The Old Courthouse downtown reopens in a month after a $380 million renovation which included the Arch grounds.
"This is an incredible moment for downtown St. Louis and really for our country," says Ryan McClure, the executive director of Gateway Arch Park Foundation.
$27 million was invested in the Old Courthouse by private philanthropic sources, the National Park Service, and the state of Missouri through the Department of Economic Development.
McClure says the Old Courthouse is much more accessible with ramps to get in the building and an elevator for the first time in its 150 year old history. It has new central HVAC, so no more window air conditioning units.
The building will have other comfort and aesthetic improvements.
“People are going to see brand new exhibits that are the same quality as you would see down at the Arch museum,” says McClure. There are exhibits that focus on the architecture of the building, African-American life in St. Louis at the time of their case, and Pathways to Freedom. The Dred and Harriet Scott story now has interactive touchscreens and tactile models. “There’s an area where folks can do mock trials,” says McClure.
The Old Courthouse is the site of the first two trials of the Dred Scott case in which Dred Scott and his wife Harriet sued for their freedom. The Supreme Court stated slaves were property and had no right to sue. This decision hastened the start of the Civil War.
Virginia Miller sued for women's right to vote and the trial was held in the Old Courthouse in the 1870’s.
The St. Louis Old Courthouse is listed in The National Underground Railroad Network To Freedom.
The ribbon cutting ceremony is at 10am May 3rd on the steps of the Old Courthouse followed by a community festival in Kiener Plaza with artists at 11am. Jennifer Lewis is a featured artist that will be at the festival along with Lynn Jackson who is the great, great, granddaughter of Dred and Harriet Scott.