1953
Dr. George Moore steps down as director of the Garden

Sepia slide of George T. Moore, Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden (1912-1953).

After serving as Director for over forty years Dr. George Moore steps down, he would stay on at the Garden with the title Director Emeritus which he would retain until his death. During his tenure the country had experienced two World Wars and the Great Depression. The Garden during this time in many ways reflected the changing times ranging from the boom years of the 1920s to the bust of the 1930s from which it would never fully recover during his tenure. Due to a lack of available funds since the 1930s and what some would say uninspired leadership the Garden would change very little during the last two decades of his watch eventually leading to a steady decline in the number of visitors due a sense that nothing new was being developed at the Garden.