The Missouri History Museum’s top floor hasn’t had a new exhibit since 2000, but in spring 2028, that will change.
The “Seeking St. Louis” exhibit was a permanent fixture of the museum for 25 years until this May, when museum staff began to deconstruct it.
For the next three years, a new exhibit called “Gallery STL” will be constructed. The exhibit will be a decade-by-decade walk through St. Louis history starting in the 1800s, said Sam Moore, managing director of public history for the Missouri Historical Society.
The three-year timeline for the work is partially to account for the time to take apart the previous exhibit, which was built more solidly than one that is meant to stand only for a short time. The gallery also requires electrical and heating and cooling work before it can open, Moore said.
He said the new exhibit will share the biggest stories of 23 decades and give a snapshot of what life was like during that time.
“In the 1860s, of course we're going to talk about the Civil War,” Moore said. “We're also going to talk about what it was like to go to the dentist in the 1860s, and it was not very fun.”
Moore said it will include a future lab space that highlights the problems and opportunities St. Louis may have going forward.
The museum is commissioning a portrait of Harriet Scott for the exhibit. Dred and Harriet Scott were an enslaved couple who sued for their freedom in 1846 in St. Louis Circuit Court. They lost at the U.S. Supreme Court, but after a lengthy fight, they were formally freed in 1857 and remain important historical figures in the city. The museum has held a portrait of Dred Scott since its early days, but it does not have a portrait of his wife to match.
“[Harriet] was really the driving force behind the Scott family’s fight for freedom,” Moore said. “Commissioning that portrait of Harriet Scott will allow us to tell her story in an even deeper way.”
Artists have until Sept. 29 to apply.
While “Gallery STL” is under construction, the museum might feel a bit smaller. The entire gallery space on the top floor is closed, but a cafe and some classrooms and meeting rooms are still accessible. The “St. Louis Sound” hallway installation, which contains pieces from the original exhibit on the city’s music scene, is also still available.
Moore said there is still plenty to see in the rest of the museum. The first floor currently houses an exhibit about the 1904 World’s Fair and one called “Collected,” which showcases hundreds of thousands of museum artifacts. The lower level also remains open.
On a recent visit to the museum, Lauren Sizemore said she came to see those exhibits and was glad they were still open. She said she’s excited about the new exhibit as well.
“I love history just in general, so I’d probably be pretty fascinated by anything that they choose to put up there,” Sizemore said. “I did enjoy the exhibit that used to be up there.”
Temporary exhibits are also planned for the next three years. Moore said those include one on St. Louis baseball history and one about Mill Creek Valley.
