May of 1897, the New York State Legislature approved the
establishment of “a botanic garden and arboretum for
the collection and propagation of plants, flowers, shrubs
and trees and also for the advancement of knowledge and
research pertaining to botanical science, the exhibition
of ornamental and decorative horticulture, and for entertainment,
recreation and education of the general public,”
the Brooklyn Eagle reported at the time.
Meanwhile, across the river, advocates for the New York
Botanical Garden were raising money in Manhattan.
The city obtained the Lorillard family estate in the
Bronx for parkland in 1889. Part of it was set aside for a
botanical garden in 1891. Plans were made, legislation
enacted, and the building began. The last and most
memorable structure to be built was the great glass and
steel conservatory, which opened in 1902. Brooklyn
wanted to make sure their botanic garden was just as
spectacular, if not better.
Back in Brooklyn, plans were also under way to create a
large, impressive central library at the junction of Flatbush
Avenue and Eastern Parkway. Institute Park would
be part of a huge civic center which would include the
park, the museum, the reservoir, a botanic garden and the
library. Paired with Prospect Park and Grand Army Plaza
just across the street, this would be a magnificent White
Cities-City Beautiful jewel in Brooklyn’s crown.
The Parks Department cleaned up the refuse in Institute
Park, burying a lot of it. They graded the land somewhat,
planted trees, shrubs, and grass and created a large lake
in the center, complete with a fountain. Institute Park was
opened to the public with great fanfare in November of
1903. This park was seen as an interim step to a complete
botanic garden.
CREATING THE BOTANIC GARDEN
The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences was charged
with creating the botanic garden. They hired the sons of
Frederick Law Olmsted, Frederick Jr. and John Charles,
working as Olmsted Brothers, to lay out the first comprehensive
site plan. In 1910, the Institute of Arts and Sciences
hired C. Stuart Gager to be the first director. Gager was
working in Missouri at the time. Even before moving to
Brooklyn, he began working closely with Olmsted Brothers
on the design for the grounds and with McKim, Mead
& White, who were commissioned to design the garden’s
laboratory and plant houses. The Institute of Arts and
Sciences was placed in charge of the garden. At that point
in their history, they directed the Brooklyn Museum, the
Botanic Garden, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and
the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
The first part of the garden, containing the Native Flora
Garden, then called the Local Flora Section, opened to
the public on May 13, 1911. It featured plants native to
a hundred mile radius of Brooklyn, including beds of
wildflowers arranged by plant family and evolutionary
relationship.
Director Gager was working with the second generation
of McKim, Mead & White architects to design the
garden’s structures. By the time the Botanic Garden’s
buildings were being designed, McKim and White were
both dead. William Rutherford Mead, the managing
partner, passed the day to day running of his firm on to
their successors. Architect William Kendall is credited
for his design of the garden’s Laboratory Administration
Building.
Kendall was a fine addition to the upscale firm. He was
a Harvard man, with an architecture degree from MIT.
He followed that up with years of study in Europe before
coming home and joining McKim, Mead & White. He
worked closely with Charles Follen McKim and designed
some of the firm’s best known New York civic buildings,
including Manhattan’s Central Post Office building
on Thirty-Second Street and the Municipal Building
on Centre Street. He was therefore quite proficient in
designing the Beaux-Arts masterpieces that the firm is
known for. The Botanic Garden’s Laboratory and Conservatory
(now the Administration Building and Palm
House) would be a little different.
The mission of the Brooklyn Institute was equally divided
between art and science. The garden’s scientists were in
place to study genetics and plant propagation, improve
crops, and carry out other important research. Some of
the greenhouses attached to the labs attracted visitors for
their exotic and unusual plants, while others were solely
for laboratory use.
To both celebrate and emphasize that point, Gager sent
out letters to colleagues asking them for the names of the
most important botanists in history. Kendall’s building
was modeled after the vernacular churches of Lombardy
in Italy. It is a Greek cross with a cupola at the center
join. The building is clad in stucco with terra-cotta trim
and originally had Spanish terra-cotta roofing tiles. A
decorative frieze under the eaves is inscribed with 68
names, including Darwin and Linnaeus.
The first section of the building opened for business in
1913. Although the entire structure had been planned
and designed, a lack of funding prevented further
construction until 1916. This southern wing of the
building opened a year later. The entire building housed
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