About
Henry Shaw oversaw the design of stately carriage entrances to his Tower Grove Park. Forty-foot stone towers were placed at the western entrance at Kingshighway. The North Gate, at Magnolia, has 15-foot columns topped by limestone spheres that Shaw got from the Old Courthouse when it was being remodeled. The eastern entrance at S. Grand Avenue was the most decorative: griffins, a cross between a lion and an eagle, symbolizing vigilance in medieval mythology. Weeping lions, copied from Pope Clement XIII’s tomb in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, were placed atop massive limestone columns. The zinc animals were designed and produced in Berlin by unknown artisans.
Dimensions: 15′ x 8′ x 5′
Year Completed: 1880s
Material: Zinc on limestone pedestals
Owner: Tower Grove Park
Donor: Henry Shaw
