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Center for Missouri Studies Breaks Ground

State Historical Society of Missouri

The State Historical Society of Missouri will break ground on its new home at the corner of Elm and Sixth streets.

After nearly eight years of planning, construction on the 75,000 square-foot facility will begin Wednesday. The State Historical Society expects completion of the building by 2019 with an estimated cost of $35 million.

Alexandra Waetjan is the Outreach Coordinator for the State Historical Society. She said this project will link the community.

“We’re kind of seeing this as a bridge between the downtown and campus communities,” Waetjan said. “This is going to be an even better space for people to come in and visit and just enjoy the space.”

The gallery in the new complex will double that of the current 3,000 square-foot headquarters in Ellis Library on the MU campus. Joan Stack is the curator of art collections for the State Historical Society. She said the new space allows for more extensive displays from artists such as Thomas Hart Benton. He was a realist painter from Missouri who will have a permanent exhibit in the new facility.

“Well, right now, we have sort of a smallish corridor,” Stack said. “Our plan is in the new building, since people want to see Thomas Hart Benton, we’ll put all [of] them up.”

The State Historical Society encourages the public to attend its groundbreaking ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Heinkel Building parking lot on MU campus.