St. Louis mulling changes for soldiers museum

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis leaders are pursuing changes to the operations of the city-owned Soldiers Memorial Military Museum that has fallen into disrepair.

The downtown museum's collection of war letters, weapons, uniforms and other artifacts has been neglected for years. The museum also needs more than $6 million in repairs.

The city has tried several times to find another caretaker for the memorial.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Taylor family, which owns Enterprise Rent-A-Car, is interested in a multimillion-dollar overhaul of the museum and establishing an endowment.

Jeff Rainford, chief of staff for Mayor Francis Slay, said the memorial's fundraising board is talking to other groups that have shown interest in participating in efforts to fix the museum, including the Missouri History Museum.

"There's lots of interest in this," Rainford said. "And the mayor is really excited about that interest. But we're not there yet."

Laura Bryant, a spokeswoman for Enterprise Holdings, said the Taylor family is among several potential donors "focused" on the project.

She said executive chairman Andrew Taylor paid for a $145,000 study on a renovation and operations plan that could cost $20 million.

The Taylors and their foundation have given millions to St. Louis-area institutions. Among them are $35 million to the Danforth Plant Science Center, $40 million to the St. Louis Symphony and $70 million to Washington University.

The memorial, built to honor World War I veterans, opened on Memorial Day 1938. It has since become a memorial for Missouri veterans from all wars. However, the Greek Revival building has largely been ignored in recent years. It has no air conditioning and an annual budget of just $150,000.

Mayor Francis Slay has sought options for the museum, even at one point asking the National Park Service to take over. Nothing worked.

Now, the Missouri History Museum's interim president, Bob Cox, said attorneys already have gone through several iterations of an agreement with the city. Nothing has been signed, and the contract would still need the approval of the museum board.

"If the Historical Society could play a major role," Cox said, "that would be a feather in our cap."

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com