aug 3, 1927 - Shaw Nature Reserve

Description:

In 1927, the orchid collection was relocated to the newly purchased Shaw Nature Reserve. The plants suffering from the city’s poor air quality caused by all the coal-burning soot and smoke. By 1943, around 20,000 plants, mostly orchids, occupied 12 greenhouses at the Nature Reserve. The orchid collection in particular had commercial value to the Garden. The business of selling orchids to St. Louis florists in the 1940s amounted to nearly $70,000 per year.