Fall23_Urban Archaeology_Exhibition Guide_Sep 2023–Feb 2024

Urban Archaeology: Lost Buildings of St. Louis What do the buildings of St. Louis, past and present, tell us about our city? Urban Archaeology brings together materials from both well-known and ordinary buildings constructed in St. Louis between 1840 and 1955. These objects help us understand the city’s changing architectural, economic, and social conditions. The city of St. Louis has a wealth of notable architecture. Many of the area's signature brick and terracotta buildings were constructed during a period of great prosperity between the Civil War (1861–65) and the Great Depression (1929–39) as proof of the city’s status as a national economic powerhouse. While many celebrated structures still stand today, steady declines in population and commerce have resulted in the significant loss of buildings across the city. Urban Archaeology is co-organized with the National Building Arts Center (NBAC), which holds the largest collection of architectural artifacts in the United States. Located in Sauget, Illinois, NBAC emerged in response to the rapid economic decline and widespread demolition St. Louis experienced beginning in the 1950s. NBAC has worked for over four decades to salvage and preserve significant parts of condemned buildings across the nation that would otherwise be completely lost. In the United States, historic preservation and salvage have tended to prioritize predominantly white