the.com/conservatory
A glass cathedral where Victorians worshipped tropical plants and outran their own cold climate.
means A glass-walled room or building for growing plants in light and warmth — or, separately, a school for serious training in music or the arts.
from From Latin 'conservare,' to keep or preserve (con- 'together' + servare 'to guard, watch over') — the same root behind 'conserve' and 'preserve.' The plant sense leaned on the idea of a place that keeps delicate growing things safe from cold. The school sense came by way of Italian 'conservatorio,' originally a charitable institution in places like Naples and Venice that 'preserved' orphans and foundlings — and, because such houses gave the children musical instruction, the word drifted to mean a place that conserves and cultivates musical skill.
- empire flex
- Built to grow pineapples as living status symbols
- glass tax
- England taxed glass until 1845, making them pure wealth
- double meaning
- Also a school where music students survive on coffee
- orangeries first
- Originated to shelter citrus through European winters
- crystal palace
- Its 1851 ancestor covered nineteen acres of glass
royal academy of music — oldest music school in uk, founded 1822 in london
conservatoire de paris — france's premier music school, established 1795
juilliard school — elite arts conservatory in new york city, founded 1905