    [United States Government Manual]
    [June 01, 2002]
    [Pages 45-46]
    [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, 202-226-8333. 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 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 Garden seeks to promote the exchange of ideas
    and information relevant to this mission 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, 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

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    exhibit and plant display areas that interpret plants in their
    relationship to humankind and to the environment. Construction for the
    National Garden, a 3-acre site just west of the Conservatory, is
    scheduled to begin in 2002, and will require about 2 years. 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 located across Independence Avenue from the
    Conservatory. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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
    Garden site from 1850 to 1933, when the Garden was relocated to its
    present site.
        Although the U.S. 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 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.

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