With its huge central glass dome and symmetrical glazed wings, the conservatory is an almost unbelievable replication of its predecessor from the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. The original elaborate cast-iron cresting disappeared in a later remodeling, but the conservatory still houses a large botanical collection of plants from the world over. With the formal perennial gardens, rose garden, and lily pond garden, it occupies a thirteen-acre parcel. In 2006 the Save America's Treasures program awarded the Detroit Recreation Department a matching grant to restore and clean the glass, replace the heating system, and repair the foundation.