MoHistory

From 19th-century red brick homes to gleaming 21st-century skyscrapers, each St. Louis neighborhood boasts a unique array of architectural styles. Whether grand or humble, the region’s buildings (just like its landscapes) have inspired artists for more than 200 years. Take a quick tour across St. Louis and into the Missouri Historical Society’s fine art collection …

Continue reading "Paint the Town: Past and Present"

EDITOR’S NOTE: In order to bring a plurality of voices to our storytelling, the Missouri Historical Society frequently asks guest writers to contribute to History Happens Here. The views and opinions expressed by guest contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missouri Historical Society, its affiliates, or …

Continue reading "Lucas and Garrison: Silas Bent"

To honor the service of St. Louis residents who lost their lives during World War I, the city set aside funds from its 1923 bond issue to construct a Memorial Plaza downtown. The plaza’s centerpiece was Soldiers Memorial, which opened to the public on Memorial Day 1938. Origins of the Court of Honor A little …

Continue reading "How the Court of Honor Came to Be"

Listen to an episode about Erastus Wells on our Here’s History podcast with KDHX. We take for granted many modern conveniences, transportation among them. As a newcomer to St. Louis, Erastus Wells saw the transportation needs of a growing city. The young Wells’s solution to the problem was the first in a string of business ventures …

Continue reading "Erastus Wells and His Omnibus Make Tracks in St. Louis"

As St. Louis grew in the 1800s and early 1900s, so did the number of its citizens who needed assistance. Government programs created large-scale public architecture designed to meet the needs of the disadvantaged. Maps from these times show the locations of these buildings and can give people today more insight into how the city …

Continue reading "Public Institutions from the Past: The US Marine Hospital"

EDITOR’S NOTE: In order to bring a plurality of voices to our storytelling, the Missouri Historical Society frequently asks guest writers to contribute to History Happens Here. The views and opinions expressed by guest contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missouri Historical Society, its affiliates, or …

Continue reading "The Mysterious Murder of Jue Gong Lee Sr."

Every year the American Library Association encourages libraries of all kinds to celebrate National Library Week. The theme for 2023 is ‘There’s More to the Story,’ which focuses on the different types of materials libraries have in their collections as well as the different services, programs, and outreach provided by library staff. There are also …

Continue reading "National Library Week 2023: There’s More to the Story"

Before Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and other social media platforms existed, teens in St. Louis shared their social and school activities through Prom magazine. It claimed to be the only publication in the country published exclusively for the youth of the community. The monthly magazine was the brainchild of Julian Miller, Jr., a former advertising …

Continue reading "Those Happy Days: Prom Magazine"

What was black and steel and “rode” all over? The Observation Wheel at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis! The magnificent wheel, one of the most impressive structures of the fair, had a high point of 264-feet and a total weight (including both towers and the iron wheels) of over 4,000 tons. Originally …

Continue reading "Sitting on Top of the World(‘s) Fair"

Hi everyone! I’m Lydia, the Education and Tour Coordinator at Soldiers Memorial Military Museum, and today I’ll be your virtual guide for a quick preview of the upcoming Vietnam in St. Louis See STL tour. I’m looking forward to taking visitors on this tour in person starting April 15! When Soldiers Memorial was preparing to …

Continue reading "Vietnam in St. Louis Virtual Tour"

One of the most iconic monuments in the US, St. Louis’s 630-foot-tall weighted catenary arch seems the obvious representation of the city as the Gateway to the West. However, it wasn’t the only proposed idea to symbolize the city’s heritage as a base of westward expansion. The Gateway Arch, Eero Saarinen’s entry into the 1947 …

Continue reading "The Gateways That Got Away"

Listen to an episode about Helene Britton on our Here’s History podcast with KDHX, then join us for the Cards’ Home Opener Watch Party at the Missouri History Museum on Thursday, March 30, from 2:30–8:00pm. There have been many trailblazers in the history of women’s struggle for respect and equality. One such pioneer was a young …

Continue reading "Professional Baseball’s First Female Owner"

Over the past few years, the Library & Research Center has faced a series of closures due to large construction projects and the COVID-19 pandemic. In February 2023, staff welcomed back researchers, students, teachers, and visitors of all types. The library’s collection continues to grow, and this post gives a look at some of these …

Continue reading "New to the Library: 5 Items for Honoring Women’s History Month"

Before Private Ellroy Clarence Dietz served in the US Marine Corps across the world, he was born on October 28, 1898, in St. Louis. We know little about his early life as one of eight children, but when he was almost 20 years old, Dietz enlisted in the Marines on April 15, 1918, during the …

Continue reading "From St. Louis to Smyrna (and Back Again)"

EDITOR’S NOTE: In order to bring a plurality of voices to our storytelling, the Missouri Historical Society frequently asks guest writers to contribute to History Happens Here. The views and opinions expressed by guest contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missouri Historical Society, its affiliates, or …

Continue reading "Lucas and Garrison: Samuel Kennard"

In Part 1, we saw the undisciplined, narcissistic, yet deeply religious man Tom Dooley was before becoming famous for his humanitarian work in Vietnam and Laos. Working in Vietnam gave him something he had lacked: a sense of purpose. It also trapped him in a web of Cold War politics, intrigue, and deception. Intervention in …

Continue reading "A Closer Look at Dr. Tom Dooley: Dr. America in Vietnam"

Beneath St. Louisans’ feet lies a network of tunnels and caves that have been intertwined with this city’s history for hundreds of years. Once coveted sources of attraction, they’re now nearly forgotten and abandoned. These intricate subterranean caverns and tunnels were used by many, including Indigenous tribes, early brewers, Prohibition-era smugglers, and even homeless children. …

Continue reading "The Lost History of Underground St. Louis"

At the first Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, Grace Bumbry performed in honor of Marian Anderson. Anderson was a trailblazer in the opera world. As the first Black woman to perform at the White House, the Metropolitan Opera, and other prestigious institutions, her career set the stage for Bumbry and other Black opera singers to …

Continue reading "Grace Bumbry: The Black Venus"

Listen to an episode about Marie LaBastille on our Here’s History podcast with KDHX. What was life really like for women in early St. Louis? So often, the history that we learn skips over the daily patterns of life and jumps from big moment to big moment. For me, the most fascinating aspect of history is …

Continue reading "Marie LaBastille Outwits and Outlasts a Greedy Neighbor"

The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) started in St. Louis in 1947. In 1963, the St. Louis branch started one of its most prominent actions, the boycott of Jefferson Bank and Trust. The bank served majority-Black customers. Yet it had only two Black employees, a custodian and a messenger. CORE wanted to pressure the bank …

Continue reading "St. Louis’s Black Sunday Protests"