West Gate and Gatehouse

At the western entrance to Tower Grove Park, this 1870 gate and gatehouse are the only examples of Gothic Revival architecture within the park. They are also one of the few examples of the Gothic Revival style in Missouri. In keeping with the vision of the park's founder, Henry Shaw, the opulent gate and gatehouse were designed to create an impression of grandeur. Constructed from coarse limestone, the gatehouse features a step-gabled roof, while the castle-like gate is comprised of two forty-foot limestone towers. The park opened to the public in 1872, and it is designated as a National Historic Landmark.

Built in 1870, the west gate and gatehouse were constructed from rough-hewn limestone in the Gothic Revival tradition. Gothic Revival was an ornate architectural style that was popular during the nineteenth-century in Europe and the U.S., although it was rarely used in Missouri.

The gatehouse was designed as a step-gabled stone lodge, initially containing one bedroom and one bathroom. The gate was constructed as two stone towers, each forty feet tall. Evoking the appearance of a small castle, the west gate and gatehouse are contributing structures to the park's designation as a National Historic Landmark.

Because the park was initially designed for carriages, the west gate needed to be wide enough for horse-drawn carriages to pass through. The park's founder, Henry Shaw, had purchased and donated the land for the park from his own country estate. Shaw wanted the gate and gatehouse to give an impression of grandeur at the park's western entrance.

In the 1860s and 1870s, Tower Grove Park was still considered west of the city. Over time, however, it became part of St. Louis as development increased and the city grew larger. The park was founded in 1868, and it officially opened to the public in 1872.

In 2022, the Park raised $1.3 million for a renovation of the west gate and gatehouse. The slate roof was replaced with titles that more accurately reflected the original purple-tinted slate roof, with the letters "TGP" for "Tower Grove Park" spelled out in the stone. The gatehouse was also converted for use as park office space.

National Register of Historic Places - Nomination Form, Accessed November 9th, 2022. https://preview.catalog.archives.gov/id/63818182.

Kenny, Joseph. Her backyard was a park-like setting (literally), St. Louis Review. November 4th, 2021. Accessed November 9th, 2022. https://www.archstl.org/her-back-yard-was-a-parklike-setting-literally-7010.

Hahn, Valerie Schremp. West Gatehouse in Tower Grove Park getting $1.3 million in renovations, March 29th, 2022. Accessed November 9th, 2022. https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/west-gatehouse-in-tower-grove-park-getting-1-3-million-in-renovations/article_fa9de31d-54a4-54a1-8ad4-1ab9b7f0c248.html.