Opened in 1859, Henry Shaw's Museum was the scientific heart of the Missouri Botanical Garden for more than a century.
It housed the Garden’s original library, herbarium and natural history specimens. Over the years it also was used as office space, a research lab and as a restaurant. The museum building was closed to the public in 1982 and only opened on special occasions including annually on Henry Shaw’s Birthday. When Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson became president of the Garden in 2010, he recognized the importance of reopening this important building.