Missouri's Former Shoe Factory Is Now A Unique St. Louis Museum With Cultural Flair And Family-Friendly Attractions

Downtown St. Louis, Missouri, has plenty of recognizable landmarks, but one of its most memorable attractions used to churn out shoes. Before City Museum became a unique attraction where visitors can crawl through tunnels, scramble across suspended structures, disappear into caves, and slide between floors, it was the former International Shoe Company situated on North 16th Street. The building's industrial past has become part of the City Museum experience today, with traces of its backstory mixed into an enormous work of interactive art and installations.

Sculptors Bob and Gail Cassilly were initially the creative force behind this not-so-conventional museum. Working with a group of like-minded artists, the pair gave new life to the former shoe factory using discarded industrial materials, such as concrete, rebar, plaster, and iron. The museum first opened in the 1990s and has been evolving and expanding with new, innovative spaces and installations ever since. One of its latest additions is the rotation gear from the Millennium Hotel's rotating rooftop restaurant, which was donated to the museum after the hotel was demolished. While the museum hasn't yet revealed how the gear will be used, the creative staff behind the scenes are sure to come up with something unique and unexpected.

Visiting City Museum feels more like wandering into an artist's wacky workshop than visiting a tourist attraction. You might enter through a giant tree-like structure and emerge somewhere unexpected, or notice a new passage you missed the first time through. City Museum's chaotic vibes give it personality, and it has unsurprisingly become a must-visit cultural hotspot in St. Louis. Visitors should keep in mind that some attractions may change over time. Daily tickets start at $20, and some areas cost extra. The museum also recommends wearing closed-toe shoes, and knee pads are available in the gift shop.

Visitors of all ages are welcome, as City Museum rewards curiosity and encourages exploration — which explains why it has been called one of the best children's museums in America. With four floors and a fully decked-out rooftop, families can easily spend a full day discovering all of the museum's nooks and crannies. Slides were a natural addition for the former shoe company since the property already had spiral chutes once used in the warehouse. Today, visitors can find more than 30 slides throughout the museum, including a five-story spiral version. Families with kids 6 and under can also head to Toddler Town for smaller slides, age-appropriate climbing structures, and a ball pit.

Besides climbing and sliding, there's plenty to see and do. From vintage pinball machines to oddball exhibits and a bar on the first floor, kids and adults will all be entertained. For example, while Casey, Illinois, is known for unique roadside attractions like a giant pencil, the world's largest pencil is actually installed inside City Museum. Visitors can find the 76-foot-long No. 2 pencil in Skateless Park, a repurposed skate park where kids can slide down ramps and swing from ropes. The rooftop adds another layer of interest, weather permitting. Up there, you'll find the vintage Big Eli Ferris wheel, an out-of-commission bus, more giant slides, and the museum's enormous praying mantis sculpture, with panoramic views of St. Louis thrown in as a bonus.

It's easy to be distracted by City Museum's slides and tunnels, especially when visiting with children, but the museum also has a notable artistic and cultural side. Throughout the floors, old aircraft, ironwork, machinery, and architectural remnants have been rebuilt into climbing spaces and sculptures. Much of the museum itself is effectively a giant sculpture made from objects that were no longer needed.

Some spaces make the connection to St. Louis' past especially clear. Labyrinth, located on the fourth floor, incorporates materials and items salvaged from around the city, including glass from the Central Library, gears from the Mel Price Lock and Dam, and squirrels from the St. Louis Zoo. The museum also holds a number of curious collections, from taxidermy butterflies and insects to art slides from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. There are more conventional opportunities to engage with art as well. The St. Louis Art Gallery focuses on a curated selection of contemporary artwork, while Art City offers hands-on activities such as painting, printmaking, clay work, and collage.

There's even live entertainment on the third floor via Circus Harmony, where visitors can catch performances of circus-style acts such as acrobatics and juggling. Visitors can take it further by signing up for a class to develop their own circus skills. With so much to do and see, City Museum is more culturally interesting than its "playground" reputation suggests — although it's hard to find fault in its playful side. After all, most museums don't let you go from the fourth floor to the first on a giant slide. For even more family fun, visitors can also head to Forest Park, America's best city park in 2026, just 10 minutes away.