Missouri History Museum

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Missouri History Museum
Missouri History Museum Logo.png
MissouriHistoryMuseum.png
Missouri History Museum
Forest Park (St. Louis).png
Red pog.svg
Location within Forest Park
Established1866
Location St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Coordinates 38°38′43″N90°17′17″W / 38.645252°N 90.287927°W / 38.645252; -90.287927
Public transit access Bus-logo.svg MetroBus
BSicon TRAM1.svg Loop Trolley
BSicon TRAM.svg   Red    Blue  
At Forest Park-DeBaliviere station
Website mohistory.org
Missouri History museum entrance in 2023 Missouri History Center.jpg
Missouri History museum entrance in 2023

The Missouri History Museum in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri, showcases Missouri history. It is operated by the Missouri Historical Society, which was founded in 1866. Museum admission is free through a public subsidy by the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District.

Contents

Facilities

The Jefferson Memorial Building, built in 1913 with profits from the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, is the home of the museum.

In 1988, the museum joined the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District and began receiving sales tax revenue. [1]

In 2000, the Emerson Center, a significant building addition was completed, boosting attendance and exhibition capacity. The Emerson Center, featuring a ground-to-roof southern glass facade, was designed by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, and included substantially more exhibition space, as well as an auditorium, classrooms, a restaurant and gift shop. [2] The Emerson Center was selected by the American Institute of Architects's Committee on the Environment as an example of architectural design that protects and enhances the environment. [3] It is an example of a green museum.

Collections and exhibits

Carriage on exhibit. Carriage display in Missouri History Museum.jpg
Carriage on exhibit.

The museums signature collection includes both national artifacts, as well as Missouri and St. Louis related materials, such as local colonial and native artifacts, Louisiana Purchase Exposition artifacts, and items relating to Charles Lindbergh and his trans-Atlantic flight in the Spirit of St. Louis . [4] A replica of the Spirit of St. Louis can be found in the museum. [5] A large number of artifacts from the 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition are also housed in the permanent collection, as St. Louis was the starting point for that venture. [6]

Recent travelling exhibits and events have included items related to the Fox Theatre's restoration and renovation, [7] the Road to Freedom tour (celebrating the Americans with Disabilities Act), [8] and, prominently, the Lewis and Clark National Bicentennial Exhibition. [9]

Admission

Admission is free. [10]

Exhibits

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References

  1. "Metropolitan Zoological Park - History". Archived from the original on January 25, 2010. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
  2. Missouri Historical Society – Saint Louis Forest Park, slfp.com
  3. "HOK designs award-winning 'green' museum addition". St. Louis Business Journal.
  4. Forest Park Forever and Today [ permanent dead link ], forestparkforever.org
  5. Missouri History Museum, u-s-history.com
  6. History, stlouis.missouri.org
  7. The Missouri History Museum Celebrates the Fox Theatre, stlouis.about.com
  8. Road to Freedom | Tour Map & Schedule, roadtofreedom.org
  9. Lewis & Clark: About the Exhibition: Introduction, lewisandclarkexhibit.org
  10. Its history - St. Louis Business Journal:, bizjournals.com