Our Vision
In April 2005, the Foundation acquired the former Sterling Steel Casting Foundry in Sauget, Illinois to become the home for the National Architectural Arts Center (NAAC). The facility is a short distance from downtown St. Louis in the middle of a belt of Metro East metal-related industry once called the "Pittsburgh of the West."
The 12-acre, 13-building facility dates to 1923, and the Foundation aims to rehabilitate the historic foundry buildings -- a rare undertaking in itself. At the NAAC, the Foundation's collection of artifacts will be consolidated and conserved, the library will be open to the public and space for exhibitions of the collection will be available. The NAAC will allow for the Foundation to create an educational campus that will connect people to both the artifact collection and the research library. Available only through small exhibitions and private appointment for the past 35 years, the collections of artifacts and literature deserve greater exposure.
At the NAAC, we are starting that process. Rehabilitation work is ongoing, and the collection has been relocated to storage at the NAAC. We strive to get the facility in a state where regular public access is possible. Five years after purchasing the foundry, the Foundation is well on the way toward its vision. We have made improvements to all of the buildings, including new concrete floors able to handle storage loads, and have graded and paved with gravel much of the site. Rehabilitation of the brick office building that will house the library is now underway, and completion is our primary goal. Once the project is done, the Foundation's library will again be accessible to researchers. The office building will serve as a space for public programs and as a starting point for tours.