Founded in 1859, the Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the nation's oldest botanical gardens and a National Historic Landmark. The Garden is a center for botanical research and science education, as well as an oasis in the city of St. Louis. The Garden offers 79 acres of beautiful horticultural display, including a 14-acre Japanese strolling garden, Henry Shaw's original 1850 estate home, and one of the world's largest collections of rare and endangered orchids. For more than 160 years, the Garden has been an oasis in the city, a place of beauty and family fun—and also a center for education, science, and conservation.