Robidoux Row Museum opens for 2025 season
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Robidoux Row Museum opened for the first time this year after closing through January and February.
Museum staff shared that the closure was to take care of maintenance inside the building.
The Museum also welcomed new board members and volunteer staff in the new year. The group finished orientation last month to help them acclimate to their new roles.
Museum Coordinator Michael Thomas said the last two months allowed for staff to accomplish some spring cleaning and reorganization under the leadership of new Executive Director Megan Wyeth.
“With her experience, we tried to better utilize the interior for museum space,” Thomas said.
Board President Hans Bremer said there are a few projects left to complete, but progress continues.
“I think we’re headed in the right direction,” Bremer said. “The idea is to make this a little bit (of a) slightly warmer place than it’s been in the past.”
Removing some of the old furniture was among the changes made inside the museum. Small pieces of furniture at the entrance that housed gift shop items were removed, allowing for an open and bright space.
Robidoux Row Museum routinely closes in the winter months each year to allow for these changes.
“The brighter it is in here, the more welcoming it is to people that come through the door, including those of us that are in and out of here quite often,” Bremer said. “I'm already feeling the difference in that.”
There are also efforts by museum volunteers to bring more native plants to the museum’s garden. Thomas said he and his wife are involved in the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Master Naturalist Program, where they learned about the benefits of native plants, such as attracting more pollinators.
“There’s probably 50 (plants) waiting to be brought here and put in this garden,” Thomas said. “So there will be more plants and more color out here in the garden.”
Once warmer weather arrives, an event series the Robidoux Row Museum launched last year called "First Thursdays" will return on June 5, other events will be announced later in the fall.
“We're planning on some other projects possibly going into the fall as far as events here at the museum that correspond with certain dates and times that relate to the building,” Bremer said.
