^The new greenhouse spaces in the visitors center have a lot of potential. That said, I do hope they fix the hole they punched in the back of the Linnean House. I will probably always miss the Ridgway Center, but this will be a very nice building.
Watch now: Get a sneak peek of new visitor center under construction at MOBOT
https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/ ... the-latest
https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/ ... the-latest
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I know you're showing off the lantern on the visitor's center, but I think I'm goin g to call those gates the Cthihulhy gates. It just occurred to me that Chihuly engages in the tentacular equivalent of sticking googly eyes on everything in sight. And there must be some ancient reason for this that I'd prefer not to awaken. 
Anyway, the lantern looks good.
Anyway, the lantern looks good.
Looks like they're about ready for the grand opening. Still a ton of landscaping to do though.
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^^I think MoBot can handle the addition of a few plants...
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SO went recently and was pleased by how much of an improvement the new building is/will be. Even though its not finished the access to the garden just feel way more natural and less cramped. Ditching the stairway was just a great move.
The hole in the Linnaean house bugged me though. Not that the hole was there per se but how it looked relative to the historic features of the structure. If they had reflected the design of the doorway opposite the new door in terms of form I feel like it could have been an improvement to the structure adding an additional throughway to the building. In this case, it is a very lazily designed rectangular doorway with black metal trim juxtaposed to the arched doorway with historic painted wood casings painted white. Just doesn't look right.
The hole in the Linnaean house bugged me though. Not that the hole was there per se but how it looked relative to the historic features of the structure. If they had reflected the design of the doorway opposite the new door in terms of form I feel like it could have been an improvement to the structure adding an additional throughway to the building. In this case, it is a very lazily designed rectangular doorway with black metal trim juxtaposed to the arched doorway with historic painted wood casings painted white. Just doesn't look right.
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^I have this possibly forlorn hope that they'll plug the hole once they have the new building up and running so they don't need to use Linnaean as an impromptu entry hall anymore. That hole really bugs me, given how historic the structure is.
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Did you get in there this weekend? Thought about it, but didn't quite make it. I hope you had fun. It's usually quite the shindig.
Yeah my fam was planning to go to the Japanese festival but the weather was really just miserable, and didn't clear up until the evening.
Some nice shots of the new expansion from John Langholz over on Flickr.
Lobby:
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The Lantern:
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Sassafras Cafe:
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The Conservatory:
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Lobby:
The Lantern:
Sassafras Cafe:
The Conservatory:
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Did the yearly Garden Glow tonight. My 2.5 yo was unhappy the whole time so that was rough but I must say the new building is impressive. Like many of our institutions, the whole facility looks top notch.
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Orchid show 2023
What a let down
It was held in a space the size of a small apartment
There were NUMEROUS persons at the orchid show that were asking What??
The event space at the garden is for paid events i.e. weddings etc
And that space is carpeted Really? Carpeted? Good luck getting the wine from that wedding out of the carpet
Regarding the new center
Concrete blocks with a center glass box With the long brick heritage and the beautiful brick throughout St. Louis and the new garden building is concrete?
What a let down
It was held in a space the size of a small apartment
There were NUMEROUS persons at the orchid show that were asking What??
The event space at the garden is for paid events i.e. weddings etc
And that space is carpeted Really? Carpeted? Good luck getting the wine from that wedding out of the carpet
Regarding the new center
Concrete blocks with a center glass box With the long brick heritage and the beautiful brick throughout St. Louis and the new garden building is concrete?
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I agree about the new exhibition greenhouse, it's very disappointing that it was not built larger. However, I really like the rest of the visitor center.
More honors for the new visitor's center:
The Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums (MAAM) announced the recipient of this year’s Building Museums™ Symposium’s Buildy Award: The Missouri Botanical Garden’s Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
https://www.inparkmagazine.com/missouri ... ward-2025/
The Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums (MAAM) announced the recipient of this year’s Building Museums™ Symposium’s Buildy Award: The Missouri Botanical Garden’s Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
https://www.inparkmagazine.com/missouri ... ward-2025/
From Dezeen:
"Ayers Saint Gross embeds plant motifs in Missouri Botanical Garden visitor centre"
https://www.dezeen.com/2025/04/07/ayers ... or-center/
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"Ayers Saint Gross embeds plant motifs in Missouri Botanical Garden visitor centre"
https://www.dezeen.com/2025/04/07/ayers ... or-center/
