Missouri State Penitentiary Tours Getting Ready To Start Again

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) Tours at the old Missouri State Penitentiary are continuing to grow and, despite a shortened season and fewer tour offerings, 2014 turned out to have the highest attendance yet.

The Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) announced Thursday that the 2014 tour season at MSP saw 22,605 visitors, more than any other year the tours have been offered.

We were very amazed with that considering the abbreviated season, said Diane Gillespie, executive director of the CVB. Its amazing that we were able to hit those numbers.

The 2014 tour season had a late start due to mold remediation and repair work. Tours were temporarily suspended at the end of September 2013, and the remainder of the 2013 tour season was eventually cancelled because of mold found at the site. After the city and state agreed to split the cost of remediation and repair, limited tours began to be offered in April 2014, more than one month behind the regular start of the season. The full tour offerings did not resume until July.

Gillespie said the 2014 tour season brought in approximately $383,000 in revenue, an increase from previous years. After expenses, Gillespie said, the net profit for the year was $82,000, which will be reinvested into MSP as outlined in the CVBs lease agreement with the state.

The 2015 tour season began March 1, but Gillespie noted March is a difficult month for tours because of the unpredictable weather.

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Missouri State Penitentiary Tours Getting Ready To Start Again