3. There Are NYC Landmarks Inside NYBG
Even though, in the words of president Gregory Long, “We aren’t about the buildings, we’re about the landscape,” NYBG has commissioned outstanding buildings. In fact, the NYBG may not have a single mediocre building. Three buildings—the Lillian and Amy Goldman Stone Mill, the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, and the Museum Building—are designated both as national and New York City landmarks. The neo-Renaissance Museum Building (1901), its Fountain of Life (1905), and its Tulip Tree Allée (1903-1911), are part of the Beaux Arts complex. When the NYBG decided they needed an addition for research, they knew they had to tread carefully. The result is the elegant Polshek-designed William and Lynda Steere Herbarium, the centerpiece of NYBG’s botanical research program.
The handsome Nolen Greenhouses for Living Collections were designed by Mitchell/Giurgola Architects, and the Visitor Center by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer.