The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory under construction on July 26, 1902
Photo from the Burton Historical Collection
The conservatory, left, and Belle Isle Aquarium under construction in 1903.
Photo from the Burton Historical Collection
The original exterior of the conservatory can be seen in this photo from about 1920.
Photo from the Burton Historical Collection
The conservatory, shortly after opening in 1904
Photo from the Burton Historical Collection
The original exterior of the conservatory can be seen in this photo from about 1920.
Photo from the Burton Historical Collection
Some women visit the conservatory in 1918
Photo from the Burton Historical Collection
A man paddles by the conservatory
Photo from the Burton Historical Collection
A pair of cactus in 1980 at the conservatory
Photo from the Detroit Free Press archives
Santa and his reindeer are surrounded by some 5,000 poinsettias at the 1978 Christmas show in the conservatory.
Photo from the Detroit Free Press archives
Bradford pear trees dot the front of the conservatory in 1980.
Photo from the Detroit Free Press archives
Pat O'Connor tends to the plants at the conservatory in 1989.
Photo from the Detroit Free Press archives
Elmer Habel, a retired senior floriculturist on Belle Isle, smells a geranium on a trip to the Belle Isle conservatory in 1982.
Photo from the Detroit Free Press archives
Hospice worker Laurie Tobel takes patient Elmer Habel, who once worked as a senior floriculturist at the park, for a pass inside the conservatory in 1982.
Photo from the Detroit Free Press archives
The flora in the conservatory in 1982
Photo from the Detroit Free Press archives
Anna Scripps Whitcomb's orchid collection that she donated to the conservatory, seen here in March 1955
Photo from the Walter P. Reuther Library
The conservatory in 1963
Photo from the Walter P. Reuther Library
Mr. Mrs. John Hurley of St. Clair Shores, Mich., and their kids check out the conservatory in April 1963.
Photo from the Walter P. Reuther Library
Mr. and Mrs. James Whitcomb and Mrs. Walter O’Hair officially dedicate the conservatory in honor of Anna Scripps Whitcomb in the 1950s.
Photo from the Walter P. Reuther Library
Chrysanthemums in the conservatory in the 1920s
Photo from the Walter P. Reuther Library
The conservatory, top, and Belle Isle Casino in the 1920s