New York Botanical Gardens

Covering 230 acres of rolling land along the Bronx River in Bronx Park, this botanical garden was established in 1896 and grew into one of the world's leading institutions of its kind. Its landscape includes a 40-acre virgin hemlock forest, a pinetum, a rose garden and a rock garden. Robert W. Gibson designed the Italian Renaissance museum building and the 512-foot glass conservatory with its 80-foot central dome. Carl Tefft's Fountain of Life stands in front of the museum. Part of the former Peter Lorillard estate was absorbed into the grounds, and the gatehouse, stables and an 1840 snuff mill survive. Under first director Nathaniel Lord Britton, the Garden built a herbarium of more than three million specimens and the largest botanical library in the Western Hemisphere. It also developed research laboratories, a publishing program and instruction ranging from children's classes to graduate training. The nomination judged it the largest and most significant botanical garden in the United States.