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Feature Article

THE MUTTART CONSERVATORY

Written By: Lawrence Herzog
Published By: Real Estate Weekly
Article © Copyright Lawrence Herzog
2007-12-13

The Muttart Conservatory

It's startling to think it was nearly 35 years ago that the city selected the Cloverdale flats as the location for the Muttart Conservatory. The four glass pyramids, built in the lap of the river valley at 9626 96th A Street in Cloverdale, comprise a design by Edmonton architect Peter Hemingway that seems as captivating and modern as the day they were built.

The conservatory, launched with a $1 million gift from the Gladys and Merrill Muttart Foundation, was officially opened September 3rd, 1976. It was billed as the most northerly botanical conservatory in North America, but it was the "pyramid power" that seemed to garner the most attention.

Responding to those who believed he chose the pyramid shape for its supposed power, Hemingway said he said he selected the shape because of their non-directional form and the practical requirements for plant growing heights. Hemingway also knew the pyramid shape would provide stark contrast to their natural setting, and would become a showpiece for the city. He was right.

The largest two pyramids have 660 square metres of floor space and heights of 24 metres while the other two pyramids are slightly smaller at 381 square metres and 18 metres in height. They"ve got room for hundreds of species of plants " more than 700 in all " and each pyramid is kept at a precise temperature and humidity, mimicking arid, temperate and tropical climates.

Hemingway, who passed away in 1995 at the age of 65, was one of Edmonton's most remarkable architects of the 20th century. He also designed Coronation Pool, built in 1967 as a centennial project.

In 1970, the building was awarded the Massey Medal for Architecture and Hemingway was the first Albertan to receive the prestigious award. In his honour, the pool was rededicated the Peter Hemingway Fitness and Leisure Centre in 2005.

More than 30 years since the Muttart Conservatory opened, the pyramids have become such symbols of the city that it's hard to imagine Edmonton without them. When I travel overseas, I often see promotions for Edmonton and almost always one of the images is the view of the city skyline, taken from the hill on Connors Road, with the Muttart Conservatory in the foreground.

Historic photos at the City of Edmonton Archives paint a much different picture; early in the 20th century the area called Cloverdale was populated by brick and lumber yards and an abattoir. Time marched on and the land now occupied by the conservatory became a greenhouse, dog pound and incinerator.

I remember growing up in Cloverdale in the early 1960s, with the city incinerator out our back door and Mill Creek gurgling towards its confluence with the North Saskatchewan River at present day Rafter's Landing. The incinerator closed in the early 1970s and, when the James Macdonald Bridge came along in 1971, Mill Creek was burrowed underground.

There have been a lot of changes in the old neighbourhood but inside the four show pavilions, the simple magic of growing things endures. In the depth of winter, when blizzards are howling and the sun struggles to breech the horizon for more than five hours a day, a walk through the Muttart Conservatory is literally the calm in a storm.

This time of year, with the days shortening and the sun struggling to peer over the lip of the river valley, the Muttart Conservatory bursts forth with the promise of life yet to return to the outside world. An hour wandering through the pavilions makes me yearn for the garden, dirt under my fingernails and the warmth of the sun in my face.

In the conservatory's massive 3,700 square metre greenhouses, growers are busily getting ready for the next growing season, nursing tiny bedding plants that will be planted in city parks this summer. One season ends and another begins; there's never a dull moment in the greenhouse.

Another section is given over to orchids " thousands of varieties of them. The Muttart is home to one of the largest collections of species orchids in North America but the assortment is just a fraction of what thrives in the natural world. Because many of the thousands of orchid varieties at the Muttart come from the mountains of Central America and Brazil, the staff keeps them in slightly cooler conditions through the winter, to simulate their natural environment.

The day I visit, two couples from Germany are marvelling at the diversity of plant life contained under the glass of the tropical, arid and temperate pavilions. "So much of the earth in one place," one lady in the group offers. "Four seasons under one roof."

I make a point of suggesting that, even in the brisk air, they might want to walk up Connors Hill a couple of hundred metres to take that world famous photo. Friends and family back home will be impressed.

The brickyard, lumber mill, abattoir, dog pound and incinerator are long gone. No doubt, it didn"t smell like the best of times back then. Sometimes progress is a beautiful thing.

The Muttart Conservatory, 9626 96 A Street, is open weekdays from 9 am to 5:30 pm and on weekends from 11 am to 5:30 pm. Admission is $8.75 for adults, $6.75 for seniors and youth and $4.50 per child. See www.edmonton.ca/Muttart or phone (780) 496 1403 for more information.


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