Sneak Peek at the Renovated W.W. Seymour Conservatory

The jewel-box Victorian conservatory in Tacoma’s Wright Park gets a sparkling renovation – here’s a sneak peek before the May 14 grand opening.

Tacoma, WA: It’s brighter. Warmer. More accessible. Filled with dart frogs and a living wall of plants. The W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory, the gem of Tacoma’s Wright Park and one of just three public Victorian conservatories on the West coast, is about to open after a year-long renovation.

With a $2,730,600 budget, the renovation is funded by voter-approved dollars from the 2014 Parks Tacoma bond, with the support of the W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory Foundation and a Washington State Heritage Capital Projects Grant. It includes stunning additions like a living plant wall, dart frog vivarium and sparkling new lighting. Crucial-but-invisible improvements include a new boiler, heating tubes and venting windowpanes to create a more comfortable environment for plants and visitors alike.

The grand opening on May 14 is perfectly timed for spring – but here’s a sneak peek at what will be revealed.

• Living wall of ferns, monstera, orchids and more, built on interior and side walls in South Wing
• Vivarium habitat for golden dart frogs and their plants, surrounded by hanging ferns
• Carnivorous plant bog in the South Wing
• South Wing: Remodel of gift shop and offices (new sink, display shelving, lighting, roller shades, heating)
• North Wing: New planting beds for tropical plants, new fin tubes for heating distribution, rebuilt floor protecting the basement from water
• Basement: New boiler
• Everywhere: New paint for steel frame, new venting windowpanes on roof, new lighting and fans, steel cross bracing at wall and roof bays, new gutters and flashing for weather proofing, foundations and chimney crack filling with new parge coating
• Outside: New accessible parking stall in drive, new beds of hardy tropical-style plants
• Rotunda: Restored and new fiberglass-framed windows

“We’re really excited to unveil this historic gem that’s so beloved by the community,” said Joe Brady, deputy director of regional parks and attractions for Parks Tacoma. “It’s an honor to be able to steward such a beautiful piece of history that’s also a living environment for a wealth of unique plant species.”

Adds Park Board President Andrea Smith: “The Seymour Conservatory is a place that draws both our community and visitors from around the nation. It’s a warm sanctuary in winter and a lush delight in summer, allowing us to experience tropical paradise in the middle of the Pacific Northwest. And thanks to Tacoma voters, we can enhance it and preserve it for generations to come.”

The Conservatory will be the second of three major park renovations opening before summer: up first is the new area in Swan Creek Park, which combines wild forest canyon with trails and history, in an April 30 celebration event. The grand reopening of Owen Beach, nestled on Puget Sound in the old-growth forest of Point Defiance Park, will follow.

LEARN MORE:
Get details about the opening celebration on May 14
Learn about the conservatory and its renovation at SeymourConservatory.org.

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Contact:          

Rosemary Ponnekanti, Communications Media Administrator/PIO: [email protected], (253) 345-0948

Photographs are available for media use. Please contact Parks Tacoma: [email protected]