Missouri History Museum, Saint Louis

The Missouri History Museum is a combination of two structures:

The Jefferson Memorial Building which faces Lindell Blvd., and The Emerson Center which faces Forest Park.
The Jefferson Memorial was built in 1913 with money from the 1904 World's Fair and was the first national memorial to Thomas Jefferson because of his role in the Louisiana Purchase.

The Emerson Center is a recent addition and is organized around the MacDermott Grand Hall with its replica of Charles Lindbergh's plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, suspended 18 feet overhead. In addition, it features a "shimmering marble river mosaic sweeping dramatically 60 feet across the floor".

The museum has Permanent and Special Exhibitions. The Permanent one is entitled "Seeking St. Louis" and is a time capsule "representing more than 200 years of dreams, ideas and efforts". It is held in two galleries called "Currents and "Reflections" and uses interactive exhibitions, thousands of artifacts, and displays.

The Special ones so far this year:
1. "Through the Eyes of a Child Growing Up Black in St. Louis, 1940-1990."
2. "American Wanderlust" (RV travel in US)
3. "Many Voices" (Reflecting on American Indian Objects)
4. "Sidewalks of St. Louis Selections from the Swekosky Collection"
5. "Today's Girls, Tomorrow's Women" (Girl Scouts in Greater St. Louis, 1918 to Today)
While we were there we saw the
6. "Lewis & Clark The National Bicentennial Exhibition"( See General Tips for Personal Reaction)
And we saw them setting up
7. "The 1904 World's Fair" (Looking Back
Looking Forward)
The Museum has a restaurant called "Meriwether's" and a museum gift shop called "Louisiana Purchase"

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There's always an interesting visit to the Missouri History Museum...any time of the year.

The very popular Twilight Tuesdays concert Series are in the Fall and the Spring and what a lineup! For 8 Tuesdays in a row, there will be a free concert outside!! People of all ages attend & bring food & drink. They dance, talk with friends and visit the inside of the museum, too. Patty Long Catering sells beer and other drinks, plus they always have a couple special dishes to eat for a dinner, or supplement the dinner you brought along. Bring folding chairs or a blanket. Or you can dance the whole time! Concerts start promptly at 6:30 & last two hours or more.

Lectures, concerts, films and much more -- usually are free. These special events are on weekends and in the evenings, mostly. Some are for kids & are really good entertainment or projects for them to do! See the web site's calendar.

THERE'S ALSO A VERY GOOD RESTAURANT, WITH A GREAT VIEW. It is open for lunch everyday, except Sundays, when there's a brunch, instead. Again, see the web site for more information, including a menu.

I have to admit I work at this museum. I know it very well, of course. It is one of the biggest history museums in our country & has many good exhibits & events. Wonderful staff, too! See website below for exhibits, concerts, lectures, etc. Most events are free. Our Twilight Tuesdays Concert Series is very popular. Delicious American food - Meriwethers Restaurant is open for lunch Monday through Sat.; brunch on Sunday. Cost is average for the area. Entrance & parking is free.Special exhibits have a separate fee, but are Free to all on Tuesdays.

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This is a large stone structure and holds a great deal of treasure inside. The history museum is a must do site on the trip in Forest Park. The whole park was a setting for the World's Fair held here in 1903. The building itself is impressive, but the exhibits inside are great too. The main features are a large exhibit display of Charles Lindbergh and his feat, as well as a nice display of the 1904 World's Fair held in Saint Louis. They also have special exhibits for a fee. The Vatican artifacts were on display while we were there, but for $18 surely not worth the viewing.

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This is a really nifty museum that focuses upon the local heritage of the central Mississippi region. It employs the best practices of "new" museums: interactive displayed, costumed interpreters, a focus upon social history, a conscious effort to integrate programs with the needs of the ENTIRE community. . . The MHM has plenty of space, both for its own permanent displays, as well as for interesting temporary exhibits that are regularly put on in their generous galleries. For example, when I visited in May 2008 there were exhibits about Generals Lee and Grant of the American Civil War, about the history of the beer industry in St. Louis, and the development of Aviation in the region.

Entrance to the Grand Hall, the shop and the restaurant is free; for temporary exhibits there is a charge. The museum is housed in the "Jefferson Memorial" - a structure that was built in 1911-13 with moneys raised in the 1904 World's Fair. It was intended to commemorate Jefferson's role in the Louisiana Purchase, a matter of considerable interest in St. Louis!

The Missouri History Museum underwent a significant expansion in the late 1990s that more than doubled its exhibit space, and provided it with room for a modern cafeteria and bookstore as well.

Incidentally, the "Spirit of St. Louis" which is hanging from the ceiling in the Grant Hall is an accurate replica that was built for the 1958 Jimmy Stewart film by the same name. Lindbergh's original plane - used to cross the Atlantic in 1927 - is at the Air & Space Museum in Washington D.C.

This museum has alot of history about St. Louis and Missouri of course. I liked the exhibit about the 1904 World's Fair. The museum is located in Forest Park so it is close to other main attractions in St. Louis. They have exhibits like Seeking St. Louis, Sidewalks of St. Louis and special exhibits from time to time like Lewis & Clark the National Bicentennial Exhibition.