On May 13, Grant’s Farm, the storied home of the Busch family since 1903, welcomed thousands of visitors to its verdant grounds.
The 280-acre historic property now operated as a refuge for more than 900 animals, also features a range of historic architecture, including a log cabin once belonging to Ulysses S. Grant and traditional German-style horse stables. Earlier in the week, the property turned into the site for season 30 of the PBS show Antiques Roadshow, with visitors sharing their own assortment of treasure.
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St. Louis was one of five cities selected for the 2026 season—the popular appraisal show was last in town in 2017. The taping received 20,000 entries in its sweepstakes for tickets, the highest number among all of the locations for the season, says Amy Shaw, president and CEO of Nine PBS.
“We are thrilled,” she says. “People are so excited.” A total of 3,146 guests attended the event.
Sam Farrell, the show’s senior producer, spent the day scouting for antiques to feature on the show. “You get good insight into people and the area,” he says.
Upon arrival, guests were ushered into a general booth, where they had their items assessed and assigned to specific stations. Of the 23 stations, “paintings” was the largest and most popular.
Over at “collectibles,” Tim Luke, executive vice president of Hindman Appraisals, which has an office in Clayton, noted the number of St. Louis-specific items, such as from the 1904 World’s Fair and the local brewing industry. “There have also been a lot of flags and German sewing machines,” he says. St. Louis, a historic river city and a major port during the Industrial Revolution, likely saw a fair share of sewing machines brought to the city at that time, he explained.
The appraisers, working from their own knowledge, were also set up with laptops connected to Wi-Fi in case they needed a hand with research. Each visit lasted on average one to three minutes, with attendees sharing the story of their antique and receiving feedback, including advice on how to preserve and elongate its life.
Sisters Chris and Lynn brought their grandmother’s embroidered handkerchief dating back to the World’s Fair. “She was 19 when they had the Fair and would go all the time with her girlfriends,” they say. “We’ve been watching the show for years. Anything they can tell us about it would be great.”
Also eager to hear feedback was Mary, who held a framed photo of the 1986 brawl between the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants. Manager Whitey Herzog later signed the photo, captured by a friend of her father’s, while at Winter Warmup in the 2010s.
Marsha Bemko, executive producer of Antiques Roadshow, says she saw some cool things in St. Louis, including a sock dating to the time of the Civil War; it was riddled with bullet holes.
John, who traveled from Indianapolis for a chance to have his item appraised, was one of the lucky attendees to have his piece selected for filming. He brought a pair of boxer shorts belonging to President John F. Kennedy. “In 1959, my father hosted him before a fundraiser,” he says. “He stayed at our house and accidentally left them there.” The appraisers estimated that the underwear could be worth between $3,000 and $5,000.
Producers choose about 120 items to film in each city.
“Collecting is all about making memories,” says Luke, the appraiser from Hindman. “That’s where the real treasure is.” And no one can put a price on that.
The three, one-hour episodes of Antiques Roadshow produced in St. Louis are expected to air during the first half of 2026.
