1975: Automobile Club of Missouri Headquarters destroyed by fire

Most of us are familiar with the curvy building on Lindell that is home to offices of the Automobile Club of Missouri. Modern architecture fan Toby Weiss wrote the following about the building:

3917 Lindell – Automobile Club of Missouri
One of two round white buildings on Lindell, it looks like the curvy female answer to the boys-will-be-boys clubhouse across the street. But this building was erected in 1977! As early as 1942 the Automobile Club was listed in this same spot, and they certainly waited a long time to join in the CWE urban renewal.

Maybe the delay was so that they could get exactly the perfect building. It’s a truly iconic piece on Lindell – everyone knows and admires this building, and Triple A takes exceptional care of it. They must stock pile drums of white paint for constant touch ups in between new coats. A view through the endless ribbon of windows reveal many original fixtures still in place, and the whole thing has a distinct 1960s Jetsons feel. Were the original plans drawn up in the 60s and they sat on them for a bit, or did they purposely try to evoke a by-gone era, even though it wasn’t all that by-gone? Again, it feels like a sly wink to the club across the street.  (Belt STL)

1977 was late for modern new construction in this section of town.  The new building was constructed to replace the old headquarters that were destroyed by fire on March 14, 1975.  So that answers the question about why the current building was built in 1977 but it doesn’t help me understand what was destroyed. My first place to look is the Sanborn Fire Insurance map from 1909.

– Steve Patterson