Administration building designed by McKim,Mead & White. On March 13, 2007, Landmarks voted unanimously to designate the Laboratory Administration Building within the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Constructed in phases between 1912 and 1917, the building originally housed a physiological and elementary laboratory along with photography dark rooms and research space. Currently, the building houses the Garden’s library and administrative offices, as well as an auditorium for lectures and performances.

Designed by McKim, Mead & White’s William Kendall, the building replicated churches in the Lombardy region of Italy, built in the shape of a Greek cross with a cupola at the center. Some of Kendall’s other prominent projects include the New York City Municipal Building and the United States General Post Office, both individual landmarks. Together with the Olmsted Brothers’ firm, McKim, Mead & White designed the Garden’s buildings and layout. (read more…)