The Missouri History Museum in St. Louis finished 2016 with its highest attendance in about 80 years, and a Route 66 exhibit is being partially credited for that.
KSDK-TV in St. Louis reports the museum logged more than 500,000 visitors in the just-finished year. The station reported:
“Most museums rely on one big exhibit, often a traveling show, to get big numbers and then go back to business as usual,” said Dr. Jody Sowell, director of exhibitions at the museum. “They see a huge fall in the numbers the next year. We have turned this practice on its head by making a commitment to tell more local stories, display more of our collection, and do it all in a new and compelling way. This philosophy is paying off with consistently high attendance numbers.”
Staff members say recent exhibits featuring 1875 St. Louis, attractions along old Route 66, and the toys of the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s are examples of more interactive displays that put an emphasis on local topics.
According to a report by the American Association for State and Local History, the Route 66 exhibit is one of the five most-visited in the museum’s history.
The museum’s Route 66 programming included the premiere of the feature-length documentary, “Show Me 66: Main Street Through Missouri.”
“Route 66: Main Street Through St. Louis” continues through July 16.
In case you’re wondering what caused the museum’s record attendance in the 1930s, it was went aviator Charles Lindbergh’s trophies were put on display during the height of his popularity.
(Image of lines outside the Route 66 exhibit by Missouri History Museum via Flickr)
This is an awesome exhibit, highlighted with the Motel St. Louis sign (owned by the Route 66 Association of Missouri) on display outside the museum. If there is any way you can make it to Missouri to see this exhibit, I highly recommend that you do. The museum’s gift shop also has a number of neat Route 66 things for sale, to take home as a momento.