[5][6] Located in the center of the 982-acre (397-hectare) Belle Isle Park, the conservatory covers 13 acres (5.3 hectares), with a lily pond on its north side and perennial gardens on the west;[1] the gardens house the Levi L. Barbour Memorial Fountain, designed by sculptor Marshall Fredericks.

[2] The main feature of the building is the 85 feet (26 m)[2] high central dome, which houses palm trees and other tropical plants.

[1] In 1953, the original wooden frame of the central dome was replaced by one made of iron and aluminum; the operation cost circa $500,000.

[2] The rocky walls were created with 200 tons of moss-covered limestone boulders that were brought from the construction of the Livingstone Channel in the Detroit River near Amherstburg, Ontario.

[2] The pond is home to Japanese koi that are maintained by volunteers and are held in the aquarium basement during winter.

Five of the greenhouses are used by the Golightly Career and Technical Center's Agriscience Program for high school students in the metro Detroit area.

These greenhouses help train for post-graduation jobs as green's keepers, florists, arborists, nursery owners and related fields.

The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory is opened to the public free of charge, and operates mostly on the budget designated by local and state Governments.

In 1988, the Belle Isle Botanical Society began raising money for projects to improve the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory.

[12] Currently, there are five employees, one manager and a supervisor from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources that make up the Floriculture Unit at the Belle Isle Conservatory.