![]() As of December, 2012, its opening date had not been announced. Karpeles Manuscript Library in Alvin, Texas is located in the old First Methodist Church building at 800 West Sidnor St., about a 30 minute drive from Houston. Each of the libraries is located in a historic building. In addition, Karpeles is aggressively expanding the content of its website. Items are rotated between museums quarterly and each of the museums present a daily general exhibit and one or more special scheduled exhibits throughout the year. The museum’s official website includes many scans of the documents in Dr.To make the documents more accessible, there are twelve Karpeles museums across the US. that include re-purposed buildings in second tier cities like Tacoma, Santa Barbara, Shreveport, and Fort Wayne. The Karpeles Manuscript Museum is free – just like the other locations around the U.S. Juke Box 96 played a great variety of oldies music and wasn’t afraid to play songs that didn’t pass the litmus test of some corporate “consultant” or focus group. To date – I don’t think Saint Louis has had a better music station. ![]() Seeing the sign that used to hang over the receptionist’s desk in the station lobby brought back such great memories of my own childhood. I’m more than certain I was a pain in the butt for many that worked there – but it was my first taste of radio and it changed my life. As time went on – I was a regular caller into the station asking for requests. In fact, the first time I was ever on the radio was a recorded phone call I made to the afternoon DJ, Jackie McCoy, requesting one of those classic 60’s songs. ![]() The local media exhibit, while small, was great fun for me personally as the very first radio station I remember listening to was Juke Box 96. While on a quick tour we noticed areas of the building in need of serious repairs but it’s also easy to picture what the future could hold for this property. He’s excited about the prospects of this old building but admits the future of museums may be in digital form. Absher is known by many as the historian of Saint Louis media (and also a fine door knob polisher). including an easy listening format (Joy 96) and an oldies format (Juke Box 96). As I mentioned, the current exhibit features promotional posters from Richard Miller who owned radio stations in the area including KADI FM which went through many transformations over the years Miller owned the 96.3 FM signal. Other prizes include a note from Charles Lindbergh, the first Thanksgiving proclamation and Webster’s Dictionary.įor local flavor – the Saint Louis Media Archives has a small room on the main floor that will house a rotating collection of media history. The documents rotate between the different museum locations and include pieces like Babe Ruth’s first contract, the piece of paper that Einstein first marked “E=MC2” and the first printing of the Ten Commandments. David began collecting historic documents decades ago and has amassed what they call the “largest private holding of important and original manuscripts and documents” One of the documents on display featuring a note about a plane order signed by the Wright Brothers. Karpeles and his wife Marsha – both known as wealthy, successful real estate magnates started the string of museums in 1983. This new Saint Louis museum is one of 14 locations across the country that display the massive script and document collection of Dr. ![]() Other documents include correspondence regarding early military use of planes or “flying machines” as the early patent lists their breakthrough invention. Some hand written notes, others from typewriters (remember those?) showing eye witness accounts of the first successful flight. The museum’s current main exhibit is small but awesome – featuring original documents related to the Wright Brothers first flight and the scenarios the men found themselves in after their initial success with air travel. Having said that -the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum here in Saint Louis is certainly still worth a visit. Unlike most museums I visit – this one isn’t quite ready for prime time but the potential exists for a terrific showcase and rental space with the right refurbishments. Today, the pews are empty and the only thing remotely close to a joyful noise is the hum of the over-sized fans that sit on the bottom steps. The first thing you notice as you walk into the former church (besides lack of air conditioning) are two cool spiral staircases that lead to an upstairs sanctuary where worshipers had gathered for services since it opened in 1911. Turns out I was the first visitor on a Sunday morning to check out a brand new Saint Louis media exhibit featuring promotional artwork from a local radio legend, Richard Miller. Saint Louis media enthusiast Frank Absher is outside polishing the doorknobs of what was once the Third Christian Scientist Church at 3504 Russell Blvd as I pulled in front of the building’s front doors. ![]()
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