Old Courthouse

Old Courthouse shot from the Top of the Gateway Arch

NPS/Sue Ford

Welcome to the Old Courthouse!

The Old Courthouse was the site of the first two trials of the pivotal Dred Scott case in 1847 and 1850. It was also where Virginia Minor's case for a woman's right to vote came to trial in the 1870s. It was last used as a courthouse in 1930. The city gave it to the National Park Service for inclusion into Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in 1940. Jefferson National Expansion Memorial was renamed Gateway Arch National Park in 2018.

You may tour this historic structure, exploring the four new museum galleries that opened May 2025 and the restored historic courtrooms.

St. Louis' Old Courthouse is listed in the National Park Service's National Underground Railroad Network To Freedom. The Network to Freedom recognizes sites, programs and facilities with verifiable associations to the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad has been broadly defined by the National Park Service as the "historic resistance to enslavement through escape and flight." The Old Courthouse is linked with the story of the Underground Railroad, and with that of slavery, as a place associated with legal challenges to slavery. It was a public forum as well as a courthouse. Enslaved people were auctioned from its steps in estate settlements, and the Old Courthouse was the site of hundreds of suits for freedom.

 

Hours

The Old Courthouse is open daily from 9am to 5pm. It is closed on Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Years Day. There is no admission fee.

Programs

National Park Service rangers provide guided tours of the building every day at 2:15. On rare occasions, these tours may be cancelled due to staff availability or other unplanned emergencies. The tours cover the architecture and history of the building and the court cases associated with it. No tickets or reservations are needed to attend these tours, but if you have a large group (more than 10 people), please call 314-655-1731 or 314-655-1636 to notify the rangers.

Visitors are also invited to explore the building's four museum galleries and two historically furnished courtrooms on their own. National Park Service staff are available to answer questions.

Parking

Though Gateway Arch National Park does not operate any parking facilities within our boundaries, we have a Preferred Parking Program at nearby Stadium East Parking Garage. It is $10 for 5 hours. Pre-purchasing parking at iparkit.com/TheArch is highly recommended, especially on Cardinals game days or days when other large events are happening. If parking is not pre-purchased on event days, the special $10 rate will not be recognized and event day parking rates will apply. Some spots at Stadium East Parking Garage are accessible.

Visit our Parking page for more information.

 

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  A New Vision for the Old Courthouse

  Old Courthouse Renovation

  Learn about the improvements made to this historic building during our $24.5 million renovation project 2020-2025.

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  Plan your family's visit

  New Exhibits for the Old Courthouse

  Learn about the four new museum galleries.

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  A Family's Fight for Freedom

  The Dred Scott Trial

  When Dred and Harriet Scott filed for their freedom here, they started one of the most important court cases ever tried in the United States