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Throughout its history, St. Joseph, Missouri, has been a creative force. It’s where the Pony Express got its start in 1860. When pioneers headed west, St. Joe stocked them up with what they’d need for the long haul. It was among the first cities to roll out electric street cars. And, in 1918, long before hiking and biking were big, St. Joe built a 26-mile parkway to link parks and other beautiful spots for drivers, bikers and hikers.
Jolene Dempster, with the St. Joseph Visitors Bureau, taps into that Midwestern creativity as she helps meeting planners secure nontraditional meeting venues in her city. “There are so many possibilities here, from historic homes to interesting museums. I take the time to listen and talk to planners about their needs, so we can find the perfect fit/space for them.”
Here’s a sampling of venues that Dempster often recommends.
Pony Express Museum
This museum, in the restored stable where the Pony Express was quartered, is a must-see. Especially engaging is the Hall of Riders, which profiles the 200 men who rode for the Pony Express and displays their guns, hats, saddles and other belongings. Attached to the museum is the Community Room with a full kitchen and AV equipment that welcomes small gatherings. For old-school fun, planners can book a school marm to teach a class or conduct a spelling bee in a replica of a one-room 1860s school. The restored Pony Bar is a good place to settle in for a sarsaparilla and learn more, through the Goetz Museum, about the Goetz Brewery which was a major employer in the town’s early days.
Albrecht-Kemper Museum
Art instantly feels more approachable when it hangs in a handsome family home. That’s part of the magic at this museum, where a collection that includes works by such important artists as Mary Cassatt and Thomas Hart Benton is displayed in a red-brick mansion where the Albrecht family once lived. The museum has interesting meeting spaces like the Albrechts’ speakeasy, preserved and ready for a small party. The museum’s largest space, the café dining room, handles 150 for dinner or 250 for receptions. An auditorium for 144 has a stage, AV and a baby grand piano. Original art hangs in every room and meeting space. Guided tours during events can hit museum highlights or delve into the 1933 mansion’s architecture.
Missouri Theater
In 2027, this glittering former movie palace will turn 100. “I would say it is our pride and joy,” said Dempster. Although the theater has a busy schedule of concerts, plays and other shows, it is also available for conferences and special events. Given its gold trims, graceful pillars, murals of cloud dusted skies, red velvet curtains and other early 1900s touches, events there are truly special.
Parkway Distillery/Local steakhouses
At this local distillery, groups can cluster on cozy couches and chairs or sit on a covered deck or a sunny patio beside pickleball courts. For another way to infuse a meeting with local flavor, try the Fredrick Inn, a steakhouse in business 75 years, Jake’s Steakhouse or Boudreaux’s, the mastermind of a Louisiana man who married a St. Joe girl and brought his Cajun recipes along.
EmpowerU Campus at Mosaic Life Care
This cool space in a renovated warehouse has an auditorium-style room for 164, a 2,200-square-foot meeting room and five breakout spaces.
Stoney Creek Hotel
When guest rooms and meeting space must be in one place, Stoney Creek fits the bill. Décor at the 129-room hotel and its 9,282-square-feet of meeting space plays on St. Joe’s Pony Express ties. Breezy patios and fireside lounges serve as breakout spaces; a bar serving local craft beers and spirits beckons when meetings end.
Missouri Western
State University
Meeting spaces at Missouri Western State University have a wide range, from general classrooms to meeting rooms that can seat up to 500 people. The 700-acre campus is also home to the Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp and the Walter Cronkite Memorial, a salute to the famous newsman and St. Joe native.
Getting There
From St. Joe it’s a 55-mile drive south down I-29 to downtown Kansas City. Kansas City International Airport is along the way, about 38 miles from St. Joe.
For more information:
St. Joseph, MO Visitor Bureau
Jolene Dempster
Convention/Meeting Sales Manager
816-233-6688
800-785-0360
