Over the last 121 years, Chestnut Hill's storied
Morris Arboretum has
made a name for itself with slow, mature growth, planting seeds that
will blossom into some of the most beautiful plants in Philadelphia.
This week, the arboretum begins a new kind of growth that, officials
say, is a long time coming.
With the help of the University of Pennsylvania and private donors like Dorrance Hamilton of Campbell's Soup, arboretum officials dedicated a new $13 million horticultural
center. Designed as an equipment storage center and research facility,
the building is the first added to the John and Lydia Morris estate
property since the arboretum was founded in 1889. Arboretum officials
were able to fund the project earlier this year and sought LEED Platinum
status, hoping to remain a leader in environmental policy for
Philadelphia.
"For the first time, we can put our equipment under a roof and put our
people into decent workspaces, a place where they have lockers and
showers because before they were operating out of a mechanics garage,"
says Morris project manager Bob Anderson. "We host seminars and before
we would have to host these offsite. We are glad to give support to our
educational staff."
The focus on education was part of the original expansion proposal in
place since 1982, when a wing of the arboretum facility was turned into a
mechanic's garage. Morris officials have been searching for funding to
build not only this new Horticultural Center but a fully-functional
education facility, capable of hosting larger classes and seminars. This
building dedication represents Phase One of what has since become a
two-part project. When the second phase will begin, though, is still
anyone's guess.
"We had the funding for this project in place two years ago before the
economy went to heck, but the funding for Phase Two could be a little
tougher to get," says Anderson. "Unless you know someone with a lot of
money that wants to give us $17 million."
Source: Bob Anderson, Morris Arboretum
Writer: John Steele