International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum, Photography museum and hall of fame in St. Louis, Missouri, United States
The International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum in St. Louis holds one of the largest collections of cameras and photographs in the world. Visitors can see equipment from the 1800s onward, including projectors and optical devices, alongside tens of thousands of images spanning different eras and photographic styles.
The institution was established in 1965 at Brooks Institute in California and moved to Oklahoma City in 1983 before relocating to St. Louis in 2013. Each move reflected the museum's effort to find a permanent home that could properly showcase its extensive collection of photography history.
The museum inducts notable photographers and innovators into its Hall of Fame, recognizing their contributions to both artistic and technical aspects of photography.
The museum is well organized and allows visitors to explore cameras and photography across different time periods without requiring prior knowledge. Plan to spend several hours here, as the collection is extensive and invites close examination of the technical details and craftsmanship of different equipment.
The collection includes rare devices such as Magic Lanterns and early motion picture projectors that show how moving images were created before modern movie cameras existed. These pieces reveal a fascinating period when photography and early cinema overlapped and influenced each other.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
