Pennsylvania Historic Resource Survey Form Henry Phipps gave
Pittsburgh its first conservatory, a â€˜crystal palaceâ€™
designed by one of the nationâ€™s prominent architectural firms,
Lord and Burnham of New York. When Phipps Conservatory opened in
time for Christmas on December 7, 1893, it was Americaâ€™s
largest conservatory. A few months after the grand opening, the
1894 spring flower show drew over 13,000 visitors. Another
prominent architectural firm, Rutan and Russell, designed the
adjacent Phipps Halls of Botany in 1901. As the Conservatory
grew, other buildings and landscape features were designed by
Ralph Griswold, one of Pittsburghâ€™s most important landscape
architects. The Conservatory has been listed on the National
Register since 1976.