Missouri History Museum Fact Sheet

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	Missouri History Museum DESCRIPTION: The Missouri History Museum is dedicated to documenting and interpreting the history of the St. Louis area. Housed in a building formerly called the Jefferson Memorial in honor of President Thomas Jefferson, the 2000 addition of the Emerson Electric Center to the building gave the Missouri History Museum more exhibit space and additional facilities. The museum has two million books, archival papers, photographs and artifacts in its collection. The Missouri History Museum Library and Research Center (LRC) is located at 225 S. Skinker Boulevard across from Forest Park and is open to the public for historical research. The non-circulating library contains more than 70,000 catalogued volumes, pamphlets and periodicals and has exceptional strengths in genealogy, neighborhoods, architecture, business, education, politics, religion and art. ADDRESS: P. O. Box 11940, St. Louis, MO 63112-0040. The Museum, located in the Jefferson Memorial Building in Forest Park, is at Lindell and DeBaliviere on the northern edge of Forest Park. The Library Resource Center is located at 225 South Skinker Boulevard, but utilizes the same mailing address as the museum. LOCATION: The Jefferson Memorial Building is on the northern edge of Forest Park. The Library Resource Center is across from Forest Park's western boundary. PHONE: Museum: 314-746-4599; Library: 314-746-4500 WEB SITE: www.mohistory.org GETTING THERE: To get to the museum from downtown St. Louis, take Market Street west to Forest Park Parkway to DeBaliviere. Turn left on DeBaliviere. The History Museum is approximately one block straight ahead. To get to the library from downtown, take I-64 west to Exit 34B (Clayton Road/Skinker Boulevard). Turn right (north) on Skinker and follow it .6 mile. The library is on the left. METROLINK: Take MetroLink light rail to the Forest Park station. HOURS: Museum: Tuesday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Wednesday-Monday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Library and Research Center: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. ADMISSION: Free to the museum and permanent exhibits. A fee is charged for special exhibitions. HIGHLIGHTS: The original Louisiana Purchase transfer document which formally passed the Louisiana Territory from Spain to France on March 9, 1804. The French then signed over the territory to the U. S. the next day. Among the signers was Meriwether Lewis, co-leader of the Lewis & Clark expedition which explored the new American territory from 1804-1806. The museum also displays personal artifacts from explorer William Clark including furnishings and artifacts from his St. Louis office. In February 2000, the Missouri History Museum opened its new Emerson Electric Center. The 92,000-square-foot addition tripled the size of the museum and includes four new galleries, a 347-seat auditorium, four classrooms, a resource center, and space to host major traveling exhibitions. A bright and cheerful restaurant -- Meriwether's -- overlooks Forest Park. The Louisiana Purchase gift shop stocks books on St. Louis history, historical figures, posters, jewelry and historically inspired giftware, games and children's toys. Among the items on display in the museum are: A Moon automobile. The car was made by Joseph W. Moon's Motor Car Company which produced almost 13,000 cars per year at its six St. Louis plants before it folded during the Depression. A replica of the Spirit of St. Louis, the plane that Charles Lindbergh used to make the first transatlantic Flight in May 1927. The Museum's plane, built in 1928, was used in the 1957 Jimmy Stewart film "The Spirit of St. Louis." A collection of Charles Lindbergh's personal artifacts such as the flight suit he wore on his famous Spirit of St. Louis trans-Atlantic flight, a trunk he left with friends in St. Louis before his trans-Atlantic flight and the items he packed in it. Personal items, artifacts and audio presentations of some of St. Louis' more noteworthy cultural icons such as Chuck Berry, Tina Turner, Miles Davis and Scott Joplin. WHAT'S COOL: Historyonics Theatre Company, the Missouri Historical Society's in-house theatre group, presents performances of original plays with characters taken from history at the History Museum and at other locations around St. Louis throughout the year. ESPECIALLY FOR KIDS: There are several areas with activities children will enjoy such as the animal pelts and pirogues within the Currents gallery that displays items about early St. Louis. ANNUAL SPECIAL EVENTS: The Missouri History Museum sponsors several annual events including the annual James Neal Primm Lecture in History; the Urban Forum, a series of discussions on shaping the urban environment; Twilight Tuesdays, special programs on selected Tuesday evenings during the summer and Holiday Fair, a special holiday shopping event in November which includes music by local musicians, activities for children and local authors signing their books. HISTORY: The Missouri History Museum is operated by the Missouri Historical Society which was founded in 1866. Since that time, the Historical Society has been collecting written records, photographs and artifacts representing the people who live and work in St. Louis and Missouri. The Society was housed at a number of locations until 1913, when it moved to its present location in Forest Park. The Jefferson Memorial Building, constructed on the site of the main entrance to the 1904 World's Fair, was built with funds from the fair. Today funding for the Missouri Historical Society is provided by the Missouri History Museum Subdistrict of the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District and from memberships, gifts and grants. In February 1989, the Subdistrict bought a site at 225 Skinker Boulevard from the United Hebrew congregation and moved its archives and library there. The former temple, constructed in the Greco-Byzantine style in 1925, is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Missouri Historical Society's nationally acclaimed library, archival and pictorial collections occupy most of the space in the building. Adjoining the library is a 54,000-square-foot climate-controlled museum collections and conservation annex, which contains the Society's extensive museum collections, including art, period clothing, rare flags, Native-American artifacts, furniture, toys, and Lindbergh memorabilia not on exhibit. WHAT'S COMING UP: From January 14 through September 6, 2004, the Missouri History Museum will curate and debut the Lewis and Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition, a 6,000-square foot exhibit that reunites artifacts and documents from the Lewis & Clark expedition that have not been seen in one place since 1806. Fittingly, the Missouri History Museum is located in historic Forest Park, the site of the fabled "Meet Me in St. Louis" World's Fair or 1904 Louisiana Purchase Centennial Exposition, which celebrated the 100th anniversary of that famous real estate purchase and the Lewis & Clark expedition. That same year, the museum will host a special 1904 World's Fair exhibit. HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBILITY: The Missouri History Museum is fully handicapped accessible. GIFT SHOP: The Louisiana Purchase, the Museum's gift shop, has a wide variety of gift items including glassware, toys, videos, regional music, jewelry and books and other items relating to St. Louis and Missouri history. WHERE TO GET LUNCH: Meriwether's in the History Museum's new wing overlooking Forest Park is a great place for lunch. The restaurant is open during museum hours and serves lunch 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and snacks at other times. WHAT'S NEARBY: Forest Park's other attractions -- the Zoo, the Science Center, the Art Museum and the Muny outdoor theatre -- are nearby. The park also offers miles of jogging, biking and skating paths, two golf courses and a lake with paddleboat and gondola rides. PUBLIC RELATIONS CONTACT: Everett Dietle 314-454-3178; ead@mohistory.org
	Readers should call 1-800-916-0040 to request a free copy of the Official St. Louis Visitor Guide or point, click and explore St. Louis at www.explorestlouis.com