Tropical Dome reopens
The Tropical Dome at Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory reopened Monday after contractors installed an internal stainless steel mesh lining to protect the public and employees from pieces of falling concrete, Milwaukee County officials said.
Work was completed Friday inside the 85-foot tall dome with its centerpiece Kapok tree. The tallest tree in the conservatory came through dome repairs with its health intact though a little shorter after a pruning, Horticultural Services Director Sandy Folaron said.
"It's fine and dandy," Folaron said of the Kapok.
Masonry Restoration Inc. installed the mesh lining inside the dome under a contract with a not-to-exceed limit of $494,000.
Visitors returning to the Tropical Dome after a seven-month closing will see a new feature: two murals painted with rainforest-like scenes, Folaron said.
The conservatory's three domes — Show, Desert and Tropical — were closed to the public in early February after a piece of concrete fell inside the Desert Dome in late January.
The Show Dome reopened April 29 after a mesh lining was installed. A Fall Harvest Festival inside the Show Dome through Nov. 6 displays a variety of chrysanthemums with seasonal colors of yellow-gold, orange-bronze and red in a farm-like setting of scarecrows, cornstalks, hay bales and pumpkins.
Cost of the Show Dome repairs was estimated at $263,000.
Installation of a mesh lining inside the Desert Dome is scheduled for completion on Oct. 28 and that arid environment will reopen to the public in early November, officials said. Masonry Restoration was hired to do the work in all three domes.
The half-inch hexagonal openings in the mesh are small enough to trap any concrete breaking off each dome's support frame and large enough to allow sufficient light to enter the domes for plants.
The frame inside each of the domes is made of steel-reinforced concrete supports that look like beams, and concrete encases metal plates connecting the beams.
The county Parks Department has a $1 million budget this year for a temporary repair plan to eliminate safety risks and allow the domes to reopen. Repairs are expected to last five years while county officials decide on the future of the conservatory.
Consultants estimated it would cost $60 million to $71 million for full restoration of the aging domes. Cost of building a different style of conservatory likely would be higher.
The conservatory was built between 1959 and 1967. The Show Dome opened in December 1964, followed by the Tropical Dome in January 1966 and the Desert Dome in November 1967.