ARLIS/NA 48th Annual Conference

This tour requires pre-registration.

The internationally renowned Emil Frei stained glass studio originated in St. Louis in the late nineteenth century, when it specialized in “Munich Style” narrative windows. The studio’s designs for the Holy Family Church in Watertown, New York won the Grand Prize at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904. Prior to World War II, the family maintained studios in St. Louis and Munich. By 1951, the firm had completed projects for more than 5,000 churches internationally. Its designs may be found at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., as well as the Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor in New Orleans, LA.

The family business continues to create new monumental window designs, and dedicates considerable efforts to restoration work. Join Aaron Frei on a tour of select stained glass window sites in St. Louis, including the beautiful Marquette Gallery, home to St. Louis University’s rare books collection.

Maximum participants: 20

Fee: $40

Accessibility: Walking, standing.

Transportation: Coach bus from the conference hotel at 1 pm. Meet the tour volunteer by the front desk 15 minutes prior to start.

This tour requires pre-registration.

Join The Society of Architectural Historians St. Louis and Missouri Valley Chapters president John C. Guenther, FAIA on a remarkable tour of the city’s most notable sites.

The tour begins by visiting the site of St. Louis’ origins. Situated on Cathedral Block, designated in 1764 by Auguste Chouteau, co-founder of St. Louis, the Old Cathedral was a focal point of the City of St. Louis for religion, civic activity, and education. We then walk to the entry plaza of the new museum entrance of the Gateway Arch to view Eero Saarinen’s winning national competition entry to commemorate the United States’ westward expansion through the Louisiana Purchase.

Next, we visit the 1891 Wainwright Building designed by Louis Sullivan, considered to be the first expression of the new high-rise building type.

We next travel to the 1907 Central Branch of the St. Louis Public Library—the crown jewel of the St. Louis Public Library system – designed by Cass Gilbert. We will tour the Steedman Architectural Library – a gift from George Fox Steedman (1871-1940) of his collection of many of the most influential and beautiful architectural books ever published.

Our last site is a tour of the Fabulous Fox – one of the crown jewels in William Fox’s motion picture empire designed by C. Howard Crane. It has been the setting of a wide array of concerts, plays, and various performances since its opening on January 31, 1929, as a 5,000-seat movie house. Restored in 1982, the Fabulous Fox continues to delight patrons to this day, from its dramatic, exotic lobby to its magnificent performance hall to its smallest detail.

Maximum participants: 20

Fee: $40

Accessibility: Walking, standing.

Transportation: Coach bus from conference hotel. Meet the tour volunteer by the front desk 15 minutes prior to start.

This tour requires pre-registration.

Join the Department of Walking on a walk that crosses the Delmar Divide and examines the ways in which race, class and public policies have made one street a significant division. Beginning in the Central West End and traveling to the adjacent Fountain Park neighborhood, the tour examines how two neighborhoods that developed similarly in the early twentieth century became estranged in the later part. The tour opens speculation on how to make a whole and equitable city -- how a street like Delmar might be a bind instead of a barrier.

Your guide is Michael Allen, an urban and architectural historian who teaches in the graduate architecture programs at Washington University in St. Louis and directs the Preservation Research Office. Allen founded the Department of Walking as a vehicle for engaging the ways in which social struggles and political change is encoded in the built environment of cities like St. Louis.

Maximum participants: 15

Fee: $30

Accessibility: Walking, standing.

Transportation: Walk from the conference hotel. Meet the tour volunteer at the front desk 15 minutes prior to start.

This workshop requires pre-registration.

Join artist Megan Singleton in her studio, located in the historic Soulard neighborhood, for happy hour. Please bring your own snacks and beverages; all other materials will be provided.

This workshop will explore the art of paper marbling. Megan will teach participants about the different materials and techniques used to marble paper and fabric, and how to create vibrant designs. Experiment with a range of different colors and tools to create mesmerizing swirled and speckled prints.

Megan Singleton is a practicing artist and educator located in St. Louis, Missouri. Her ecology-based work crisscrosses the boundaries of contemporary craft, combining sculpture, hand papermaking, installation, and digital applications. She received her MFA in Sculpture from Louisiana State University and BFA in Photography from Webster University.

Maximum participants: 20

Fee: $75

Accessibility: Standing.

Transportation: Coach bus from conference hotel. Meet the tour volunteer by the front desk 15 minutes prior to start.

This workshop requires pre-registration.

The National Building Arts Center (NBAC) promotes public awareness of the crucial roles of architecture, manufacturing, construction, and urban design in the built environment. Founder Larry Giles began collecting architectural artifacts while working in the demolition/salvage business, hoping to establish a national museum dedicated to the building trades. Since NBAC acquired the 15-acre site formerly occupied by the Sterling Steel Casting Company – across the river from Eero Saarinen’s Gateway Arch -- its holdings have expanded to include building machinery, hardware, signage, print journals, an extensive library, and corporate archives. NBAC recently accepted the Brooklyn Museum’s architectural artifacts that gallerist Ivan Karp collected at demolition sites in New York City. You can read more about the NBAC in this article.

The NBAC has numerous hidden collections that are in need of processing. This workshop will focus on basic foldering and rehousing of archival collections. The service project will be led by two archives staff from Washington University in St. Louis. No archival experience is necessary to attend.

Maximum participants: 10

Free to attend

Accessibility: Long periods of standing, some walking.

Transportation: Coach bus from conference hotel. Meet the tour volunteers by the front desk 15 minutes prior to start.