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In the spring of 1861, as our nation careened toward what would become the Civil War, both Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant were faced with daunting decisions that would alter their lives and their places in history. Lee and Grant, a museum exhibition organized by the Virginia Historical Society and funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, will explore the boyhoods of Lee and Grant, their West Point careers, their early assignments, their service in the Mexican War and on the nation's frontiers, their Civil War campaigns, and their postwar contributions to national reconciliation. Uniforms, artifacts, documents and visual images - paintings, photographs, prints, and sculpture - will offer a glimpse of each man as he understood himself and his place in the world. As a supplement to the Virginia Historical Society's exhibition, the Missouri History Museum will display artifacts and documents related to Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee's contributions to the St. Louis region. As a United States Army supervising engineer of navigation, Lee worked in St. Louis in 1837 on the Mississippi River. His work on the harbor resulted in the city fulfilling its destiny as Gateway to the West. Upon graduating from West Point in 1843, Grant was assigned to Jefferson Barracks, near St. Louis. Frederick Dent, Grant's West Point roommate, encouraged Grant to visit the Dent family at their nearby estate, White Haven. Grant did so; it was there that he met his future wife, Frederick's sister, Julia Dent. While in St. Louis, Grant struggled to support his family with ventures in farming and real estate. The local component will highlight Lee and Grant's professional and personal lives in St. Louis in the years preceding the Civil War. Items on view include maps, correspondence, tools and household items from the St. Louisans with whom Lee and Grant worked and socialized.
St. Louisans are fond of the clichéd expression .If you don't like the weather in St. Louis, just wait five minutes.. Well, we have never let our region's infamous extreme weather stop us from enjoying the great outdoors. Featuring fashions, sporting equipment and historic photographs from the Missouri History Museum's collections, Changing for the Seasons: From Swimsuits to Skates explores the ever-evolving fashions folks have worn in their quest for outdoor fun. Opening on April 13, 2008, the exhibition opens the door on how people have embraced the first hints of St. Louis' warm weather and tried to escape the oppressive heat of the ensuing summers. Swimsuits, golfing gear and tennis togs will help visitors understand that while the games have remained the same, the fashions have dramatically evolved. Six months later, the exhibition's focus will reflect the changing seasons outside the museum. Fashions and artifacts will show how earlier St. Louisans dressed for autumnal and winter activities, such as bonfires, ice-skating and sledding. Organized by the Missouri History Museum Free Admission Audio
Tours Flight
City: St. Louis Takes to the Air “Flight City: St. Louis Takes to the Air,” a thrilling and comprehensive exploration of the history of flight in St. Louis, allows museum visitors of all ages to experience the exhilarating moments when hot-air balloons, airships and airplanes first soared over our city. Historic photographs, personal stories, gallery activities and treasures from the Missouri History Museum’s collections chronicle our region’s relationship with aviation — from the earliest roots through the 20th century zenith. Visitors will learn about the men and women who let their imagination and sense of adventure take flight: aviators who awed the public with daredevil stunts and entrepreneurs who launched businesses to support the growing culture of aeronautics. Organized by the Missouri History Museum, the exhibition also examines how aviation — and the demands for bigger, better, and faster modes of flight — forever changed St. Louis’ economy, environment and identity. Visit the Flight City web site. Admission: Free From Kettle
to Keg From Kettle to Keg: Brewing in St. Louis, 1809-1909 explores
how beer and brewing have helped define our region’s identity as
a brewing mecca. Visitors will get a taste of how the history of beer
in unCommon Threads: Stories of Missouri Brides
(Online Exhibition) Beyond the workmanship of silk and lace, a wedding gown tells the story
of the woman who wore it and the time in which she lived. Featuring garments,
photographs and other treasures from the Missouri History Museum ’s
extensive collections, “unCommon Threads: Stories of Missouri
Brides” explores 19th and 20th century fashion and matrimonial
customs. Organized by the Missouri History Museum, the exhibition
features twenty-two outstanding examples of wedding attire — ranging
from homespun to haute couture — that bring to vivid life the deeply
personal stories of the Missouri women who wore the cherished clothing
on their wedding day. Seeking
St. Louis Come explore with us — and get to know this place through the eyes of the people who journeyed before us. Their choices shaped the city we know and see today, as our own choices will shape the city of tomorrow. Lindbergh The Missouri History Museum marked the 75th anniversary of Lindbergh's historic flight with the opening of Lindbergh. The 1904 World's Fair Lewis & Clark:
The National Bicentennial Exhibition (Online Exhibition) Katherine
Dunham (Online
Exhibition) History Happened
Here (Online Exhibition) History Happened Here: A Virtual Tour of St. Louis’ Cultural Communities web site’s home page acts as a portal through which the visitor will be able to view each of the cultural groups listed and visit the sites that the group has identified. The format is easy to navigate, providing access to the historic sites in various ways: Keyword search, a timeline, neighborhood map, photographs, and alphabetical listing. Each designated site has a page featuring a description of the building, organization, event, or person plus historic and contemporary photographs. Guided by the extensive research that Dr. Walter Ehrlich conducted for his book, Zion in the Valley, the Missouri History Museum and an advisory board of community leaders chose more than eighty noteworthy sites to trace the history of Jewish life in St. Louis. The selected sites are associated with a person, public space or event that has had a meaningful effect or significant contribution to the history of our community. The sites initial locales include synagogues, organizations, businesses and cultural locations. Other features on the site include a glossary of terms, reading recommendations, teacher resources, opportunities for marker sponsorship, and an on-line means of creating a personalized tour of the sites. For more information, visit www.mohistory.org or call (314) 746-4599. The 1904 World's
Fair: Looking Back at Looking Forward
Photography Notice: |
Featured Exhibitions
Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company President David R. Francis officially
opened the Louisiana Purchase Exposition
— also known as the 1904 World’s Fair —
with the call, “Open ye gates. Swing wide, ye portals.”
A magnificent spectacle greeted the opening day crowd of 200,000
— a dazzling city stood on what had been a woodland park.
Fair organizers had erected nearly 1,500 buildings — including several
grand “palaces” — across 1,200 acres of a newly redesigned
Forest Park.