Then and Now at Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
The Old Cabin Office and the Newer Visitors Shelter - 7 decades apart| In 1912 a tool shed was moved onto a flat area in the Woodland Garden south of the bog and downhill from the South entrance. That building served as tool room, office, visitor center, shelter and all other purposes until 1970 when the new shelter shown below was completed and dedicated to Martha Crone. The little building was known as "the little cabin" and as the "garden office". It was at first unheated but later heated by a small wood stove and on cold days Martha Crone would report that water froze in the watering buckets, stove or no stove. It served Eloise Butler, Martha Crone and Ken Avery for a total of 58 years. The photo below was taken on Feb. 29, 1936 (leap year day) by Martha Crone while on snowshoes. Photo courtesy Minnesota Historical Society, Martha Crone Collection. |
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| Photo Below: The little cabin in February 1956. The stovepipe for the small stove clearly visible. The sign by the front door changed often over the years. This one reads "Office of Curator - Wild Flower Garden". Photo from a Kodachrome taken by Martha Crone, courtesy Minnesota Historical Society, Martha Crone Collection. |
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| Photo below: The current Garden Office and Visitors Shelter, built by the Friends of the Wild Flower Garden and given to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board in 1970 with a dedication to Martha Crone. Photo dated spring 2008 - Friends of the Wild Flower Garden. |
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For a complete history of the creation of the Martha Crone Visitors Shelter see this article: "The Old Office Replaced." |