The shop was started by German immigrant Alex Waldbart, Claire Waldbart Kramer’s great-grandfather, in 1872.

The family was a frequent topic in the society pages and other articles over the years in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

In 1898, for example, Alex Waldbart was interviewed about the impact of the invention of electric lights on flower gardening. In 1948, the Post-Dispatch wrote a feature about the shop selling a 6-year-old boy two carnations worth 25 cents each for just one nickel for his mom’s Mother’s Day gift.

The business had several locations throughout the St. Louis area over the years, before moving into its current Richmond Heights home.

Kramer said she was 5 when the family business opened there, bringing the iconic sign along.

“I used to sit up on top of the flower cooler and watch my dad work,” she said. “I think it just got me out of the way so I didn’t mess up any of the arrangements.”

Kramer said that years ago her family found an inspection certificate showing that the building was a beauty parlor in the 1930s. She also believes it may have been a motorcycle dealership and a tuxedo shop before that.

Still, most people remember only the flowers.