Between 1849 and 1851, architect George I. Barnett simultaneously designed Henry Shaw's city and country residences. Tower Grove House was Shaw's elegant Italianate country home. Making a dramatic impression against the landscape, it was designed to stand alone, approached by a sweeping carriage road across a sea of tall grasses. This land was originally wild prairie, featuring a small grove of sapling sassafras. This, along with the home's distinctive tower, gave rise to the name "Tower Grove."
Upon Shaw's death in 1889, the house was inhabited by the Garden's first director, Dr. William Trelease. The original east wing was replaced with the larger, more symmetrical wing we see today to accommodate his family. The home has undergone two extensive renovations, first in 1953 and again in 2005. Today it is open to the public and serves as a historic house museum, complete with furniture and materials once belonging to Shaw.
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