Campbell House Museum

We thoroughly enjoyed the private tour and felt like we were stepping back in time! In the off-​season, you have to schedule your tour by appointment, which requires some planning, but the staff promptly returned my call to set up the appointment.
Our docent, Tom, was not only knowledgeable (as he is a retired history teacher), but he genuinely seems to love his job and tailored the tour based on our interests/​backgrounds (e.g., talking about the causes of death since we are in healthcare).
The admission is very reasonable, and we even had a Groupon, which made it even better!
Our only recommendation would be to have modern day equivalents for the various costs of goods mentioned in the tour (e.g., Virginia paid $ 850 for her dress in the mid 1800’s — what does that even mean today?). I took slight objection to the fact that Virginia was described as a spendthrift, when I’m sure Robert Campbell spent plenty of money on things like obtaining alcohol during the prohibition.

When it comes to preserved, historical homes in St. Louis, you’ll be hard-​pressed to find one more thoroughly and accurately detailed than the Campbell House Museum on Locust.
Touring the museum is well worth the price of admission ($ 8 per person) and becomes an absolute steal if you apply an Entertainment BOGO coupon or other discount.
By chance and good fortune, the family that owned and occupied this home between the 1850s and 1930s kept (almost) unimaginably detailed records. That nearly everything here can be documented to a very specific historical context is a point of pride for the museum and educational treat for the public. The rooms aren’t filled with representative period pieces; nearly all of the fixtures, furnishings, and pieces of art are originals belonging to the Campbells. Samples of the original carpeting patterns, samples of the original wall paint and stencils, letters, purchase receipts, china, gowns, furniture, interior photographs from the 1880s and other family records remain available to preservationists who continue to study and manage the site as well, so where repair and reproductions were necessary, the level of accuracy achieved exceeds exceptional.
As others have described, the understated exterior of the home belies muted opulence inside (…with the exception of the parlor which is a welcoming, yet stunning space). While guests will find little in the way of gilded trim, there are many less-​obvious (but no less notable) signs of the Campbell family’s successes throughout the 10+ rooms and carriage house. A few things to look out for include Ivy League degrees in the library, an indoor tub (at a time when this was very uncommon) and the personal drinkware of President Ulysses S. Grant. The craftsmanship, in both the restorative and original work, is apparent throughout the home.
The Campbell House isn’t usually among top five or ten places that you’d find on a potential tourist’s list (currently, it’s #19 on TripAdvisor); let others’ omission be your gain by enjoying a personal tour of one of St. Louis City’s fine residences and the last remnant of a grand neighborhood.
Note:
* For a special treat, consider visiting during the Christmas season. Special decorations in the parlor and dining room add to the experience.

Campbell House is the best kept historical secret in St. Louis. A downtown gem, this 1851 town home is a walk back in time to 19^th century Victorian splendor. The best eight bucks you can spend downtown. Stop by for a fascinating guided tour with one the knowledgeable docents… you want be disappointed!

What a wonderful tour! Today we decided to tour the Campbell (not the soup) House on Locust Street. They offer docent tours that last about an hour and you can go at any time. However, if you get together a large group, I suggest letting them know ahead of time. The tours are $ 8.00 but a Unilocal check-​in gets you $ 1.00 off.
We got there at 10:30a.m., rang the bell and were admitted. Dennis was going to be our docent for the tour and was he wonderful. Five stars just to him. The house on the outside looks small, but it is huge on the inside.
The have 90% of the original furniture and they found swatches of material and paint so the carpet and walls are what it looked liked in the old days. They also had old photographs taken by one of the sons to look at.
You will see the Parlor, Morning Room, Dining Room (outstanding), kitchen, bedrooms and a bathroom. Outside is the beautiful side yard and the carriage house. Dennis told us that Christmas is a popular time to come to see the decorations. Our tour lasted two hours. I’m not sure I would have wanted to do it in one. We went with family members and everyone was impressed.
I think I’m going to go back at Christmas time.

This is such a cool place. I’ve seen it before but Groupon is what led me to actually visit. The house is so well preserved and is interesting to see. The docent was also very knowledgeable and answered all our questions. Definitely a must see in St. Louis.

This museum is 95% authentic and is a must see when you are in St Louis MO. The docents are knowledgeable and kind. My sister in law and I took the guided tour on Sunday. It was raining on and off all day. I love the way you have to ring the bell to be let in. You start in the foyer, move to the parlor, move to the indoor room that was outdoor at one time and then into the kitchen. Our tour was interrupted three times by the bell. There has to be a better way for Campbell House Museum to handle this. We added 20 minutes or so to the tour with interruptions as well as questions that had already been asked if the partie (s) had started at the beginning. I truly enjoyed the tour and am so glad that Campbell House is available for the public to enjoy.

Beautiful restoration throughout. Most impressed by the inlaid wood floors and beautiful chandeliers. History is living amongst us.

Amazing history and look backwards into a time we have all forgotten about and largely don’t appreciate for the advantages these kinds of entrepreneurs created for all of us American.

The Campbell House Museum is an incredible experience. Went here with the family for the 1^st time on Saturday. For the months of January and February you need to call and schedule an appointment for the tour. There is a parking lot right next to the home, there is also street parking. The admission price for adults is $ 8 but Unilocal offers $ 1off for check-​ins.
Our tour guide was Dennis whom was amazing!!! He was incredibly knowledgeable and fun.
This is a definite must see attraction!!!

I revisited the Campbell House a few days ago. Unfortunately, it was not for a tour. I went to the gift shop to buy a few Christmas presents. This was my first time in the gift shop and I was impressed because of the products sold there. Every item in the store seemed to have been hand-​selected. I went in for some lithophane nightlights but also purchased a book and some greeting cards. The gentleman who assisted me put the items and some red tissue paper in a nice bag with a Campbell House sticker. The Museum shop is a must-​see if you’re going to the Campbell House, and if you live in St. Louis, the Campbell House is a must-​see.

My sister and I visited this place on Saturday August 16^th. It was wonderful. A great tour, you get to see many rooms and our tour guide was awesome. He was very knowledgeable, friendly and had a great sense of humor. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone visiting St Louis

Two words: holy cannoli. This place is incredible, offered a wonderful tour experience from a great, engaging and knowledgable docent. Definitely a must-​see for those vacationing in STL or those who have been in and around the city for a long time. The level of quality in the restoration of the home, the manner in which it’s interpreted make it a standout among all the house museums I’ve ever been in — it’s a gem well worth an hour or two of your time!

Robert Campbell was the richest man in Missouri when he bought this house in the 1850’s. At the time, St. Louis was a very up and coming city and very much the gateway to the West. Only three of his 13 children survived past 7, and the last one stayed in this house until he died in 1938. Apparently the sons were all afraid to touch Mom’s stuff, so it was pretty much a ready-​made museum when he died.
Still, the paint, wallpaper, etc, all needed to be restored back to their original mid-​19^th-​centure condition, and they were able to do this perfectly because the aforementioned Mom (Virginia) kept samples in a place where they looked exactly as they did originally. The resulting restoration is truly amazing and something every St. Louisan should make it a point to see. The family has some great stories (one woman — TWENTY full term pregnancies). You just have to come and hear these.
One of the docents has a great blog, by the way, called Distilled History. Here’s a link:
He noted in one of his blogs you can visit this house many times and have a very different experience depending on the guide. Some are more focused on architecture, some on the family, some on St. Louis history, so you’ll get a few new storied every time.
I would have given five stars, but we showed up ten minutes or so into the tour, missed the first room and never got back to hear about it (it was amazing). I think I would have preferred waiting for the next tour.
I’ll be back to hear about that front room and some more stories. I’m thinking Christmastime would be ideal.

Very interesting museum. The tour guide was very informative and they have a quaint little gift shop in the basement and a carriage house out back. You get a glimpse into the past of a family that once lived there and the tragedies as well as the good fortune that shone upon them. This is a must see when visiting St. Louis.

Not the most interesting museum ever, but worth the $ 7 admission if you have 45 minutes to kill and you want to learn some St. Louis history. It’s actually pretty cool that this is the last remaining house in what was once a very affluent residential neighborhood, Lucas Park. The museum is the former residence of the Campbell family and the amount of actual relics they have from the family is amazing. The interior of the house has been redone to match what it looked like at the turn of the century. They were able to match the paint colors, designs, and carpet samples exactly. Pretty impressive.
Even though the museum is «open» 10 – 4 Wednesday thru Saturday, the front door is locked and you have to ring the bell to get inside. Then, you get your own private tour. Unless other people happen to show up at the same time as you. I guess they don’t get many visitors. The museum is nonprofit and they get little, if any, state funding so are heavily reliant on donations.
They also host special events like Twilight Tours and a Civil War walking tour. Check them out if you get a chance.

I visited the Campbell House Museum for the first time this week, and I truly loved my visit. I had never heard about the Campbell house, and as a lover of history this was a great find!
The house was built in the 1880s during the Victorian era, and its walls are nearly dripping with opulence. From the outside, it looks like a lonely row house. Inside, there are walls covered in polished wood, others with many levels of crown molding that surprisingly didn’t look dusty. Not only is this house gorgeous, it is very well kept as well. I paid $ 6 for the tour and parked across the street at a meter. The tour was about an hour, and I’m happy to say it was fun. Sometimes tours can become tediously boring, leading you to feel trapped. Not so here.
The furniture is really pretty, and there are some really nice pieces of art as well. In all, this was a really nice way to escape present day life and time travel back to the 1800s for an hour, and the Campbell House will definitely be on my list when friends and family visit.

I went to the Campbell House Museum a couple of days ago to see what it was all about. I had heard about from a couple of friends and they all spoke about how it was interesting and everything like that, so I went and checked it out.
After going to the Campbell House I figured that if you want an idea what old St. Louis might have been like, then looking at this house and how people lived is pretty much the way to go. Of course, the way of life for these people was the life of the rich, so I wouldn’t say it gives an insight to the life of everybody, just the rich.
Walking around inside of the house was very neat. I always enjoy looking at old classic things and the way in which people lived and things of the olden days. That would be the history buff, nerd, whatever you want to call it coming out of me.
The Campbell House Museum is very interesting and seeing the old furniture very fascinating.