    [United States Government Manual]
    [June 01, 2005]
    [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, 202-225-8333
    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 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 exhibit and plant
    display areas. A new facility, the National Garden, is currently under
    construction on a 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 well in this
    region arrayed in a variety of styles and themes. Also located in this
    park is Bartholdi Fountain, created by

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    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 from
    around the world. 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 1842, 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 National Mall at the west end of
    the Capitol Grounds, practically the same site the Garden occupied
    during the period it functioned under the Columbian 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, respectively. 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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