There’s nothing quite like the award-winning, Glore Psychiatric Museum in Saint Joseph, MO. The facility houses the largest collection of psychiatric treatment history in the country. Four full floors of it, in fact!
Glore Psychiatric Museum began in 1967 as a series of historical replicas created for a mental health open house at St. Joseph State Hospital. The replicas were so impressive that they sparked the idea for an ongoing psychiatric museum. The museum is named for occupational therapist George Glore (1937-2010), who was instrumental in the creation of the original replicas.
The museum started out as part of St. Joseph State Hospital. When the hospital was converted to the Western Reception Diagnostic Correctional Center in 1994, the museum moved across the road to its current location.
Visiting the Museum
3406 Frederick Avenue, St. Joseph, MO, 64506
Open 7 days a week. Monday through Saturday: 10am to 5pm, Sundays: 1pm to 5pm
Visit www.stjosephmuseum.org for more information.
Visitors to the museum today can still see George’s replicas – plus a whole lot more!
Fascinating displays and exhibits can be found on all four floors of the museum. You’ll stare in mute wonder at the giant hamster wheel, the shock therapy room, and ice-picks modified for use in lobotomies. There are also more mundane exhibits of hospital furnishings, nurse uniforms, personal notes, and other items.
Beyond the ill-advised and seemingly abusive treatments of the past, patients left behind many of the most interesting items at the museum. Artwork and beyond – like the quilt used by a mute schizophrenic to stitch out her thoughts – is always fascinating. So, too, are the collections, such as the 108,000 cigarette packs one hoarding inmate amassed. Or how about the patient who swallowed 1,446 indigestible objects?
All this and much, much more are on display at the Glore Psychiatric Museum, the country’s largest exhibition of psychiatric treatment history.
Glore Psychiatric Museum
3406 Frederick Avenue, St. Joseph, MO, 64506
Open 7 days a week. Monday through Saturday: 10am to 5pm, Sundays: 1pm to 5pm
Visit www.stjosephmuseum.org for more information. You can also find the museum on Facebook.
Saint Joseph Museums
The Glore Psychiatric Museum isn’t the only place you’ll want to visit while you’re at The Saint Josephs Museum complex. The multi-floor and wing building also houses a Doll Museum, the Black Archives Museum, and the Native American and History Galleries. You can also learn about Civil War Medicine, the Story of Jesse James through photos and news clippings, and browse The Eckel Collection.
This latter contains thousands of Edmond Jacques Eckel’s (1845 – 1934) architectural drawings, photographs, correspondence, and even some furniture. Edmund Eckel, born in Strasbourg, France, was St. Joseph, MO’s leading architect for sixty-five years. It is estimated that 75% of the buildings in Saint Joseph, including the Wyeth-Tootle Mansion, were designed by Eckel or one of his firms.
The Wyeth-Tootle Mansion is the final piece of The Saint Josephs Museum pie. The late-19th-century mansion full of wonderful period furnishings and art is located just a short drive away at 1100 Charles Street.
Learn more at www.stjosephmuseum.org
Missouri Lodging
Exploring Glore Psychiatric Museum sounds incredible – but you won’t want to spend the night there! For the best in St Joseph MO lodging, look to the locally owned and operated Missouri Bed and Breakfast inns! A Missouri inn is your source for the kind of personal service and deep-dish amenities you can find nowhere else. Find your Missouri home away from home today!