[DOCID:198805tx_xxx-5]
From the Government Manual Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Page 45-46]
UNITED STATES BOTANIC GARDEN
Office of Executive Director, 245 First Street SW., Washington, DC 20024
Phone, 202-226-8333. Internet, www.usbg.gov.
Conservatory, 100 Maryland Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20024
Phone, 202-225-8333
Production Facility, 4700 Shepherd Parkway SW., Washington, DC 20032
Phone, 202-563-2220
Director (Architect of the Capitol) Alan M. Hantman,
Acting
Executive Director Holly H. Shimizu
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The United States Botanic Garden informs visitors about the aesthetic,
cultural, economic, therapeutic, and ecological importance of plants to
the well-being of humankind.
The U.S. Botanic Garden has artistic displays of plants, exhibits, and
educational programs promoting botanical knowledge through the
cultivation of an ordered collection of plants; fostering plant
conservation by acting as a repository for endangered species; and
growing plants for the beautification of the Capitol complex. Uniquely
situated at the heart of the U.S. Government, the Garden seeks to
promote the exchange of ideas and information relevant to its mission
among national and international visitors and policymakers.
The Garden's collections include orchids, epiphytes, bromeliads,
carnivorous plants, ferns, cycads, cacti, succulents, medicinal plants,
rare and endangered plants, and plants valued as sources of food,
beverages, fibers, cosmetics, and industrial products.
The U.S. Botanic Garden's facilities include the Conservatory,
Bartholdi Park, an administration building, and an off-site Production
facility. The Garden is currently undergoing a significant expansion and
transformation. The Conservatory, one of the largest structures of its
kind in this country, re-opened on December 11, 2001, after undergoing
major renovation that required more than 4 years to complete. In
addition to upgraded amenities for visitors, it features 12 new exhibit
and plant display areas. Renovation of the administration building and
Bartholdi Park are scheduled for 2005-2006. A new public feature, the
National Garden, is planned for the three-acre site just west of the
Conservatory.
Outdoor plantings are showcased in Bartholdi Park, a home landscape
demonstration area located across from the Conservatory. Each of the
displays is sized and scaled for suitability in an urban or suburban
setting. The gardens display ornamental plants that perform
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well in this region arrayed in a variety of styles and themes. Also
located in this park is Bartholdi Fountain, created by Frederic Auguste
Bartholdi (1834-1904), sculptor of the Statue of Liberty.
The Garden's staff is organized into horticulture, operations,
administration, and public programs divisions. Programs for the public
are listed in a quarterly calendar of events and also on the Garden's
Web site. A horticultural hotline is available to answer questions from
the public.
The U.S. Botanic Garden was founded in 1820 under the auspices of
the Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences, an
organization that was the outgrowth of an association known as the
Metropolitan Society, which received its charter from Congress on April
20, 1818. The Garden continued under the direction of the Institute
until 1837, when the Institute ceased to exist as an active
organization.
In June 1842, the U.S. Exploring Expedition under the command of
Captain Charles Wilkes returned from its 4-year voyage with a wealth of
information, artifacts, pressed-plant specimens, and living plants. The
living plants were temporarily placed on exhibit on a lot behind the old
Patent Office under the care of William D. Brackenridge, the
Expedition's botanist. By November, the plants were moved into a
greenhouse built there with funds appropriated by Congress.
Subsequently, the greenhouse was expanded with two additions and a small
growing area to care for the burgeoning collection. In 1843, stewardship
of the collection was placed under the direction and control of the
Joint Committee on the Library, which had also assumed responsibility
for publication of the results of the Expedition. Expansion of the
Patent Office in 1849 necessitated finding a new location for the
botanical collections.
The act of May 15, 1850 (9 Stat. 427), provided for the relocation
of the Botanic Garden under the direction of the Joint Committee on the
Library. The site selected was on The Mall at the west end of the
Capitol Grounds, practically the same site the Garden occupied during
the period it functioned under the Columbia Institute. This site was
later enlarged, and the main area continued to serve as the principal
Garden site from 1850 to 1933, when the Garden was relocated to its
present site.
Although the Government had assumed responsibility for the
maintenance and stewardship of the plant collection in 1842, the two
functions were divided between the Commissioner of Public Buildings and
the Joint Committee on the Library, repectively. In 1856, in recognition
of their increasing stature, the collections and their associated
operations and facilities were officially named the United States
Botanic Garden, and the Joint Committee on the Library assumed
jurisdiction over both its direction and maintenance (11 Stat. 104). An
annual appropriation has been provided by Congress since 1856.
Presently, the Joint Committee on the Library exercises its
supervision through the Architect of the Capitol, who has held the title
of Acting Director since 1934.
For further information concerning the United States Botanic Garden,
contact the Public Programs Division, 245 First Street SW., Washington,
DC 20024. Phone, 202-225-8333. Plant Hotline, 202-226-4785. Internet,
www.usbg.gov. E-mail, usbg@aoc.gov.
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