Triumph of Historic Preservation

This compelling landmark—a rare surviving example of the 2nd Empire style used widely after the Civil War—exists in a nearly perfect state of preservation, thanks to extraordinary original construction and the preservationists who saved it from the wrecking ball in the 1960s and 1970s.

A uniquely collaborative effort of restoration and redevelopment was completed in 2006. Fully leased by its reopening, the building is truly alive again. What once stood at the cutting edge of 19th Century technology now stands at the cutting edge of historic preservation, as a building restored not only to its original state of beauty and integrity, but to its active role as a catalyst for future growth in the City of St. Louis.