National Building Arts Center

Promoting Our Past, Preserving Our Future

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  • About
    • Mission and Vision
      • Jefferson National Expansion Memorial 1936 Plan for the Museum of American Architecture
      • The Museum of American Architecture: A Progress Report
      • An Architectural Museum on the St. Louis Riverfront
    • Campus
      • History of Sterling Steel Casting
      • NON STNDRD
    • Directions
    • Staff + Board
    • Research Library
      • Online Catalog
      • Mesker Collection
      • Photographic Collection Gallery
    • Blog Archive
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  • Support Us
    • Join Our Mailing List
    • Donors and Supporters
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  • Programs
    • Events and Tours
    • Exhibitions & Installations
      • Cast Iron Storefront at Gateway Arch National Park
  • Collections
    • Building Machinery
    • Cementitious Materials
      • Cast Stone
      • Haydite (Expanded Shale)
        • Haydite Photographic Archive
        • Stephen J. Hayde: Father of the Lightweight Concrete Industry
      • Sgraffito
        • Background on Sgraffito & Art Nouveau
        • Plastering Plain and Decorative
    • Clay Products
      • Brick
        • Dry Pressed Brick
        • Hydraulic-Press Brick Company
          • Illinois Hydraulic-Press Brick Company Catalog, 1899
        • Hydraulic Brick Company: The Early Years, by Mimi Stiritz
        • St. Louis Area Brickmakers
        • Alton Brick Co.
        • Hill Brick Co.
        • Hydraulic Press Brick Buildings
        • Kloess Brick Co.
        • Parker-Russell Mining & Manufacturing Co.
        • Progress Press Brick & Machine Co.
        • Cornice Moldings
        • Jamb, Arch, and Panel Moldings
        • String Course Moldings
        • Egg-and-Dart String Course Moldings
        • Ornamental Brick, 5×5 and size variations
        • Ornamental Brick, 5×10 and size variations
        • Ornamental Brick, 7×7 and size variations
        • Ornamental Brick, 10×10 and size variations
      • Clay Tile Roofing
        • A Brief History of Roofing Tile Manufacture and Use
        • Mound City Roofing Tile
        • Mound City Roofing Tile Catalog
      • Fire Brick, Refractories, and Drain Tile
        • Blackmer & Post Pipe Co.
        • Evens & Howard Fire Brick Co.
        • Laclede-Christy Clay Products Co.
        • Mitchell Clay Manufacturing Company
      • Terra Cotta
        • Terra Cotta in Architecture
        • The Ceramics of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition
        • Winkle Terra Cotta Company
          • Stock Designs in Architectural Terra Cotta
        • St. Louis Terra Cotta Company
    • Ecclesiastical
    • Glass
    • Hardware
    • Labor and Unions
    • Lighting
      • Guth Lighting Company
    • Metals
      • Non-Ferrous Metals
      • Sheet Metal
      • Structural & Ornamental Cast Iron
      • Structural Steel
      • Wrought Iron & Mild Steel
    • Signage
    • Stone
      • Indiana Limestone: The Aristocrat of Building Materials
    • Woodwork
  • Recovery Projects
    • Apartment Buildings
      • 1604 Goodfellow Boulevard
      • 3925 McPherson Avenue
      • 3943 McPherson Avenue
      • Cromwell Apartments
      • Florissant Center Apartments
      • Ormond Apartments
      • Randall Apartments
    • Automotive
      • Carter Carburetor Laboratory Building
      • Embree-McLean Carriage Company
        • Deconstruction
      • International Harvester Truck Co.
      • Park Automobile Company
      • Southwest Motor & Truck Co.
    • Banks
      • Cytron Mortgage Building
        • Deconstruction
      • Drovers National Bank of East St. Louis
      • State Bank of Wellston
        • Deconstruction
      • Yeckel Building
    • Breweries, Wineries, and Taverns
      • American Wine Company
      • Anheuser Busch Distribution Facility (Alton, Illinois)
      • Anheuser Busch Garage
      • Pabst Brewing Co. Tavern
      • Schlitz Brewing Company Tavern
    • Churches
      • Christ Church Cathedral
      • Church of the Messiah
      • Most Holy Name Roman Catholic Church
      • Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church
      • Second Presbyterian Church
      • St. Ann’s Church & Shrine
        • High Altar
        • Shrine to the Blessed Virgin
        • Shrine of St. Ann Railing
      • St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church
      • St. Henry’s Catholic Church
      • St. Liborius German Catholic Church
        • High Altar
        • St. Ann Altar
        • Infant of Prague Altar
        • St. Joseph Altar
        • Holy Water Founts
        • Communion Rail
        • Side Altars
      • St. Mark’s Memorial Episcopal Church
      • St. Paul’s Methodist Episcopal Church
      • St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church
        • High Altar and Baldachin
        • Side Altars
        • Communion Railing
        • Pulpit
    • Commercial
      • 611-15 North Vandeventer
        • Deconstructed
      • 812 Pine Street
        • Deconstruction
      • 1022-32 North 6th Street
      • 1410-14 Washington Avenue
      • 2617-23 Cass
        • Deconstruction
      • 3352-54 South Jefferson Avenue
      • 4431-39 Olive Street
      • Baer, Sternberg & Cohen Hat Company
      • Brinkwirth Building
        • Deconstruction
      • Garavelli’s Buffet/Aratas Billiards
      • Garavelli’s Restaurant
        • Deconstruction
      • Korte Building
      • Liberty Storage and Warehouse Company Building
        • New Foundation and Base
        • Fundraising Appeal
      • Mavrakos Candy Store
      • Mersmann Estate Building
        • Deconstruction
      • Olive Hall
      • Southwestern Telephone and Telegraph (Grand Exchange)
        • Entrance
        • Parapet Coping
        • Upper Cornice
        • Lower Cornice
        • Windows and Sill Courses
      • Terra Cotta Cornice #4308
      • Westminster Laundry
    • Courthouses
      • Civil Courts Building (St. Louis)
        • Revolving Doors
      • First District Police Court and Police Patrol Stables
        • Deconstruction
    • Dairies
    • Department Stores
      • Lindell Building (Schaper Brothers)
        • Details and Deconstruction
    • Foundries
    • Fraternal Buildings
      • Lions Club Building (Chicago)
      • Maplewood Masonic Temple, Lodge No. 566, A.F. & A.M.
    • Gas Stations
    • Gaslight Square
      • 4222 Olive (Gaslight Square)
        • Deconstruction
      • 4224-26 Olive (Gaslight Square)
        • Deconstruction
        • Reconstruction
      • 4230 Olive (Gaslight Square)
        • Deconstruction
      • 4236-40 Olive (Gaslight Square)
        • Reconstruction
      • 4242 Olive (Gaslight Square)
      • 4244-48 Olive (Gaslight Square)
        • Deconstruction
      • Weber Bros. Realty Building
    • Grain Elevators
      • Farmer’s Elevator
    • Greenhouses
    • Hospitals
      • Deaconess Hospital Library
      • St. Louis City Hospital School of Nursing
      • St. Louis County Lunatic Asylum (East Wing)
        • Balustrading
        • Deconstruction
      • St. Louis Isolation Hospital for Infants Ward Building
    • Hotels
      • Marquette Hotel (Milner Hotel)
        • Deconstruction
        • Lobby
      • Statler Hotel
      • West End Hotel
    • Houses
      • 4937 Forest Park Avenue
      • Clemens House
      • Gilbert House
      • Hlas Office & Print Shop
      • Hugh McKittrick Residence
        • Main Staircase
        • 2nd-3rd Story Staircase
        • Step Sides and Boot Scraper
      • 4100 Block McPherson Avenue, South Side
    • Ice Houses
      • Polar Wave Ice & Fuel Delivery Station
    • Libraries
      • East St. Louis Public Library
        • Details
    • Mortuaries
      • Wagoner Mortuary Building
        • Dismantling
    • Museums
    • Office Buildings
      • Chicago Stock Exchange Building
      • Liggett Building (International Building)
        • Pre-Demolition
      • Lincoln Trust (Title Guaranty) Building
        • East Entrance
        • 1st Story Piers
        • Entablature
        • 2nd Story Piers
        • Window Spandrels
        • Elevator Tower and Building Sign
        • Cornice
        • Guaranty Home & Investment Syndicate
      • Missouri Pacific Building (Buder Building)
        • Main Staircase
        • Revolving Doors
        • Pier Medallion Recovery
        • Entrance Recovery
        • Cornice Recovery
        • Demolition
      • National Bank of Commerce Building
      • Oreon-Scott Building
      • Railway Exchange Building
        • A History of the Railway Exchange Building
      • St. Louis Mutual Life Insurance Company
      • St. Louis Star Building
      • St. Louis Title Building
        • Deconstruction
    • Old Age Homes
      • Little Sisters of the Poor
    • Orphanages
    • Parking Garages
    • Pavilions
    • Poor Houses
    • Post Offices
      • Cabanne Station Post Office
        • Deconstruction
    • Railroad Terminals
      • Big Four Route Building
        • Deconstruction
      • Wabash Offices and Terminal
    • Schools
      • Chouteau School
      • Mission Free School
      • St. Peter’s School and Hall
      • Webster School Annex
        • Deconstruction
    • Shops
    • Stadiums
      • Walsh Memorial Stadium
    • Steel Mills
    • Theaters
      • Comet Theater
        • Façade
      • Granada Theatre
        • Terra Cotta Details
        • Deconstruction
      • Rivoli Theatre
        • Façade
        • Deconstruction
        • Paintings
      • Southtown Theater
        • Details
    • Theater-Office Buildings
      • Ambassador Building
        • Ambassador Theater
        • Theater Offices
        • Pier Panels
        • Cornice Recovery
        • Trusses
      • Century Building
        • Entrance and Deconstruction
        • Locust Street Entrance
        • Spandrels
        • Structural Steel
    • Utilities
      • East St. Louis Sewer District
    • Wholesale Business Buildings
      • 916-18 Delmar
      • Blackwell Wielandy Building
        • Deconstruction
      • Rosenheim Building
      • Walker Estate Building
  • For Sale

2025 Lecture Series

This summer, dive into the stories behind the structures with the NBAC. Our 2025 Summer Lecture Series brings together historians, architects, preservationists, and makers for a season of thought-provoking talks on the past, present, and future of our built environment. For more, please see our Events and Tours page.

2025 Campus Tours

The National Building Arts Center holds ticketed tours on the 2nd Saturday of each month.

For more, please see our Events and Tours page.

What Was Here?

What Was Here? is a digital exhibit that employs 3D rendering technologies to interpret artifacts from the collection of the National Building Arts Center that were once situated near Great Rivers Greenway Brickline Trail in St. Louis. The exhibit was produced by students at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

November 13, 2024 Webinar

Our webinar, “Reconstructing the James Clemens, Jr. House”, was held on November 13, 2024. The recording is now available on YouTube.

Passing of Larry Giles

Founder and President Larry Giles died June 12, 2021 of complications from cancer treatment. Read more here.

Contact Us

National Building Arts Center
2300 Falling Springs Rd.
Sauget, IL 62206
staff@nationalbuildingarts.org

Hours

The National Building Arts Center is open to the public as follows:

  • Public tours on the second Saturday of each month;
  • Events as listed on our calendar;
  • Research appointments for our library and archive collections.

About the National Building Arts Center

The St. Louis-based National Building Arts Center (NBAC) promotes public awareness of the crucial roles of architecture, manufacturing, construction, and urban design in our built environment.

2024 Clemens House 3D Project

3D Photogrammetry on the cast-iron columns and a virtual reconstruction of the Clemens House.

Social Media

Follow us on Instagram: @nationalbuildingartscenter

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.

© 2024 National Building Arts Center

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