Contact
- Text: (573) 356-5342
- Call: (573) 356-5342
- Email: [email protected]
Right Across the Street
The Missouri State Penitentiary
The Missouri State Penitentiary opened in 1836 and operated for 168 years, making it the oldest continually operating prison west of the Mississippi River when it finally closed in 2004. Today it's one of Missouri's most visited landmarks — and one of the most fascinating places in the entire state.
And it happens to be right across the street from Parker's Place.
Choose Your Experience
Tour Options at the MSP
History Tours
Guided daytime tours through the massive cell blocks, death row, the gas chamber, and the old dungeon. Knowledgeable guides bring the stories of inmates and guards vividly to life.
Ghost Tours
The MSP is widely considered one of the most haunted places in America. Evening ghost tours take you through the most active areas of the prison after dark — not for the faint of heart.
Paranormal Events
Full paranormal investigations, special overnight experiences, and seasonal haunted events — especially in the fall. Featured on Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters. Book well in advance.
A Historic Connection
Parker's Place & the Penitentiary
These two landmarks share more than a street. In the early 1900s, Lester Parker — the original owner of Parker's Place — operated a shoe factory inside the prison walls, using inmate labor to produce leather shoes and boots. The history of this house and the history of that prison are intertwined in a way that makes staying here feel like more than just finding a place to sleep.
Stay at Parker's Place and you're not just across the street from a piece of history — you're sleeping in another piece of it.
"168 years of history, and it's all right across the street — just walk over and see it for yourself."
Make a Weekend of It
Stay at Parker's Place
No drive home after the ghost tour. No parking stress. Just walk across the street, come back to a warm and historic house, and swap stories with your group over a drink on the porch.