New York Botanical Garden history

She was given charge, on an unofficial basis, of the moss collection of the Columbia botany department, and gradually she built an impressive collection, notably with the purchase of the collection of August Jaeger of Switzerland in 1893.

By May 1895, the $250,000 in bonds had been raised but the plans had not been fully confirmed.

The Columbia College herbarium was transferred there in 1899, and Elizabeth Britton became unofficial curator of mosses.

The arboretum site covers 1,924 acres (778 hectares). It was opened to the public in 1900.

When the Brooklyn Botanic Garden opened next to the Brooklyn Museum in 1911, its delights included an extraordinary Japanese garden by Takeo Shiota, one of the first of its kind in the United States.

In 1912 she received appointment as honorary curator of mosses.

25, 1934, New York City), American botanist known for her lasting contributions to the study of mosses.

The World’s Fair of 1939-40 also brought an international flavor to New York City, and one of its more peculiar exhibitions — called Gardens on Parade — stuck around in the form of the Queens Botanical Garden.

Arthur Cronquist would begin working at the Bronx Botanical Gardens in 1943 and with the help of Henry Gleason would publish some of the most important work in the study of botany.

After the city cut the NYBG's budget in 1970, the garden was forced to remain closed for 3 to 4 days a week, and officials worried that this could eventually lead to permanent closure.

In 1971 the garden acquired a large tract of land 70 miles (110 km) north of the city, for the establishment of the Mary Flagler Cary Arboretum.

In 1974, for the first time in the botanical garden's history, officials had to annually petition New York State Legislature for funds.

The next year, budget cuts related to the 1975 New York City fiscal crisis resulted in the NYBG being closed on weekdays for the first time in its history.

Seven years before the New York State Legislature established the New York Botanical Garden, the State had also established the New Parks Act of 1984.

A new visitor center and gift shop were announced the following year, which would replace temporary facilities built in 1990.

A controversy arose in 1994 when the adjacent Fordham University proposed building a 480-foot-tall (150 m) radio tower for its radio station WFUV directly across from the Haupt Conservatory.

The Everett Children's Garden opened in mid-1998.

By 2000, the NYBG had requested $300 million for renovations, including a new gift shop and renovation of the greenhouses and roads.

The new main entrance, with a gift shop, bookstore, plaza, restrooms, cafe, and information kiosks, was completed in 2004 at a cost of $21 million.

Off-site, the institution opened The New York Botanical Garden Midtown Education Center in Manhattan in 2010.

NYBG added a parking garage, the Peter J. Sharp Building, nearby in 2012, along with a Bedford Gate entrance to the Garden.

NYBG’s Humanities Research Institute, supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, was created in 2014 to stimulate public discourse about humankind’s relationship with nature and the environment.

NYBG opened an on-site restaurant, the Hudson Garden Grill, in 2015.

NYBG added a parking garage, the Peter J. Sharp Building, nearby in 2012, along with a Bedford Gate entrance to the Garden. It redesigned and reopened its East Gate entrance in 2017.

The Edible Academy, an educational facility for teaching children, families, educators, and the general public about vegetable gardening, nutrition awareness, and environmental stewardship, opened in 2018.