Welcome Center & Palm Room ~

The Welcome Center on the historic Hilltop of Oglebay is located between the Club House, adjacent to the Palm Room. Guests can watch a video orienting them to the diverse activities available throughout the park and explore a photo exhibit on the transition of Waddington Farm, what the Oglebay’s called their estate, to the park we all experience and enjoy today. Historic photos include the building of the Crispin Center and outdoor pool, the cottages, and amphitheater. While you’re there, walk through the lush decorative planting in the Palm Room or enjoy the Garden Bistro open seasonally from May through early October every year.

The Palm Room, a unique glass-enclosed structure that connects the greenhouses and the Welcome Center to the Garden Bistro can be found at The Hilltop next door to the historic guest house. Greenhouses were the ultimate status symbol: a formal Conservatory or Palm Room demonstrate status during the Oglebay’s time and continue to be symbols of prestige and wealth. The Oglebay’s placement of their Palm Room along the Hilltop next door to their guest house was no accident. Completed in 1905 by Lord & Burnham Architects, it is no coincidence that the same firm that built Pittsburgh’s Phipps Conservatory in 1893. Originally built to house Sallie Oglebay’s exotic plants, the Palm Room today features year-round, seasonal and thematic installations that have a historic nod but a modern twist.

Hours

Oglebay’s Welcome Center and Palm Room are currently open daily 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

To contact the Welcome Center or Palm Room, please call 304-243-4099.