After lunch, we head to Mitchell Park Conservatory. It’s a set of three glass domes, each holding plants from a different climates. The domes are decent sized (140 ft diameter and 80 ft high) and are the worlds first conoidal domes (i.e. not geodesic). They are not in great shape, but have tons of plants in them. Unfortunately, not everything is labeled so if you found something you liked, you couldn’t always figure out what it was.
The first dome (opened in 1964) was called the show dome and apparently hosts four seasonal shows as well as a holiday show.
The second dome (opened in 1967) was the Arid dome and was full of cacti and euphoria (which are African and seem to look just like cactus). It also had four or so doves wandering around.
The third dome (built in 1966) was tropical. It felt like we were back in Houston. They had some really nice orchids and lots of tropical plants, but we didn’t stay long in this one as the whole point of Milwaukee was to get away from heat and humidity.
A recent review of the domes has recommended demolition, at a cost of $300 million. Doug’s willing to do it for far less than that.
The Show Dome
No idea what this is, we call it the brain plant
The very rare pool noodle plant!
Dogs Tail cactus
Something we have at the lake but didn’t know the name of