George Vashon Museum

2223 St. Louis Avenue
St. Louis 63106
314-749-6322

Admission is $10.00

http://www.georgevashonmuseum.org/    

Founded in 2015

This museum is housed in an 1879 three-story mansion on "Millionaires Row" in St. Louis Place Neighborhood. Before the building was a museum it also was a funeral home and a church. 

This museum's founder, director, and curator is Calvin Riley, a retired educator. He has accumulated more than 4000 artifacts covering 250 years of regional African American History. A mission statement posted in the front hall spells out Riley’s goal: to preserve the history and achievements of St. Louis African-Americans and to recognize those who fought for civil rights and to change unjust laws. It also refers to the collection as the “The Spider Web,’’ because it has no ending and continues to grow.

Mr. Riley does not allow photographs to be taken inside the museum except for one room. This photograph from the front lobby gives you an idea of how many historical items are covering the walls of this old mansion. 

Among the many, many items in this collection are:

• wooden chairs handmade by a slave
• mannequins dressed in uniforms worn by Pullman porters and by nurses at Homer G. Phillips Hospital 
• memorabilia from black social clubs of the 1950's
• civil rights posters of the 1960's
• original documents from the Dred Scott case
• heirlooms owned by the family of pioneering attorney George Vashon
• the reassembled laboratory of Dr. Lincoln Diuguid, African-American scientist
• a sign that designated a "Colored Waiting Room" and came from St. Louis Union Station
• photographs and documents of prominent African-American families from the early 1900's. 

The one room where a visitor is allowed to take a picture is 

the old funeral home chapel. The photograph gives you an accurate picture of how many items are crowded into this collection.  

Comments:  The only way to view this museum is by a guided tour by Mr. Riley. The tour lasts about one hour unless the group asks a lot of questions! 

Obviously this museum is packed full of artifacts.  That makes it difficult to see all the items as you walk through. If one were allowed to wander about I could see spending a few hours in there noticing each item. It is very impressive what this one man has collected.  

There were a number of very interesting items in this museum. 

This black history museum is less than two blocks from the Griot Museum of Black History, thus we visited them on the same day with lunch at Crown Candy Kitchen in between the two museums visits. 

The Griot Museum of Black History

2505 St. Louis Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri 63106
314-241-7057

Admission is $7.50 (adults) and $3.75 (children); street parking is free.

https://www.thegriotmuseum.com/

Founded in 1997. 

The Griot Museum is housed in  the building that once housed the school of the Most Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

This St. Louis museum opened in 1997 as the Black World History Wax Museum. It was one of only two museums in the country to use life-size wax figures to interpret the contributions of African-Americans with local or regional connections.

The lifelike wax characters are still there, but in 2009, the organization changed the name to The Griot (pronounced Gree-Oh) because it better captured the mission and purpose of the museum.

That mission is: "Through compelling core exhibits, dynamic touring shows, educational and entertaining public programs, we create a community of lifelong learners who explore, experience and embrace the region's rich and enduring African-American heritage."

Photographs are only allowed to be taken in the lobby.  From the front door one can see all the rooms holding exhibits. To the left is a gift shop.  

Among the many exhibits are:

-a full-scale recreation of a section of a slave transport ship

-a powerful video about the experience aboard a slave ship

-a list of names and addresses of area slave traders in 1841

-examples of chains and shackles

-many period artifacts

-an actual slave cabin that was one of 16 slave cabins on the Wright Smith Tobacco Plantation in Montgomery County

- figures of famous and important people of St. Louis black history in the areas of music, advocacy, agriculture, and service to the community including Josephine Baker, Dred and Harriet Scott, George Washington Carver, Miles Davis, Senator J.B. Banks, and York. 

When we were there the lower level had a special multimedia exhibit titled Black Women Speak. They offer several special exhibits each year. 

And here we are in the lobby with a wax figure.  

For lunch we stayed in the area and went .7 mile to Crown Candy Kitchen, one of St. Louis's most well-known eateries. This restaurant has been open since 1913. 

Their Heart-Stopping BLT has been designated an "Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America" and we certainly ordered and enjoyed it!

They also have great chili!

Many people flock there for their ice cream. 

And of course, the candies which were their original offerings and are still popular today. 

Comments: This was an interesting museum about a subject which many of us do not know enough.  It is one of three museums in St. Louis dedicated to black history/culture/art. 

The museum is well-organized with a lot to see, read, and absorb.  One could spend up to two hours enjoying it all and learning much from it. It is a popular school field trip destination. 

Reservations are required.  Check for Groupons.  

Of course, lunch at Crown Candy Kitchen was wonderful.  It has a very casual atmosphere and excellent food. Plus you can't live in St. Louis and not go there at least once!