The State Historical Society of Missouri will unveil its new headquarters Aug. 10 after operating in a small space in the University of Missouri's Ellis Library for more than 100 years.
"We needed a new, updated building so we can showcase the treasures of Missouri's history and showcase the art that we have here and have the environmental controls to preserve the history that we have here," Senior Associate Executive Director Gerald Hirsh said.
The new location is at 605 Elm St. in Columbia, officially called the Center for Missouri Studies. While acting as a museum and research facility, it will also host classes for students who are part of the Missouri Studies program at MU.
Another positive aspect of the new building is that it will be more accessible for the public. MU's campus closes roads during school hours, making it difficult to travel by car to buildings such as Ellis Library.
All the wood in the new building is Missouri white oak, and the limestone on the exterior of the building is from Ste. Genevieve.
"We tried very hard to make sure that we had Missouri products and a Missouri environment in this building," Hirsh said. "This is Missouri's history, and we want it to be surrounded by Missouri's environment."
On the first floor is an art gallery featuring notable pieces from George Caleb Bingham and Thomas Hart Benton. A lecture room that seats about 250 will host lectures, films and series.
The second floor is home to the library, which was modeled after the Library of Congress.
"People coming in this room will be studying Missouri history, Missouri culture, their family history that's in Missouri, and we want them to have a room that provides inspiration for the research that they're going to be doing," Hirsh said.
Next to the library is a room that holds the newspaper collection. The SHSMO has more than 58,000 reels of newspapers dating back to 1808.
"I think our most used records are our newspapers," Executive Director Gary Kremer said. "Some newspapers are from towns that don't even exist anymore."
The inventory of newspapers also includes many from Jefferson City.
"The Jeff City papers are one of the few that we have that are still in their bound volumes," Kremer said. "We even have some that are from before the Civil War, such as the Jeffersonian."
The Society was founded by the Missouri Press Association in the late 1800s as a depository for all the newspapers in the state.
Jefferson City resident Lester Parker, who founded L.S. Parker Shoe Co., has many photos and paintings in the building. He played a key role in selecting paintings that would be in the state Capitol.
The SHSMO also has an extensive manuscript collection that features Civil War diaries, World War II letters, business records and church records. Many manuscripts relating to politics come from Jefferson City, such as governors' papers from before the Missouri State Archives were created.
The building is also home to one of the three labs in the state used to preserve documents.
The museum's grand opening is set for Aug. 10 - the 198th anniversary of Missouri's statehood.
Regular public hours will be 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays.