 2010.[14]
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.[2]
The conservatory is home to Bougainvilleas and Browallias, citrus and coffee trees, Eucalypti and epiphytes, Euphorbia and various figs, Gardenia and Hibiscus. Magnolia trees share space with delicate lilies, yucca with pteris (ferns).
Located 500 feet (150 m) above sea level, the conservatory itself is 140 feet (43 m) in diameter, 70 feet (21 m) high. The triodetic dome (related to a geodesic dome) consists of 1,490 acrylic glass bubbles and is illuminated at night.[2]
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.
The conservatory has been made popular as a filming location for several movies and sci-fi series such as Battlestar Galactica, Stargate SG-1, and Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda.
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