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Keith Manness
bequeathed $250,000 to the city of London in 1989 for a horticultural project in
memory of his grandfather Samuel Richard Manness, a London business man, city alderman and avid
grower of roses. The conservatory is the
result. Inside, a sloping walkway curves
down through the large tropical trees and plants to a pool where water cascades
from a stone sculpture called the Baby Fountain. The fountain is the work of Florence Wyle of
Toronto, the first woman sculptor granted membership in the Royal Canadian
Academy. Originally placed in Gibbons
Park, the fountain was removed in the 1970’s after being damaged by
vandals. In 1987 the Art Gallery of
Ontario restored it for a retrospective of Wyle’s work. Beside the conservatory’s pool is a walnut
bench donated by the Garden Club.
Carpentry students at Beal Secondary School made the bench from a walnut
tree that was removed to make space for the Complex.
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