Soldiers Memorial Military Museum reopens in downtown St. Louis

The Soldiers Memorial Military Museum in downtown St. Louis reopens Saturday after a two-year, $30 million renovation, with expanded exhibit space and improved access for visitors with disabilities.

Events begin at 9 a.m., with a concert honoring veterans, a flag raising by American Legion Tom Powell Post 77 and the U.S. Army St. Louis Recruiting Company, and remarks from veterans and civic leaders. The first 5,000 visitors will receive commemorative pins.

Other new features include an expanded Court of Honor across the street from the memorial building. In 1948, the city converted a park there to what is now called the Court of Honor, erecting a wall filled with names of local people killed in World War II. Eventually walls were added for those who died in the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Until now, the Court of Honor was separated from the museum by a four-lane city road. That's been narrowed to one vehicular lane and a dedicated bike lane. Other additions include a reflecting pool and Five Branches Fountain. In May, a new wall will be unveiled, honoring St. Louis servicemembers who made the ultimate sacrifice in more recent wars.

"It's all one entity, serving as a memorial to men and women from St. Louis who have given their lives in different conflicts," says Mark Sundlov, the museum's new director.

The museum building itself was built in 1938 as a memorial to St. Louisans who died in World War I -- a west gallery, an east gallery, and between the two a loggia with a cenotaph bearing the names of the fallen. As the structure has aged, its deficiencies became more conspicuous -- a lack of air conditioning and wheelchair accessible entrance at the front, for starters. The city began looking for a partner to help operate and maintain the memorial, and in 2015, an anonymous donor contributed $30 million to fully renovate it. By agreement, the city of St. Louis still owns the property and museum collections, but the Missouri Historical Society has assumed operational management.

The entire building has received a facelift, from a cleaning of the iconic Walker Hancock sculptures framing the entrances to the decorative plasterwork on the ceilings. Interior storm windows were added to minimize artifacts' exposure to sunlight, along with an HVAC system, second elevator, new electrical wiring and a fire-suppression system. Several hundred missing tiles from the Gold Star Mothers mosaic on the loggia's ceiling were matched and replaced.

The museum's lower level, which previously wasn't open to the public, has doubled the amount of exhibit space.

In planning permanent and temporary exhibits, the Missouri Historical Society is focusing on the experiences of St. Louis-area men and women, from the Revolutionary War through the present.

"The exhibits are, I think, world-class," says Sundlov, who graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1998 and served as a missile combat crew commander in the Minuteman missile system in North Dakota.

"We partnered with the Solomon Group and Gallagher & Associates design companies, so the quality is top notch. Our emphasis is really to tell personal, individual stories. People coming in are going to draw an immediate and close connection to history, and gain a better understanding of conflicts and how they've affected each and every one of us. They will appeal to returning visitors and those coming for the first time."

The Soldiers Memorial Military Museum has a close relationship with the Department of Missouri's District 11 and 12, as well as several area posts.

Sundlov, who belongs to Barlog-Kusaj-Zero Memorial Post 422 in St. Louis, says American Legion history is front and center in the museum's exhibit's and collections. In a digital flipbook, visitors can see images of the organization's constitution, as well as caps, a dress coat, convention medals, commemorative medallions and more. Exhibits also highlight stories of people connected with St. Louis posts, including:

• Tom Powell Post 77. When the Army rejected Tom Powell in Georgia because he was African-American, he rode a freight car to Chicago and enlisted there. Pvt. Powell served in France as part of the 370th Infantry Regiment of the 93rd Infantry Division. He was killed near Beaume on Nov. 8, 1918, while delivering messages to the front. Powell posthumously received the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism. To honor Powell’s sacrifice, 15 black World War I veterans in St. Louis formed Tom Powell Post 77 in 1919. It’s one of the oldest American Legion posts founded by and for black veterans.

• Fred Stockham Post 245. During World War I, Gunnery Sgt. Fred Stockham fought with the 6th Marine Regiment in France. At the Battle of Belleau Wood in June 1918, Stockham saved a wounded St. Louisan, Pvt. Barak Mattingly, by giving him his gas mask during a German gas attack. Stockham lost his own life in that attack and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his sacrifice. In 1919, Mattingly helped found American Legion Post 245 and saw that it was named in memory of Stockham. He also went on to play an active role in Missouri politics and in the creation of Soldiers Memorial Military Museum.

• St. Louis Post 4. Dwight Davis attended Washington University School of Law and held public office in St. Louis prior to World War I. After the United States declared war on Germany, Davis enlisted in the Missouri National Guard. He served in France and received citations for his courage during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. After the war, Lt. Col. Davis helped found The American Legion and was the first commander of St. Louis Post 4. That post merged with Fred Stockham Post 245 in 1976, becoming Fred W. Stockham-St. Louis Post 4. Davis himself went on to serve as U.S. assistant secretary of war and governor general of the Philippines.

"There's a lot of Legion pride and Legion activity in St. Louis, and it's seen throughout the exhibits," Sundlov adds.

New to his position, Sundlov says overseeing the memorial complex is "an honor but also a tremendous responsibility. I want to get it right for the veterans, and for all the families who go through trying times through different conflicts. We want to make sure the educational component is rich and vibrant and attractive so we can continue to tell the story and help people to develop a deeper understanding of what service means, what sacrifice means."