Narrowing The List of Mid-Century Modernism
Mid-century modern buildings in St. Louis have gained a new audience recently as some of these structures have been threatened with demolition. As a result he city decided to take a closer look at buildings built between 1945-75.
The City of St. Louis received a grant in early 2012 for the completion of a thematic survey of non-residential Modern Movement architecture built between 1945 and 1975. The term Modern Movement in used for this project to encompass various styles of the mid?century Modern era, but does not include the Art Deco, Modernistic, Streamline, and Moderne styles that were widely used before 1940. The project will identify a group of properties that are eligible for listing in the National Register and that may be designated as City Landmarks. The grant is from the Missouri State Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service. Peter Meijer Architect, PC, a firm experienced in assessing Modern architecture, was selected as consultant for the project. The survey will be completed by September 2013. (PDF)
The process would first start with a massive list and work down to 20-25.
Right now the city and consultants are at the “Defining the Era 40” stage and their looking for public input to help narrow the list to the final 20-25 for further research and documentation. The 40 are decided into two parts (Part 1: 1-20 Part 2: 21-40).
Below is all 40 in the order listed on the two PDF files along with a link to each to find them on Google Maps.
- Wendell Oliver Pruitt Public School | 1954 | 1212 N. 22nd Street
- Mansion House Development | 1965 | 200 N. 4th Street
- Millenium Hotel | 1968 | 200 S. 4th Street
- Laclede Gas Building | 1968 | 200-12 N. 8th Street
- St. Philip’s Evangelical Lutheran Church | 1966 | 2422-4 Annie Malone Drive
- The Pavilion, Barnes Hospital | 1971/1978 | 4949-69 Barnes Hospital Plaza
- Queeny Tower, Barnes Hospital | 1964 | 4989 Barnes Hospital Plaza
- MHDCHC, Inc. | 1974 | 5443-71 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive
- Bishop DuBourg High School | 1955 | 5850 Eichelberger Street
- International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Hall | 1959 | 5850 Elizabeth Avenue
- James S. McDonnell Planetarium | 1963 | 1 Faulkner Drive
- Steinberg Hall, Washington University | 1963 | 6201-53 Forsyth Boulevard
- Former Buder Branch, St. Louis Public Library | 1961 | 5320 Hampton Avenue
- St. Louis Harvest Church | 1957 | 3201-23 Itaska Street
- Marc C. Steinberg Memorial Skating Park and Recreation Building | 1957 | 400 Jefferson Drive
- David P. Wohl Community Center | 1959 | 1515 N. Kingshighway Boulevard
- New Age Federal Savings & Loan | 1958 | 1401 N. Kingshighway Boulevard
- Oak Hill Chapel | 1953 | 6100 Leona Street
- AAA Building | 1974 | 3917 Lindell Boulevard
- Optimist Building | 1978 | 4490-4 Lindell Boulevard
- Engineer’s Club | 1961 | 4359 Lindell Boulevard
- Archdiocese of St. Louis | 1962 | 4445-67 Lindell Boulevard
- St. Nicholas Parish Center | 1960 | 1801-27 Lucas Avenue
- Society of American Gardens | 1957 | 4401 Magnolia Avenue
- Gateway Tower | 1966 | 1-99 S. Memorial Drive
- Fairground Park Swimming Facility | 1959 | 3715 Natural Bridge Avenue
- St. Louis Community College, Forest Park | 1965 | 5600 Oakland Avenue
- St. Joan of Arc Church | 1958 | 5800 Oleatha Avenue
- Machacek Branch Library | 1974 | 6426-34 Scanlan Avenue
- McDonnell Medical Science Building | 1970 | 4550-6 Scott Avenue
- Missouri Division of Employment Building | 1959 | 601 N. Broadway
- Pius Memorial Library, St. Louis University | 1958, renovated 1986, 2012 | 3655 West Pine Boulevard
- Carpenter’s Union Hall | 1956 | 1401-21 Hampton Avenue
- The Post Office Annex | 1969 | 1600-98 Market Street
- Hamiltonian Federal Savings and Loan Association | 1967 | 3150-6 S. Grand Boulevard
- St. Louis Public Library Jacob Mark Lashley Branch | 1967 | 4531-7 West Pine Boulevard
- Paraquad | 1969 | 5200-40 Oakland Avenue (Horner & Shifrin headquarters)
- Langston Elementary Public School | 1964 | 5501 Wabada Avenue
- Juvenile Division Circuit Court | 1965 | 910-30 N. Vandeventer Avenue
- Lambert International St. Louis Airport | 1957 | 10701 Lambert International Boulevard
Don’t see a favorite? View buildings already recognized via the National register or local Landmark status here (PDF). The 200 “worthy” list of addresses can be viewed here (PDF).
The following are the ones I’d cut to reduce the list:
- Millenium Hotel (3)
- The Pavilion (5)
- Queeny Tower (6)
- New Age Federal Savings & Loan (17)
- Oak Hill Chapel (18)
- Gateway Tower (25)
- St. Louis Community College (27)
- St. Joan of Arc Church (28)
- Machacek Library (29)
- McDonnell Building (30)
- Pius Library (32)
- Carpenter’s Hall (33)
- Post Office Annex (34)
- Hamiltonian Federal Savings & Loan (35)
- Juvenile Court (39)
Which 15-20 would you cut from the above?
— Steve Patterson
Big list, complicated question. What are the real goals? A comprehensive listing? Protecting the most endangered? Recognizing the most “significant”? Architecturally? Socially? Creating a venue for new tax credits? And why limit it to twenty? Why not 50? Or just the 5 very best? And when it comes to privately-owned structures, will the owners be participating, or will any designation be imposed unilaterally? Ultimately, isn’t all just personal preference mixed with politics? (and btw, #2 & #3 on your list have the wrong cross references)
The answers to your questions might be in the materials I like to, especially the one at the top. I’d say money is the reason to limit the number of properties — the grant only covers so much.
I don’t understand the problem with #2 & #3, please be more specific.
#2 The Pavilion should be (6) and #3 Queeny Tower should be (7).
Grants……tax dollars at waste if you ask me. Most of these buildings are in use with no need for tax dollars. There are more pressing public needs. Not that I am against work on these buildings, but it needs to be private sector dollars. The legistators in Jeff City are already eyeing the bone and they aren’t about to let it get bigger. And that goes for local tax abatement as well. For everyone complaining the City can’t do this or can’t do that then you need to suppport the tax income and not looking at cutting it.
great post _ St Louis has a unique Mid Cen style _ thank you Minoru Yamasaki for setting the bar high early on _ I say save it all !