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Mitchell Park Domes

Mitchell Park Horticulture Conservatory, The Domes
Threatened
  • Modern Movement
  • Identity of Building/Site
  • History of Building/Site

Mitchell Park Domes

Credit

Visit Milwaukee

Site overview

A beloved Milwaukee institution for generations, a unique engineering marvel, and a nationally significant example of Midcentury Modern architecture, the Milwaukee Domes have been a center of community life and a tourism destination for more than 50 years. In 1958, Milwaukee architect Donald Grieb won a national design competition for the Domes, which were constructed between 1959 and 1967. His design featured three domes (The Show Dome, the Tropical Dome, and the Arid Dome) which contain a vast array of flora that one observer called “a zoo for plants.” First Lady Lady Bird Johnson officially dedicated the Show Dome at its opening ceremony in 1965. In addition to their stunning architectural features, the structures are marvels of modern engineering, featuring the world’s first “conoidal”—or cone-shaped—domes. They remain the only glass conoidal domes in the world in use as conservatories. (Adapted from the National Trust for Historic Preservation website)

How to Visit

Open to the public

Location

524 South Layton Boulevard
Milwaukee, WI, 53215

Country

US
More visitation information

Case Study House No. 21

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Related News

In the News March 2017

Newsletter

March 23, 2017

National Trust for Historic Preservation announced Milwaukee's Mitchell Park Domes a National Treasure

Threatened

March 22, 2017

Support for the Domes needed

Endangered, Newsletter, Advocacy, preservation, historic preservation, docomomo

June 28, 2018

Milwaukee's Marcus Center at Risk

Threatened, Advocacy

May 01, 2019

Milwaukee's innovative Forest Home Library needs your help

Threatened, Advocacy, Library

November 17, 2020

The Mitchell Park Domes: Milwaukee's Public Modernist Marvel

Regional Spotlight, Milwaukee

May 18, 2021

What's at Stake in 2022

Advocacy, What's at Stake

December 29, 2021

Welcome Docomomo US/Wisconsin

chapter, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

February 02, 2022

President's Column September 2022: Looking Down the Road

U.S. Board, President's Column

September 23, 2022

Related chapter

Wisconsin

Related Sites

Completion

1959

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