New ramps mean new accessibility at Como Park Conservatory

Folks in wheelchairs, scooters and strollers will notice something different about the Sunken Garden at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in Como Park.

Full access.

After decades of spotty service, the oft-broken elevators are gone. Wheelchair accessible ramps are in. And the entire Sunken Garden — upper and lower levels — is open with no “Out of Order” signs in sight.

“It’s been a journey, to say the least,” said Michelle Furrer, director of Como Park Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul. “It, finally, really came together.”

The project wrapped up last Saturday just in time for the Conservatory’s 2025 Winter Flower Show that began Sunday, with bursts of color from pink veltheimia, dark red pansies, crimson dianthus, hibiscus, delicate poppies, fragrant sweet peas and phlox.

And if you think this $765,303 project to install wheelchair ramps in place of balky elevators was easy, well, it’s way more detailed than that.

Opened in November 1915, the Conservatory didn’t actually have a sunken garden until a few years after the grand building opened to add some architectural uniqueness. Decades ago, officials installed two custom-built wheelchair lifts to make the garden’s extensive lower level open to the mobility challenged.

But, Furrer said, because the lifts were custom built, parts used for repairs had to be custom-made. And the high humidity in the glass and steel structure made the elevators break down — a lot.

“Every year, we fixed what we could fix and did what we could do if we got the funding,” said Furrer, who started in her role in February 2009.

In 2021, officials were able to get $200,000 allocated to replace the lifts, she said. But with what? Ideas ranged from installing outdoor-style elevators to installing ramps to raising the garden.

There were concerns that wheelchair ramps would take away too much of the garden, because of the necessary incline and length of the ramps. But, Furrer said, architects figured it out.

“Actually, I think there is more green space now, when you take in where the lifts were,” she said.

After the city came up with the concept, the project took months more to go through a review by state historic preservation officials. The Conservatory was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 1974.

Finally, Furrer said, officials had to schedule the work during wedding-free windows. The garden is super popular with brides and grooms. Ceremonies had been booked months in advance.

Work began Nov. 30. The cost was significantly higher, but funds came together from myriad sources including additional city capital project funds, state Legacy funds and from Como Friends, a nonprofit that supports the park and zoo.

The ramps have a flagstone pattern that almost matches the original, Furrer said. She will be leaving her job at Como in February for a similar position at Crystal Bridge Conservatory at Myriad Botanical Gardens in Oklahoma City.

“It’s been one of these things where you have to keep working on it or they never get done,” she said.

It’s not the only project to improve accessibility at Como Park and its zoo. A lactation pod, bathroom step-ups and new paving in the Japanese Garden are among the projects completed in 2024. An adult changing station and a pathway replacement for the Bird Yard are on tap to be added this year.

Andy Rodriguez, St. Paul’s director of Parks and Recreation, shared Furrer’s satisfaction at the completion of the Sunken Garden and other accessibility projects at Como. Nearly 20% of U.S. adults have trouble walking or climbing steps.

“Ensuring our shared public spaces are accessible for all to utilize and enjoy is a key component of creating a Saint Paul that works for all of us,” he said in an email. “Como Park Zoo and Conservatory is a treasured asset in our community, and these improvement projects are vital to fostering inclusion and connection for all visitors.”