Cleveland Avenue Gatehouse (Herring House)

The Cleveland Avenue Gatehouse is a nineteenth-century stone cottage constructed on site at the Missouri Botanical Garden. It combines Romanesque Revival architecture with the shingle style of design that was popular in America at the time. Designed by George I. Barnett, the cottage was used as a residence for groundskeepers as well as administrators at the botanical garden. According to nineteenth-century picturesque landscape architecture, the gatehouse cottage was intended to appear integrated within the landscape. A 2016 renovation of the gatehouse and the surrounding gardens was made possible through funding from the Herring family. As such, the cottage is now also known as the Herring House.

Built in 1895, the Cleveland Avenue Gatehouse is a stone cottage designed by George I. Barnett. It is an example of Romanesque Revival architecture, with elements of the American shingle style. Surrounding the cottage is a picturesque landscape with Arts and Crafts style gardens. The gatehouse was built at the request of Henry Shaw, who specified its construction in his will.

Shaw was the founder of the Missouri Botanical Garden (also known as Shaw's Arboretum) and the adjacent Tower Grove Park. The cottage was constructed as a residence for the groundskeeper of the gardens, the museum building, and the mausoleum, where Shaw was laid to rest. This area of historic buildings is now known as the Doris Waters Harris Lichtenstein Victorian District within the Missouri Botanical Garden

An interpretive sign was placed outside of the gatehouse, which notes the history of the site. As evidenced from the roof, the architect, George Barnett, was influenced by the American Shingle Style, which he combined with an English stone cottage design. Since English cottages typically had slate-tiled roofs, Barnett's choice of a shingle-style roof gave the cottage gatehouse a distinctly American look.

Over the years, the cottage has housed groundskeepers as well as administrators. The most recent tenants included the botanical garden's superintendent, a retired rosarian, along with his wife. In 2016, the building underwent a major restoration and preservation project, with funding provided by the Herring family. For this reason, it is now known as the Herring House.

Following the renovation of the cottage, it no longer serves as a residence. Instead, it is now used for special events. The surrounding gardens were restored in 2016. These gardens were inspired by plantings of Gertrude Jekyll, the nineteenth-century British horticulturist, writer, and garden designer. Jekyll was influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement, which favored harmony in design between the natural and built landscapes.

Missouri Botanical Garden, Cleveland Avenue Gatehouse, 2345 Tower Grove Avenue, Saint Louis, Independent City, MO, LOC. Accessed November 12th, 2022. https://www.loc.gov/item/mo0387/.

Naffzinger, Chris. Cleveland Avenue Gatehouse, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis Patina. June 15th, 2022. Accessed November 12th, 2022. https://stlouispatina.com/caretakers-house-missouri-botanical-garden/.

Naffzinger, Chris. Cleveland Avenue Gatehouse, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis Patina. May 27th, 2013. Accessed November 12th, 2022. https://stlouispatina.com/cleveland-avenue-gatehouse-shaws-garden/.

Herring House Renovation, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed November 12th, 2022. https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/donate/garden-for-the-world/herring-house.

Victorian District, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed November 12th, 2022. https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/media/fact-pages/victorian-district.