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St. Louis Downtown Museum Project - A Leap of Faith

By Michael Bouman

There are more than three museums in downtown St. Louis, and I visited all of them last September to take the pulse of the small institutions. It seemed to me that three of them could make a fine team for a pilot project to create large, new benefits from synergy.

Each of the three museums is accomplished in exhibits and programming. Together, they provide a critical mass of talent and enthusiasm. Since we're in an upbeat baseball season in St. Louis, I'll introduce the players:

The Campbell House Museum is in the old neighborhood that includes the St. Louis Public Library, Christ Church Cathedral, and a thriving new loft district along Washington Avenue. Campbell House Interns

Five years ago this museum was the site of one of the most important Victorian-era restorations in the United States. To enter Robert Campbell's home is to enter an environment decorated without a care about the cost. It strikes one as a palace. But palaces are not entirely sweet. Part of the restoration left one wall unrestored so that visitors could see and think about the layer of dirt on the wall where once stood a large bookcase. The dirt came from the filthy air of the city. The dirt entered the lungs of every resident.

Upstairs, where the seasonal heat rose and stayed, are restored servants' quarters. During the restoration, the Campbell House staff created exhibits about the social history of immigrant servants in St. Louis.

The staff also got into the extensive archives of Robert Campbell, hundreds of thousands of pages and photographs. You can see what an exciting place this is if you check their web site. That's where I found the wonderful pictures of the volunteers and interns. Director Andy Hahn is sure pumping energy into this place!

Lois Conley photoThe Griot Museum of Black History and Culture ("The Griot") was known for a decade as The Blackworld History Museum. The name change reflects the emphasis on the importance of carrying the story. Lois Conley, the founding Director, created exemplary visitor experiences on a shoestring budget. Deputy Director Erika Neal is a PR professional. Together, they function as an awesome idea factory. Last October we published their list of ideas they generated after attending our "Cutting-Edge Strategies" conference for small museums. To read it is to understand something about the energy that drives people to excel.

The Griot has managed a succession of special projects and touring exhibits to assure that repeat visitors will see something new. They are concentrating now on creating a museum experience in which the youthful visitor must read and write.

The Eugene Field House and American Toy Museum is just a short walk from The Old Courthouse where the Dred Scott decision was handed down. It's near the historic Soulard neighborhood, near the ball park, and near the city's Blues scene. Like the Campbell House, the Field House interprets a rich and complex story of the 19th century.

Barbara Faupel

Curator Barbara Faupel is pictured above with a section of a "passport" exhibit in one room of the house. She divided the room on the diagonal to provide a contrasting vision of childhood for the Black and White children of the city. That exhibit will be reinstalled and improved after a new exhibit of quilts comes down. In planning for a rotation of things to do and experience, the staff of the field house is already on the track of visitor-centered thinking.

The Field House has enhanced the visitor experience by improving sight lines and visitor comfort in various rooms. There are numerous activities for St. Louis children to involve them in the house. At present, the talent of the staff make the visitor drop the question of whether the house would be better as either a house museum or a toy museum. It is both.

The three museums are sharing the senior-level expertise of museum consultant, Barbara Decker, who has forty years of experience in museum and school-related work. With Barbara's help, they conceptualized a project that would benefit each institution individually while creating opportunities for public engagement that will benefit them collectively.

This sort of project hasn't been tried before. It required a leap of faith for my board when they voted funding for it. It required leaps of faith by the museums' boards and staff members. Now that the leap has been taken, I've pledged to remain involved and to do everything within my powers to help the project succeed.

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