1880s
A building in the Southeast corner of the Garden was used for many things, including housing students.

Photographic print of Casino made from Boehl & Koenig Stereograph #168.

Shaw intended the garden as a pleasure ground for the public and as a site for scientific research. But Shaw also intended for his garden to provide practical training for gardeners, as well as scientific training for botanists. Eventually, the garden began taking on horticulture students, both men and women. Some of these students lived in a building at the corner of Tower Grove and Magnolia Avenues. This building, called the Casino, had been used for several things, including a restaurant. It stood at the southeast corner of the current garden grounds, where the director’s house now stands. The training and work of the gardeners was shown in detail in the Botanical Garden’s display at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.