Bloedel Conservatory

Bloedel opened on 6 December 1969 under a triodetic dome. Its aluminum frame was made in Ottawa and went up in 10 days, and more than 500,000 people came in the first year. Prentice Bloedel of MacMillan Bloedel put $1.4 million toward it alongside the City and the Province. Since 2009 the Park Board and the Vancouver Botanical Gardens Association have run it together.

Inside grow more than 500 plants from tropical and subtropical forests, and small birds move freely along the paths. The macaws and cockatoos are among the large perch birds, and every one of those is a rescue with clipped wings. Dragon Gate, which the conservatory believes is Vancouver's oldest koi, came to the city for Expo 86 and lived at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. It moved here in 2020 after surviving river otter attacks in 2018 and 2019.

Wear layers, because it's warm and humid under the dome. Touching or feeding the birds is banned under the conservatory's rules, and so are selfie sticks and outside food other than bottled water. The City of Vancouver acknowledges that its parks sit on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and the səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation).