The Soldiers Memorial Military Museum in downtown

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

is a memorial and military museum, at 1315 Chestnut Street, owned by the City of St. Louis and operated by the Missouri Historical Society. Interior east and west wings contain display cases with military displays and memorabilia from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and subsequent American wars. The open-air central breezeway contains a massive black marble

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

upon which are engraved the names of all of St. Louis' war dead from the first world war. The building was designed by St. Louis architectural firm Mauran, Russell & Crowell in a stripped

Classical style Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...

, with a severely simplified form and limited ornament. It was dedicated by

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

in 1936 and officially opened to the public on

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

, 1938. Four monumental sculptural groups representing figures of ''Loyalty'', ''Vision'', ''Courage'' and ''Sacrifice'' by sculptor

Walker Hancock Walker Kirtland Hancock (June 28, 1901 – December 30, 1998) was an American sculptor and teacher. He created notable monumental sculptures, including the Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial (1950–52) at 30th Street Station in Philadel ...

stand, with their horses, on the north and south sides of the building. Other architectural sculpture here was completed by Hillis Arnold.

External links

Soldiers Memorial Military Museum
Missouri Historical Society
Soldiers Memorial Commission
City of St. Louis
St. Louis history site

at Smithsonian Archives of American Art Museums in St. Louis Monuments and memorials in Missouri Military and war museums in Missouri 1938 sculptures Buildings and structures completed in 1938 Downtown West, St. Louis 1938 establishments in Missouri Buildings and structures in St. Louis Tourist attractions in St. Louis {{StLouis-struct-stub