THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 12, 1995 TAG: 9510110224
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT McCASKEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Kimberly Buckman soon will have a new venue in which to hold banquets and wedding receptions.
A facility use coordinator for the Norfolk Botanical Garden, Buckman is leaving the aging administrative building for a bright office in a just-finished structure overlooking the rose garden and canals.
Her new workplace is in the Baker Hall Visitor Center, which opens Sunday at the Botanical Garden.
``I'll be in the prime location for what I do,'' Buckman said. ``Once our clients see this place, they'll surely want to have their parties there.''
Baker Hall's grand opening runs from 8:30 a.m. to sunset, with free admission to the garden all day. There also will be a book signing by horticulture columnist and author Bob Stiffler, along with an array of children's activities.
The $2.9 million, 11,200-square-foot center replaces the administrative building as the garden's main entrance, orientation site and banquet room. The center will feature exhibit space, equipment for educational seminars, a garden and gift shop, the ticket counter, expanses for receptions and special events, and a full-service catering kitchen.
``The catering kitchen is outstanding,'' Buckman said. ``It will really make a difference compared to the small kitchen in the old building.''
Baker Hall is named after Isaac and Sarah Lee Baker, who donated $1 million toward the site. They have been longtime supporters of the Botanical Garden and old friends of the founder, the late Fred Heutte.
A fountain will rise in front of the structure, with the entrance opening into a high atrium. In back is an outdoor terrace, offering a view of the rose garden and canals. An adjacent walkway will wind past the greenhouse, old gift shop, administration building, and onto the trains and boats that tour the garden. Baker Hall was designed by Carlton Abbott and Partners of Williamsburg.
``Visitors be able to learn about the garden's history and then head out back and hop on the train to see it,'' Buckman said.
The administration building, built in the early 1960s, had served as the visitor's center, with its rotunda room used for receptions and banquets. The administration building still will host social functions on occasion but primarily will be used for office space.
``The old building had become inadequate for the kind of rental occasions we want to have,'' said Jill Doczi, public relations coordinator for the Botanical Garden.
Baker Hall is the first structure to be completed in the garden's capital campaign, a 15-year, $18 million master plan to expand and improve the 150-acre expanse. Funds are being raised from private and corporate donations, which are matched by the city. Upcoming additions include a perennial garden and an education complex.
``We are moving from being a park to becoming a horticultural museum,'' Doczi said.
More than 1,000 visitors are expected for Baker Hall's opening. Although the center will be open from Sunday on, Doczi said that it probably won't be used for banquets until January because of the logistics of putting on the Garden of Lights Christmas celebration.
But Buckman said that she anticipates plenty of business in the new year.
``I think this will be the new hot spot in Hampton Roads for wedding receptions, banquets and cocktail parties,'' Buckman said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by RICHARD L. DUNSTON
The $2.9 million, 11,200-square-foot Baker Hall Visitor Center will
be ready for its grand opening on Sunday at the Norfolk Botanical
Garden.
by CNB