Missouri Botanical Garden, Sachs Museum

The Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis was founded in 1859 by Henry Shaw. Today, 160 years after opening, the Garden is a National Historic Landmark and a center for science, conservation, education and horticultural display — widely considered one of the top three botanical gardens in the world.

In the Stephen and Peter Sachs Museum, EverGreene conservators created exposure windows and, through the information gained from the various studies, revealed original decoration. The end goal was to recreate the botanically accurate decorations on the ceiling. The 1930s drop ceiling was removed, revealing ceiling portraits of the five most influential men to the field of botanical study.

Both the murals on the ceilings in the main room and the back room were traced and then recreated on canvas in EverGreene’s Brooklyn Design Studio. After the recreations were finished, they were shipped to Missouri and installed onsite.

In addition to the restoration of the decorative arts, modern additions to the structure were updated, such as restrooms and elevators, keeping in mind the integrity of the historic site while now providing a welcoming environment to the public since the reopening in 2017.