{"id":6,"date":"2009-08-21T10:10:00","date_gmt":"2009-08-21T17:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/viewfinders.com\/scenecards\/?p=6"},"modified":"2019-11-14T08:29:40","modified_gmt":"2019-11-14T16:29:40","slug":"conservatory-of-flowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/viewfinders.com\/scenecards\/2009\/08\/21\/conservatory-of-flowers\/","title":{"rendered":"Conservatory of Flowers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Video Postcard: Conservatory of Flowers\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HOhTD26w5Rk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For gardeners and admirers of Victorian architecture, the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park is San Francisco\u2019s Taj Mahal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First open to the public in 1879, this wood-and-glass greenhouse \u2014 a monument to botanical art and science \u2014 has endured thanks to several major renovations, the most recent being a $25 million bottom-to-top reconstruction completed in 2003 after the structure was closed to the public for eight years as a result of storm damage suffered in 1995.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once inside, visitors leave San Francisco&#8217;s often chill weather behind as they explore exhibits featuring plants native to tropical lowland, highland and aquatic environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As soon as you enter you\u2019ll see a true survivor directly beneath the dome \u2014 a giant philodendron alive and well since 1883.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a paradise for flowers and the photographers who love them but be warned: the near-constant spritzing from mist machines that pump up the humidity in this hothouse means you\u2019ll be wiping off your lens frequently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More than 16,000 glass panes cover the Conservatory and they\u2019re painted white to soften the sun on the plants inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Conservatory was purchased in the mid 1870s as a prefabricated kit by the California land baron James Lick, who died before he could do anything with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A group of wealthy San Franciscans bought it from Lick\u2019s estate and had it assembled in Golden Gate Park where it remains one of the City\u2019s beloved landmarks, the subject of countless postcards and a great location for a picturesque picnic or sedate stroll; a place where time passes slowly and the thrum of the surrounding city is faint, distant and easy to ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>RELATED LINKS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Official Site: <a href=\"http:\/\/conservatoryofflowers.org\">Conservatory of Flowers<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d3153.7435493019884!2d-122.46242228468242!3d37.77261097975978!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x80858745b7fe7753%3A0xe0f72dc2a14564e8!2s100+John+F+Kennedy+Dr%2C+San+Francisco%2C+CA+94118!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1510164095154\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For gardeners and admirers of Victorian architecture, the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park is San Francisco\u2019s Taj Mahal. First open to the public in 1879, this wood-and-glass greenhouse \u2014 a monument to botanical art and science \u2014 has endured thanks to several major renovations, the most recent being a $25 million bottom-to-top reconstruction &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/viewfinders.com\/scenecards\/2009\/08\/21\/conservatory-of-flowers\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Conservatory of Flowers&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[4,3],"class_list":["post-6","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-california","category-san-francisco","tag-conservatory-of-flowers","tag-golden-gate-park"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/viewfinders.com\/scenecards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/viewfinders.com\/scenecards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/viewfinders.com\/scenecards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/viewfinders.com\/scenecards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/viewfinders.com\/scenecards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/viewfinders.com\/scenecards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13,"href":"http:\/\/viewfinders.com\/scenecards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6\/revisions\/13"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/viewfinders.com\/scenecards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/viewfinders.com\/scenecards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/viewfinders.com\/scenecards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}