The National Aviary began as part of the Pittsburgh Aviary-Conservatory, built by the city in 1952 on the site of the original Phipps Conservatory and consisting at first of a single structure of 3,640 square feet. In 1967 an expansion that included the "wetlands room" increased space to 25,000 square feet. Pittsburgh's dwindling urban tax base forced the city to cease funding the institution in 1991.
