Photo by Virginia Small
A trio of glass domes gleams by day and by night along a bluff overlooking Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley. The Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory, affectionately known as the Domes, lets visitors immerse themselves year-round within abundant plantings. A living museum filled with plants from across the globe, the Domes offers opportunities for a “nature fix,” especially on cold days.
A landmark and source of civic pride for generations, the Domes are the world’s only cone-shaped glasshouses. Milwaukeean Donald Grieb’s design was chosen in 1958 among proposals submitted by 33 architects in a national competition. Grieb’s son has said that his father awoke one day with the design in his head and proceeded to craft models with toothpicks and balsa wood.
In 2017 the National Trust for Historic Preservation declared the Domes a “national treasure” for being “a unique engineering marvel, a nationally significant example of Midcentury Modern architecture… a center of community life and an international tourism destination for more than 50 years.”
Grieb, a Milwaukee-based architect, studied other conservatories in his quest to increase access to sunlight and potential height of plants. Each dome is 140 feet in diameter and 85 feet tall. “The conoidal design was patented, and that patent has never been used, so they are unique in the world,” said Dawn McCarthy. She is a board member of the Milwaukee Preservation Alliance, the local nonprofit leading efforts to find a long-term preservation solution for the Domes. The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), based in Washington D.C., named the Domes a “threatened cultural landscape” in its 2016 Landslide program. TCLF wrote that the Domes “are recognized as a Modernist marvel” and compared it to the recently restored Arch in St. Louis, which opened the same year as the Domes.
Photo by Virginia Small
A Zoo for Plants
The Domes showcase diverse horticultural climates in what an avid young student called “a zoo for plants” at a hearing. The Show Dome, Tropical Dome and Desert Dome were constructed one at a time between 1959 and 1967. U.S. First Lady “Lady Bird” Johnson attended a dedication ceremony in 1965.
The Domes have received acclaim since their opening and remain a popular destination for locals and tourists, whether for education or recreation. Before a temporary pandemic-related closure this year, nearly 250,000 people visited the Domes annually. Many people have spoken publicly about the Domes’ significance to them, including as an antidote for “Seasonal Affective Disorder.” Intergenerational outings, including to enjoy seasonal holiday displays, have become traditions for many families. The Domes are a popular setting for weddings and other special events, as well as for memorable photos. The Domes’ horticultural staff tends a collection valued in the millions, which includes thousands of plant species, as well as changing floral displays.
|
|
West Allis native and former Madison mayor Dave Cieslewicz wrote about the Domes in Madison’s Isthmus. “On cold winter Saturday afternoons when I was a kid, my dad would often take me to the Mitchell Park Domes. We’d bask in the humidity of the tropical dome or enjoy the crisp heat of the desert dome… The earthy smell of all those plants on frigid days is something that’s still with me all these years later.”
Darlene Wesenberg Rzezotarski, an artist and teacher, said, “Our children always watched for the Domes from the expressway whenever we returned from a trip. They knew we were home again when the Domes came into view.”
Deep Layers of Civic History
The Domes are located in Mitchell Park, one of Milwaukee’s earliest public green spaces. Mitchell Park and the Domes are economic and cultural anchors of Clarke Square, one of Milwaukee’s most diverse, storied and populous neighborhoods. Mitchell Park originally comprised about 30 acres when created in 1890, one of seven original parks developed by Milwaukee’s nascent park commission. It was named for John Landrum Mitchell, father of General Billy Mitchell, the namesake of Milwaukee County’s airport. A history of local parks calls the elder Mitchell “a wealthy and highly respected citizen” who was elected to local, state and national offices. The Mitchell Family donated a five-acre tract for the park.
When Mitchell Park was expanded to 61 acres, Warren Manning, a nationally renowned landscape architect, redesigned it to feature rolling hills, a scenic lagoon and a Sunken Garden with a spectacular “water mirror” reflecting pool. Manning consulted for nearly a decade with Milwaukee’s park commission after serving on landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted’s team when he designed three of Milwaukee’s first parks. Ultimately, Manning designed 60 public and private landscapes in Wisconsin, including several projects for the Pabst Family.
Completed in 1901, the Sunken Garden was placed on axis with a Victorian-style glass house designed by Henry C. Koch, the architect for Milwaukee’s City Hall. Mitchell Park became nicknamed “Flower Park” for its cherished indoor and outdoor horticultural displays. The original conservatory was razed in 1955, after deterioration caused by neglect was aggravated by a hailstorm. The Sunken Garden was gradually removed without fanfare in the 1990s.
Photo by Melissa Johnston
Adapting to COVID Realities
As with other attractions, new policies have been implemented for Domes visitors in response to the pandemic. Doris Maki, horticultural services director, said, “We are taking all necessary measures to make sure our staff and visitors are safe while visiting the Domes as we continue to face the constant evolving challenges of COVID-19. The health and safety of our community and all who visit the Domes is our top priority.”
New hours are Wednesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Domes are closed Monday and Tuesday. Walk-up tickets are currently unavailable. Advance registration is required by visiting county.milwaukee.gov/en/parks/explore/the-domes. The adopted 2021 county budget provides funding for the Domes to remain open year-round.
Admission is free for members. “First Thursdays” free admission for Milwaukee County residents has been suspended through 2020. Adult tickets are $8; tickets for children 6 through 17, students and people with disabilities are $6. Milwaukee County residents receive a $1 discount. The Domes are accessible for wheelchairs and strollers. Masks are required for everyone three years of age and older in all Domes spaces. All exhibitions are included with admission, and the gift shop is open. The education center is closed, and no guided tours or live programming are being offered.
The winter holiday show, “Poinsettia Promenade,” will be on display through January 3, 2021. While transitioning floral shows, the Show Dome is closed to the public, and the Desert and Tropical Dome remain open for visitors.
Virtual Science Live programs, offered with support from the Friends of the Domes, are available for groups up to 35 students in kindergarten through grade 6. The Friends, a nonprofit organization with 2,200 members, also developed two nature-exploration kits for students. “Backyard Bug Buddies” and “Growing with My Garden” can be purchased and either picked up or shipped. The Friends of the Domes run the facility’s gift shop, conduct educational programs and raise funds.
The Milwaukee Winter Farmers Market (MWFM) has resumed in the Greenhouse Annex of Domes complex. It runs from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturdays through March 27, 2021. Customers will find favorite farmers and producers in an environment designed to keep shoppers, vendors, volunteers and staff safe, according to organizers. Fondy Food Center (FFC), the nonprofit that operates the market, worked with Milwaukee County Parks staff to create an approved operating plan. Farmers markets are considered essential businesses during the pandemic. FFC has successfully operated the open-air Fondy Farmers Market since May.
The Domes Face Challenges
Long-deferred maintenance of the Domes must be addressed to ensure that the facility continues to serve as a community and educational asset. The Milwaukee County Task Force on the Mitchell Park Conservatory Domes (the “Domes Task Force”) met for three years to evaluate options for moving forward. At its final meeting in August 2019, the task force endorsed the business plan and conceptual design prepared by ArtsMarket, Inc., a third-party contractor. The $66 million re-envisioning of the Domes and Mitchell Park over the next 50 years includes a multi-faceted funding structure combining federal tax credits from multiple sources, private philanthropic donations and approximately $13.5 million in County bond funding.
An additional $100,000 was allocated to the Office of the Comptroller to evaluate the feasibility and perform due diligence on the Domes Task Force plan. According to the 2021 budget summary, “the COVID-19 pandemic forced a temporary freeze on spending, and consultants to conduct that work were never hired. At this time, there have been no recent updates as to the status of the plan recommended on the Domes Task Force and no long-term plan for the Domes has been proposed.” Also, that budget does not include any funding to address the recommendations of the Domes Task Force. The 2021 Capital Budget does include $500,000 to address maintenance and repairs to the mesh system that installed in 2016 when the facility was closed due to spalling concrete.
Rejuvenation of the Domes and Mitchell Park will require that civic leaders and elected officials generate sufficient political will, as has been the case for funding arena, stadium and convention center projects. One woman at a Domes hearing in 2019 asked attendees to consider what it would be like to return to Milwaukee “and not finding our Domes… That would be like St. Louis without their Arch.”
Virginia Small is a veteran journalist and communications professional. The Milwaukee Press Club recently awarded her a silver medal for a story published in the Shepherd Express.
