The Sound Shell - built in 1962, is used for musical events such as Carols by Candlelight. Behind the Sound Shell facing Gillies Street is the Ballarat Horticultural Centre.

The Picnic Pavilion is a popular venue for family reunions and other gatherings.

The Maze
The first maze, recorded in 1862, was in the vicinity of The Conservatory. It is the second maze built in 1888 in the North Gardens and rejuvenated in 1922 which is a childhood memory for many people. In 1957 the maze was removed but there are plans to re-establish a children's maze and to improve the playground in this area.

The Ballarat Zoo
There are two roads in the North Gardens, Nursery Drive and Zoo Drive, which is a legacy of the zoo which was there for 43 years from 1917 to 1959. It is foldly remembered by more senior visitors. Some historic concrete structures from the 1940s are the remnants of the animal enclosures. In 1912 a former Ballarat citizen Henry Ben Jahn died in his native Germany. In his will, much to everyone's astonishment, he left his entire estate, about 10 000 pounds, to the City Council for the purpose of establishing a 'menagerie' in the Botanical Gardens.