Franklin Park Conservatory’s John F. Wolfe Palm House is on the National Register of Historic Places. (Credit: Ken Drenten)

By Ken Drenten

I’ve featured Franklin Park Conservatory & Botanical Gardens before in Dusty Tires, but to really appreciate this place, a wintertime visit will do wonders.

If you have the winter doldrums, you are feeling chilly or you just want a break from the cold, gray Ohio winter — and you don’t want to fly to a warmer climate — Franklin Park Conservatory is the perfect place to go.

A new winter event at the facility is the Winter Ice Festival, Jan. 16-20, featuring an ice carving competition, outdoor ice skating, food trucks and winter crafts and games.

The original conservatory building, now known as the John F. Wolfe Palm House, was built in 1895 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The grand, ornate greenhouse, modeled after the one at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair and Columbian Exposition, is home to more than 40 species of palms.

The conservatory was renovated and expanded in 1992 to host AmeriFlora ’92, an international horticultural exposition. The 58,000-square-foot addition includes plant biomes, classrooms, gift shop, cafe and administrative offices. The plant biomes are spectacular rooms where varied types of related plants are exhibited in a simulated natural environment.

The biomes include Himalayan Mountain, Rainforest, Desert and Pacific Water Garden. In all, more than 400 species of plants are exhibited in these amazing rooms. Set among the varied plants in the rooms are pieces of colorful glass artwork by Dale Chihuly, comprising the largest private Chihuly collection in a botanical garden.

There is much more to see and do at the conservatory, even in the winter when temperatures and weather conditions may make strolling around 88-acre Franklin Park uncomfortable.

Franklin Park Conservatory offers a wide range of hands-on classes, workshops and activities for all ages, including painting, cooking, garden planning, gardening, stained glass, fiber arts and much more. Musical performances are scheduled at the conservatory year-round. Special events, especially weddings in the Palm House, are popular too. Some areas such as the glass-blowing workshop are closed during cold weather months.

Franklin Park is located at 1777 E. Broad St., Columbus (614) 715-8000.

Learn more at Dusty Tires.

Ken Drenten is creator and editor of Dusty-Tires.com, a travel blog for out-of-the-ordinary places in Ohio.

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