History Museum

This is what our weather looked like for the first few days we visited St. Louis.  It meant we looked for indoor sites to explore.  One day we walked in one of the malls and we made a couple of visits to stores like Walmart and Target.

Another day we decided to visit the Missouri History Museum.  It is located on the edge of Forest Park, a beautiful wooded area in the city.  We would have loved to walk there but is was too windy and cold.

Forest Park was the location of the 1904 World's Fair, held.  Most of the fair building were removed and the area was kept as open space and park land.  One section of the museum is centered on that fair.  We have never been to a world's fair but if another one is held in this country it might be interesting to check it out.

This display shows what the well-dressed fair-goer wore in 1905.

The fair highlighted peoples and cultures from around the world and recent technological advances.  Manufacturers displayed their labor-saving products like this cream separator and carpet sweeper. 

Above the display was this image of the Bissell company store.

This stunning cut glass punch bowl was made especially for the fair.  It must be very heavy to pick up.

Apparently the Israel display was the most visited of those highlighting areas outside the US.  The Philippine Islands display was also very popular. People who represented those areas and other participants, like those from Alaska, were required to remain in their native dress any time they were on the fair grounds.  That was very tough during the summer months for the Eskimos in the fur-lined clothing.

This photo is a view through a window showing how the land had been cleared to prepare for the fair.  They obviously cut down a lot of trees and even put a section of either a river or canal underground to make space for the fair.

Another gallery in the museum addressed Route 66 through Missouri.  Cars and trucks and trailers traveled along the Mother Road.

This is an interior shot of a very early Airstream trailer.  I'm glad ours is larger and more modern.

I am standing outside that Airstream.

Those travelers needed convenient places to get a meal along the route, leading to fast food restaurants like McDonald's and White Castle.

Travelers who didn't have a trailer needed a place to sleep, bringing about the development of motels--motor hotels.

If you click on the photo below you can get a good view of how prices have increased from 1930 to 2015. It looks like homes have gotten more expensive in comparison to other items.  However, they have also gotten larger.  The price of a gallon of gas has also changed significantly.

We explored one other gallery in the museum, the Civil Rights display on the African American Freedom Struggle in St. Louis. It was very interesting--and very crowded and noisy. Somehow neither of us took any pictures there. It was definitely worth our time to see it.