We have partnered with Mike Jackson, FAIA, the Chief Architect of the Preservation Services Division of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency to develop the Association for Preservation Technology International digital archive of important out-of-print materials on historic building technology and construction. The material will be made available free of charge on the APT Web site. This new digital archive will greatly expand the availability of rare and hard-to-find materials related to the construction and finishes of historic structures and become a valuable research tool for design professionals, building conservators, and preservationists. All material will be copyright-free, so readers can download and print the documents.
The archive will showcase building materials that were widely used in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by all segments of the construction industry. Included will be technical manuals from building-trade associations and trade catalogs for products that once enjoyed wide-spread use.
The Association for Preservation Technology International (APT) is a cross-disciplinary, membership organization dedicated to promoting the best technology for conserving historic structures and their settings. Membership in APT provides exceptional opportunities for networking and the exchange of ideas. APT members, who hail from more than 30 countries, include preservationists, architects, engineers, conservators, consultants, contractors, craftsperson's, curators, developers, educators, historians, landscape architects, students, technicians, and other persons directly involved in the application of methods and materials to maintain, conserve, and protect historic structures and sites for future use and appreciation.
The Foundation's collection has been used for numerous exhibitions and permanent installations in St. Louis, New York, Washington, D.C. and Miami Beach from 1982 through the present. The full list of exhibits and installations is available here.
In September 2006, we began groundwork for a new educational program with O'Fallon High School (O'Fallon, Illinois). Using plans, photographs and drawings from our collection, students spent a semester working on art and math-related projects exploring seven selected buildings. The St. Louis Building Arts Foundation led bus tours and identified speakers to meet with the students and discuss historic preservation, architecture, and careers in related fields. We hosted an exhibit and reception at St. Louis City Hall where the teenagers displayed their scale models, works of art, and their new knowledge. The program took place in Spring 2007 and involved 120 students.
The Foundation assisted the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency with the development of the Illinois Main Street Project. We have made available our archive on the Mesker Companies and provided documentation for National Register listings for the Illinois "Got Mesker?" statewide initiative. We have made available cast iron storefronts for main street infill and restoration of existing buildings within the Illinois project areas. Presently, Illinois has 62 active Main Street communities, growing from when the program began in 1993. Since its inception, designated communities have reported net gains of more than 1,500 new downtown businesses, and created 3,200 full-time jobs and 2,400 part-time jobs. Main Streets have spurred more than $123 million in public improvements and more than $411 million in private reinvestments in their downtowns.
The Foundation has sponsored many tours of its warehouses across the St. Louis region. Past tours have been designed specifically for the Society for Industrial Archaeology, Creative Artisans Guild, the St. Louis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the Rehabbers Club, students in the University of Missouri-St. Louis museum studies program and students at the College School of St. Louis. Since work at the National Architectural Arts Center facility has progressed, the Foundation has hosted several open houses there to showcase the historic industrial architecture and the parts of the Foundation’s collection that are visible. In the future, the Foundation envisions regular open houses with docent-led walking tours of the facility. Additionally, the Foundation hopes to launch a regular series of tours of historic sites and neighborhoods across the region.