STL Architecture

THE CLIMATRON At the St. Louis Botanical Gardens

As citizens of historic St. Louis, we should take time to appreciate our city’s beautiful architecture and history. The structures and buildings that adorn our beautiful city define and tell the history of St. Louis’ past, present and future. It is important to be educated on our city’s architectural history and how we are adding to it everyday. It is one very important way we can help improve our architecture and economy in the future. The origin stories of the older buildings and the design stories of upcoming structures reveal what we have taken from older buildings and applied to newer ones. This has helped to create our own unique style that reflects St. Louis, rather than the style it is designed after. Our skyline reflects us, the people of St. Louis, and knowing where different buildings and stories fit in along this timeline will help us all become more knowledgeable citizens of St. Louis. Starting the St. Louis architecture series, here is research and information on the Climatron at the Botanical Garden. Most of us are familiar with the Climatron, a geodesic climate-controlled greenhouse, located in the Botanical Gardens. The glass dome’s history goes back to 1959 when it first opened. It is the first ever geodesic dome greenhouse in the world, and it is 175 feet in diameters. It was created to bring in more visitors and give a one-of-a kind experience. It was also meant for research. Because the greenhouse holds more than 2800 different species, it is the perfect atmosphere to research and study the plants. The original design was made with an aluminum frame and plastic panels. Obviously, this was not built to last and ended up needing to be renovated. In 1988, they replaced the plastic panels with glass. and created a stronger dome structure over the first dome to securely hold the dome up. This allowed the original dome to stand while a new, stronger one covered the top, creating a dome within a dome.

The Climatron is located in the Botanical Gardens 4344 Shaw Blvd, St. Louis, MO Their current hours are: Tuesdays–Sundays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last entry at 4:30 p.m.).

The climatron was built by St. Louis architects, Murphy and Mackey and won the 1961 Reynolds Award, an award for architectural excellence in a structure using aluminum.

Buel White/Post-Dispatch File Photo

The botanical Gardens is starting to slowly open up its gardens, starting with a little bit at a time. Fortunately, the Climatron is open Thursday through Sunday and is included in general admission. It is closed for two days to allow the workers to care for the plants in a safe manner. They suggest you book tickets online to limit contact, but walk-ups are available as well. Masks are required for admission.

Story and Page Design by Elle Decker

Archive photographs originally printed in The St. Louis Post Dispatch

Original photos by Elle Decker

Jack January/Post-Dispatch File Photo