The Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum, a place where even the building is historic, and where the single visitor is given a personal tour by a knowledgeable volunteer. This museum deserves a visit by anyone claiming to be an aviation enthusiast, much less an historian. The airport, originally opened in 1929 as the Curtiss-Steinberg Airport, was founded in part by the Curtiss-Wright Company. The museum was welcomed by the airport after the original location at Spirit Airport in the Chesterfield Valley was virtually wiped out by the great flood of 1993. The move to Cahokia added considerably to the historical atmosphere of the museum, as will soon become evident.
The museum is principally housed in one of the 1928 Curtiss-Wright hangars, both of which were listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. The C-W logos are still visible on the outside of the buildings. The inside display area is a bit more modern, containing various works of art, aircraft models, instruments, propellers, flight helmets and other memorabilia. Special displays also include:
TWA and Ozark Airlines memorabilia case and extensive research library.
Kinner 5-Cylinder Engine cutaway display rig and F-2H Banshee jet engine.
Collection of space suits, medical devices and memorabilia donated by Rose Church, "Flight Nurse to the Astronauts"
Flyable and display aircraft, such as 1941 Meyers O.T.W. bi-plane, Mini-Max, Jenny scaled-down replica, 1963 "Austria Standard" sailplane and a Lockheed Jetstar, once owned by Howard Hughes. Artifacts from the recently completed "Flight City" exhibit at the Missouri History Museum.