This photograph of the White House Conservatory was taken by Frances Benjamin Johnston in 1890. The White House Conservatories were expansive in the late nineteenth century, maintaining plants of all kinds that bloomed year-round. Though beloved by many presidents, the conservatories were demolished in 1902 as a part of Theodore Roosevelt's major renovation of the White House.

This photograph was taken inside the White House Conservatory around 1897. The Conservatory was located on the western side of the Executive Mansion, where today the West Colonnade and West Wing reside. The palm in the left foreground is said to have been George Washington's sago palm.

This portrait photograph of First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley was taken as she sat in the White House Conservatory. Mrs. McKinley experienced epileptic seizures and took refuge from the public in the Conservatory because of the greenhouse's privacy and splendor. The more iconic images of Mrs. McKinley show her seated in this favorite spot.

This photograph taken inside the White House Conservatory captures the footpath that wound around the plants and flowerbeds inside the massive greenhouse. The footpath was coined the "Conservatory Promenade" when it was added during the Rutherford B. Hayes administration. The pathway formed a horseshoe shape and was often featured as part of a tour of the grounds after dinners and parties. The Conservatory resided on the land now occupied by the West Colonnade and West Wing.

This lithograph published in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper in 1858 depicts the newly added White House Conservatory. In the print, presumably, is Harriet Lane, President James Buchanan's niece who served as White House hostess during his administration, standing in the Conservatory. The Conservatory was built during Buchanan's administration and stood on the grounds of what is today the West Colonnade and West Wing. The Conservatory had a small, 12 foot passage between the glass room and the Executive Mansion and served as a private space for first families of the era. P. Hall Baglie is credited with the tinting of this lithograph.

This photograph shows the orchid house that was added to the White House Conservatory complex during the Ulysses S. Grant administration. A tropical flower rare to the United States at the time, orchids underwent a boom in popularity beginning in the mid-1800s. This photograph was taken by the prominent female photographer of the era, Frances Benjamin Johnston, who was known for her portrait and architectural photography and often photographed the White House.

This photograph, a stereoscopic view, of the White House Conservatory was taken by the Sterro-Photo Co. of New York. The hand-colored photograph shows an unnamed man standing in the pathway among the large fern collection in the Conservatory. The extensive Conservatory had such a large fern collection that an entire house, the fern house, was dedicated to their housing and maintenance. The Conservatory, located on what is now the West Colonnade and West Wing, also had houses for roses, orchids, geraniums, and camellias, among others.

This black and white photograph by Matthew Brady is of the Southern Plains delegation and was taken in the White House Conservatory on March 27, 1863. Interpreter William Simpson Smith and agent Samuel G. Colley stand at the left of the group and the woman at the far right is frequently identified as Mary Todd Lincoln. The delegates in the first row are, left to right: War Bonnet, Standing in the Water, and Lean Bear of the Cheyenne, and Yellow Wolf of the Kiowa. Yellow Wolf is wearing the Thomas Jefferson peace medal. The identities of the delegates in the second row are unknown.

This circa 1887 wood engraving (marked F. Myrick) depicts various White House rooms such as the East Room, Blue Room, Red Room, Green Room, Conservatory, and Library, as they appeared during the first administration of President Grover Cleveland.