Conservatory

The Centennial Botanical Conservatory is currently closed for renovations.

Stay tuned for reopening in 2025 with exciting improvements! Click here to learn more about the renewal of the Conservatory

Conservatory Renewal

The Conservatory has been an important part of our City for over half a century and it is currently closed while undergoing a renewal project designed to repair and replace aging infrastructure and to expand the facility to increase the versatility of the space and the programming it can support. 

Visit the project's public engagement page at Get Involved Thunder Bay to see what has happened so far and explore plans for the future. As the project progresses opportunities to provide input and feedback will also be available.

About

The City of Thunder Bay's Centennial Botanical Conservatory is a multi-functional facility - a community gathering space that is home to a large variety of flowers, trees, tropical plants and cacti, and also a production facility where the plants that fill city-owned flower pots and gardens throughout the summer are grown over the winter and spring.

Accessible to all and a great place to visit year round, the Conservatory was opened in 1967 by the Fort William Parks Board as a Centennial project, and it is a legacy to the citizens of Thunder Bay.

"It’s a positive feast for the senses: the feel of warm humid air on your skin, the sound of trickling water, the scent of dirt and moisture and growing green things. Standing in the arboretum under its soaring glass roof on a cold winter day, or even a so-so grey day the rest of the year, instantly makes you feel better. And it’s the most affordable tropical vacation you’ll ever take—admission is free, although donations in the box at the door are much appreciated." - Bonnie Schiedel, northernontario.travel. Read the whole article here. 

In 2017, as a part of the celebration of the Conservatory's 50th anniversary the Friends of the Thunder Bay Conservatory group put together a comprehensive online history exhibit highlighting the early development of the facility and the folks instrumental in it's creation.

*Note - The cactus house and east wing are currently closed to the public. The plants are still easily visible from the two access doors in the tropical house. 

Location

1601 Dease St W, Thunder Bay, ON P7C 5H4 - Google Map

Facility amenities