Tours at the old Missouri State Penitentiary (MSP) are continuing to grow and, despite a shortened season and fewer tour offerings, 2014 turned out to have the highest attendance yet.
The Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) announced Thursday that the 2014 tour season at MSP saw 22,605 visitors, more than any other year the tours have been offered.
"We were very amazed with that considering the abbreviated season," said Diane Gillespie, executive director of the CVB. "It's amazing that we were able to hit those numbers."
The 2014 tour season had a late start due to mold remediation and repair work. Tours were temporarily suspended at the end of September 2013, and the remainder of the 2013 tour season was eventually cancelled because of mold found at the site. After the city and state agreed to split the cost of remediation and repair, limited tours began to be offered in April 2014, more than one month behind the regular start of the season. The full tour offerings did not resume until July.
Gillespie said the 2014 tour season brought in approximately $383,000 in revenue, an increase from previous years. After expenses, Gillespie said, the net profit for the year was $82,000, which will be reinvested into MSP as outlined in the CVB's lease agreement with the state.
But how that money will be reinvested has yet to be decided. Gillespie said the CVB board has approved the creation of an MSP advisory committee that will recommend how to use tour profits. She said the members of the committee are: John Landwehr, Mark Schreiber, Frank Burkhead, Andy Neidert, Denise Kinard-Smith, Randy Allen and Rick Mihalevich.
"We want them to start thinking about what do we use this profit for," Gillespie said. "What can we do to preserve the facility and to be able to continue offering this story to people who are interested in the MSP project?"
She said some of the money may be put into further marketing of the prison or saved for larger projects. For example, she said, in Housing Unit 3 one column has stonework in need of replacement, but there might be a crack on the inside that could make it a costly project. Once the committee has a project in mind, it will go to the CVB board and the Jefferson City Council for approval.
Moving forward, Gillespie said, the CVB is increasing its marketing and bookings thanks to the 15-year contract that came out of the city and state agreement to cost-share the mold remediation. Previously, the CVB operated on 11-month contracts.
Because of that, she said the CVB is able to book with groups that have to plan more than one year in advance, which increases the types of groups the CVB can attract to the prison. The CVB also can make more marketing commitments, which leads to more savings over time on those expenses.
"It just kind of gives it a whole new dimension to marketing MSP," Gillespie said.
Communications manager Katherine Reed said the CVB also is working on replicating prison cells from different eras to allow people to experience the prison throughout its history.
"I think that's going to be exciting for tour-goers to really experience what prison life was like," Reed said. "It adds a whole new element to the tour."
Reed said they also are moving the gift shop to Housing Unit 1, where the old barber shop operated, and placing historic photos throughout the units to give people a better feel of what the prison was like while in operation.
The 2015 tour season began March 1, but Gillespie and Reed both noted March is a difficult month for tours because of the unpredictable weather.
MSP tour attendance
Year: Total attendance
2009: 3,000
2010: 11,700
2011: 17,203
2012: 19,121
2013*: 14,581
2014: 22,605
Tours of the old Missouri State Penitentiary began in 2009 and have grown steadily since, with the exception of 2013 when the discovery of needed mold remediation led to an early end to the tour season.