Heritage Character Statement
The Conservatory Is A Very Good Example Of A Building Type - Greenhouse. It Is Of Particular Interest In That The Structure, Composed Of Metal And Glass, Is Also Both The Exterior And Interior Finishes. Lord & Burnham, Greenhouse Designers And Manufacturers, Were The Suppliers. The Original Building Is Designed As Three Interconnected Greenhouses With A Large Central Unit And A Smaller Unit On Each Gable End. This Design Configuration Results In Dramatic Varying Spatial Volumes, Each Portraying A Different Climatic Zone.
Summary History
The Calgary Zoo's Conservatory, Originally Built As The Conservatory-Aviary And Later Renamed The Tropical Aviary, Is A Steel-And-Glass Structure Built In The 1960's At The Central Point Of St. George's Island. It Was Originally Located On An Axis With St. George's Bridge And The Zoo's Formal Entrance Gate, Which Has Since Been Relocated. Between The 1963 And 1967 Phases Of The Aviary Stands A Single-Storey Brick Building Originally Designed As A Commissary Or Teahouse.
Although St. George's Island Lay Outside The City Limits Until 1907, The Federal Government Leased It (Along With St. Andrew's And St. Patrick's Islands) To The Municipality In 1890 For Parks Purposes. The City Took Formally Ownership Of The Islands In 1910. The City Built A North Bridge In 1900 And A South Bridge, St. George's Bridge, In 1908. Park Development On The Island Began In 1908, And In 1910, The Street Railway Department Built A Dancing Platform There. The City Proposed Developing A Zoo On The Island In 1910, But The Idea Was Soon Abandoned. The Fauna Collection Began In 1917 When Two Mule Deer Who Had Wandered Into Calgary Were Removed To St. George's Island, Where They Were Presumably Kept In Pens That Had Been Constructed For Use By The City Dogcatcher Two Years Earlier. Parks Superintendent William Reader Quickly Recommended That The Fauna Collection Be Expanded, And In 1929, The Calgary Zoological Society Was Formally Organized.
The Future Site Of The Tropical Aviary Was First Developed In 1912. Danish-Born Richard Iwersen, Who Preceded William Reader As Parks Superintendent From 1911-13, Designed A Two-Storey Wooden Pavillion Originally Intended For Use As A Biergarten. The Facility Was Never Licensed, And It Instead Functioned As A Teahouse And Bandstand. Eventually It Also Served As A Residence For Zoo Staff Members. The Second Storey Was Demolished In 1949, And The Remaining Portion Of The Building Became The Residence Of The Zoo's Curator, Tom Baines, Until 1960.
The Conservatory Is A Very Good Example Of A Building Type. It Is Of Particular Interest In That The Structure, Composed Of Metal And Glass, Is Also Both The Exterior And Interior Finishes. Lord & Burnham, Greenhouse Designers And Manufacturers, Were The Suppliers. The Original Building Is Designed As Three Interconnected Greenhouses With A Large Central Unit And A Smaller Unit On Each Gable End. This Design Configuration Results In Dramatic Varying Spatial Volumes, Each Portraying A Different Climatic Zone.
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