The Westmount Conservatory has been completely restored and has reopened to the public after being closed for seven years.
The $6.5-million renovation project has recreated the greenhouse to its original glory.
Dozens of tropical plants and flowers have been imported, each one needing to be watered by hand.
There are new benches, a wooden ramp that is universally accessible giving visitors access to the adjacent library and the fountain pool, known as Frog’s Pond, has been restored.
Tempered glass fills the greenhouse from the floor to the ceiling.
The conservatory first opened in 1927 and has delighted visitors for almost a full century.
“It’s part of our built heritage and that’s important in Westmount,” Westmount Mayor Christina Smith told Global News.
People walking through for the first time are thrilled with the result.
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“I think it’s beautiful. When you look up, look at the plants, how can you not be in awe?” Allen Muhtadi told Global News.
The original greenhouse was built in 1927 by the architect firm Lord & Burnham, who also designed the New York Botanical Garden and the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C.
Westmount’s new conservatory is attached to the library and city art museum. It’s designed to be a place to relax, read and completely unwind.
“In a busy world it’s like a little oasis,” Smith said.
Fans of architecture appreciate the finished product.
“Buildings like this in such pristine shape, almost 100 years after it was built, five years its centennial — it’s marvelous,” Beryl Wajsman, president of the Westmount Municipal Association, told Global News.
Next year, there are plans to re-landscape the exterior of the Conservatory.
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