ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - In 1851 when Robert Campbell's mansion was built at what is now Locust and 15th Street in Downtown St. Louis, stairs were not a big deal.
"This building is only 30 feet wide," says Campbell House Museum executive director Andy Hahn. "But it's 130 feet long and it has seven level on the inside. So yes, that means a lot of stairs."
Those stairs have proved a hindrance for visitors and volunteers alike over the years, so last year the museum broke ground on an addition that added a modern convenience--an elevator.
Robert Campbell came to St. Louis from Ireland and made his fortune in the fur trade.
"He went west of the Rocky Mountains when that was a really big deal," says Hahn. "Meaning, you had to walk to whole way just to get to the mountains. It took him nine months. So the stairs [in his home] were not a big deal to him."
The Campbell family lived in the house from 1854 until 1938. The museum contains hundreds of original Campbell possessions and looks today as it did back in its hey-day. It became a museum in 1943, was designated a City of St. Louis Landmark in 1971, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, and became a National Trust for Historic Preservation Save America’s Treasures project in 2000.
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