St. Paul’s McNeely Conservatory at Como getting wheelchair ramps

Work to remove and replace the often-balky wheelchair elevators at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at St. Paul’s Como Park is underway. The project began Nov. 18 and is expected to be complete Jan. 12, Como officials said.

The humid air inside the glass-walled Conservatory that makes the nearly 110-year-old attraction such a wintertime treat has also for years wreaked havoc on the elevators that were meant to make the Sunken Garden accessible to all. The result has been a nearly endless display of “out of order” signs restricting access to the home of Como’s annual winter flower show and numerous weddings every year.

Visitors with limited mobility have long complained the elevators were often unusable for weeks — even months — at a time. Just days before the replacement project began, a woman with a wheelchair and her family who were able to use one of the elevators to get down into the garden could not use it to get back out. It stopped working while they were there.

A family member helped her climb the garden steps while another carried the wheelchair.

“It’s exciting to see this long-awaited project finally coming to fruition — it’s going to make such a difference in ensuring the space is truly accessible to all,” said Matt Reinartz, a spokesman for Como Park Zoo & Conservatory. “As you know, the old lifts were well-intentioned when installed decades ago, but they just weren’t designed to withstand the unique conditions of the Sunken Garden.”

The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory opened to the public as the Como Park Conservatory in November 1915. It was intended to serve two functions: As a place where visitors can come in all seasons to enjoy tropical gardens and as a shelter for the plants the park displays in Como’s indoor and outdoor gardens.

It is one of few remaining original Victorian-style glasshouses in North America and covers nearly 2 acres. After a large contribution from the Donald McNeely family in 2002, it was renamed the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Park.

Accessibility was often an afterthought on older buildings like the Conservatory and adjacent Como Zoo. Exhibits and restrooms are accessible, but often difficult for disabled people to use. Doors in several buildings and most restrooms lack wheelchair access buttons. Some buttons don’t always work.

A March Star Tribune story highlighting accessibility challenges at City Hall prompted officials then to promise action. Later questions regarding accessibility prompted leaders from several city departments to detail ambitious plans to improve accessibility citywide.

Reinartz said the new ramps in the Sunken Garden will be “a permanent, low-maintenance solution that blends beautifully into the space while addressing the accessibility challenges we’ve faced.”

Officials had been planning to remove and replace the elevators for more than a year, but the project was delayed several times. First, it needed to wait for funding. The city has since allocated $314,000 from the Capital Improvement Budget for the accessibility project.

Work was delayed again as state historic preservation officials spent several months reviewing design concepts. The Conservatory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Finally, officials said they had to wait until the Sunken Garden’s calendar of booked weddings and events was clear before work could begin. Some of those had been booked for two years, officials said.

The Sunken Garden will not hold the Holiday Flower Show this year. A new event — Winter’s Blooming Wonderland — will be held in the Visitor Center all December.

“The public response has been fantastic, with people loving the mix of winter foliage, sparkling decorations, and the cozy, festive vibe,” Reinartz said in an email. “It’s up until January 1, so there’s still time to check it out if you haven’t seen it yet.”