Observatories

Observatories. . , Henry Shaw was a 19th century English-born businessman who lived most of his life in St. Louis. The gardens he created here and in Tower Grove Park had many elements of the Victorian-era British garden., In St. Louis, there were two well-known observatories, both constructed at Shaw's direction. the first was built in the early 1860s at the Missouri Botanical Garden. This onion-domed structure, made of brick and stone, was one of the original garden features. Surrounded by beds and plant collections, it was part of the central garden, and stood until the early 20th Century., The second St. Louis observatory was constructed in 1877, in Tower Grove Park. It stood in the park until 1909., The design of today's Missouri Botanical Garden observatory replicates the Tower Grove Park structure as closely as possible., [Captions:] , A 19th century view of the observatory looking south, with Tower Grove House in the background and the Museum building visible to the left., Bird's eye view of Shaw's Garden seen from the observatory. It is said that Henry Shaw had the observatory built because he tired of people asking permission to enter Tower Grove House and climb the tower for a better view of the Garden., Observatories were intended to raise the spectator some 25 or 30 feet off the ground in order to provide a bird's eye view of the garden. Architectural styles varied, but Oriental and onion-domed Russian were very popular.