Crystal Palaces, American Garden Conservatories (Hardcover)

~ Anne Cunningham (Author), Paul Bennett (Introduction) "Although steel was readily available as a building material by the 1870s, San Francisco's conservatory was constructed entirely of wood, from the load-bearing, structural elements..." (more)
Key Phrases: palm dome, many conservatories, new conservatory, United States, New York, Christmas Day (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This unique book presents the architectural and horticultural history of a collection of public garden conservatories in the United States. After an introduction to the purpose, background, and infrastructure of conservatories, Cunningham, a freelance writer for various garden and home publications, presents a chronological tour of 25 examples of large public greenhouses. The great era of Victorian glasshouses began in the late 1800s with Golden Gate Park and lasted until the Great Depression of the 1930s. It was not until the 1960s that environmentalism spurred a resurgence in garden conservatory building, which continues today. Although some of the 170 color images are not sufficiently sharp, they do offer enticing views. The lack of botanical and architectural specificity makes this volume more popular than scholarly, but because it is one of the few texts to address this building type, it will be a welcome addition to large public and academic libraries. Jay Schafer, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

It is a must-have reference book for every travelling gardener. -- Richard A. Brown, President, Pacific Horticultural

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568982429
• ISBN-13: 978-1568982427
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 10.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #914,656 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautifully Prepared View of Glass Houses, November 25, 2000

By	Stephen S. Cunningham "scunning" (Saratoga, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Gardeners, Horticulturists , or anyone else will enjoy the beauty of this book. What struck me was the beautiful preparation and the reproduction of the Photos. The color and architectural features leap off the pages.

The history of the development of Conservatories adds an extra dimension - and of course nearly every large city has one, open for visiting now !

A great read, and a terrific gift for anyone.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful reference book, February 6, 2001

By	Bettina Dreyer (Woodside, CA) - See all my reviews

Important background information on these lovely historic glass houses is matched with lovely photos. It would make an excellent book for planning travel to any of the cities where these conservatories are located. Well known properties are listed as well as ones less famous. This book is a "must" if you are a lover of gardens and plants.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, February 15, 2009

A Kid's Review

As I live close, I have gone to Phipps since a toddler and grew up loving conservatories. As an adult, I get to Longwood as often as I possibly can.
And I have been to several others covered in this book.
And as I own a 25 x 80 Wm H. Lutton glasshouse, I get to experience a glass palace every day :-)
The photographs in this book are astounding. It must have been a lot of fun for Anne to go to all these glasshouse to write this book :-) An experience I would enjoy much, too :-) Due to this book, I have made a list of those I will be able to visit in the future. And for those I cannot, I am enjoying them immensely via this book :-)
Well written, excellent information, very lovely photos .. and out in the open for other to enjoy also when they visit. Thanks :-)