[United States Government Manual]
[June 01, 1999]
[Pages 45-47]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



UNITED STATES BOTANIC GARDEN

Office of Executive Director, 245 First Street SW., Washington, DC 20024

Phone, 202-225-8333. Internet, http://www.aoc.gov/.

Conservatory, Maryland Avenue, First to Second Streets SW., Washington, 
DC 20024

Phone, 202-225-6647

Production Facility, 4700 Shepherd Parkway SW., Washington, DC 20032

Phone, 202-563-2220
Director (Architect of the Capitol)               Alan M. Hantman
    Executive Director                            (vacancy)

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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 carries out its mission by presenting artistic 
displays of plants, exhibits, and a program of educational activities; 
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 Botanic Garden seeks to promote the exchange of 
ideas and information relevant to this mission

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among national and international visitors and policymakers.
    Collections of the U.S. Botanic Garden 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, and other industrial products.
    The U.S. Botanic Garden is currently undergoing a significant 
expansion and transformation. The Conservatory, one of the largest 
structures of its kind in this country, closed to the public on 
September 2, 1997, for a complete renovation. In addition to upgraded 
amenities for visitors, it will feature 12 new exhibit and plant display 
areas interpreting plants in their relationship to humankind and to the 
environment. The Conservatory is expected to reopen in the year 2000, 
along with the National Garden which is now under construction on the 3-
acre site just west of the Conservatory. This new public facility will 
feature a First Ladies water garden, a formal rose garden, a showcase 
garden displaying the outstanding native plants of the Mid-Atlantic 
region in naturalistic settings, and the Senator John Heinz 
Environmental Learning Center.
    Outdoor plantings are showcased in Bartholdi Park, a home landscape 
demonstration area. Each of the displays is sized and scaled for 
suitability in an urban or suburban house site. The gardens display 
ornamental plants that perform 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 Botanic Garden makes available many rare and interesting 
botanical specimens for study to students, botanists, and 
floriculturists . In addition to educational programs and special 
exhibits, 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 and that received its charter from Congress on 
April 20, 1818. The Garden continued under the direction of this 
Institute until 1837, when the Institute ceased to exist as an active 
organization.
    The Botanic Garden remained abandoned until 1842, when it became 
necessary for the Government to provide accommodations for the botanical 
collections brought to Washington, DC, from the South Seas by the U.S. 
Exploring Expedition of 1838-42, under the leadership of Capt. Charles 
Wilkes. The collections were placed temporarily on exhibition at the 
Patent Office upon return of the expedition in June 1842. The first 
greenhouse for this purpose was constructed in 1842 on a lot behind the 
Patent Office Building under the direction and control of the Joint 
Committee of Congress on the Library, from funds appropriated by 
Congress.
    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 
Botanic Garden site from 1850 to 1933, when the Garden was relocated to 
its present site.
    Although the Botanic Garden began functioning as a Government-owned 
institution in 1842, the records indicate that it was not until 1856 
that the maintenance of the Garden was specifically placed under the 
direction of the Joint Committee on the Library and a regular, annual 
appropriation was provided by Congress (11 Stat. 104).
    At the present time the Joint Committee exercises its supervision 
through the Architect of the Capitol, who has been serving as Acting 
Director since 1934.

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For further information concerning the United States Botanic Garden, 
contact the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, U.S. Capitol 
Building, Washington, DC 20515. Phone, 202-228-1793. Horticulture 
Hotline, 202-225-8333. Internet, http://www.aoc.gov/.

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