Unseen STL History Talks: January 2025
Brick By Chance & Fortune Revisited & the value of historic preservation in St. Louis
UPDATE: Due to the icy streets, we have postponed this event one week to January 23rd. All other details remain the same.
For January’s Unseen STL History Talks, we’re shaking things up with a special event! Join us for a screening of the 2011 documentary Brick by Chance and Fortune, created by local filmmaker Bill Streeter. Afterward, we’ll host a discussion featuring Bill, some of the documentary’s participants, and other advocates dedicated to preserving St. Louis history.
This unique event will be held on January 16th at Spine Bookstore and Cafe, 1982 Arsenal St., from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the film screening starting promptly at 6:30 p.m., followed by a lively discussion. There is a $5 cover charge.
The Event
Beginning at 6:30 p.m. (note that this is earlier than previous events), we’ll watch the one-hour documentary Brick by Chance and Fortune, produced and directed by Bill Streeter. St. Louis boasts a rich legacy of brick architecture, and this film delves into the history of the city’s clay and brick industry. It also highlights ongoing efforts to protect and preserve St. Louis’s architectural heritage from threats such as brick thieves and urban renewal. The documentary not only uncovers the little-known history of the local brick industry but also raises important questions about the value of preserving our historic architecture and the built environment.
Following the documentary, we will present a lively discussion featuring Bill Streeter, Toby Weiss, and Paul Hohmann from the documentary, as well as Emery Cox and Laurie Ahrens from the National Building Arts Center (who will honor the memory of Larry Giles) plus other special guests. Chris Naffziger will moderate the discussion.
Our Participants
Bill Streeter brings over 25 years of experience in film and video production, excelling in roles such as producer, director, and editor, and runs the video production company Hydraulic Pictures. Known for his high-quality, custom filmmaking, Bill’s career is further enriched by his background as a USAF veteran, which brings discipline and precision to his work. As the acclaimed producer and director of the documentary Brick By Chance and Fortune, he demonstrates a talent for compelling documentary storytelling. He is also the visionary behind Lo-Fi Cherokee, an annual event showcasing his ability to produce outstanding music videos under tight deadlines. Additionally, he was an early innovator in online video content, launching the video blog Lo-Fi Saint Louis in 2005.
Toby Weiss is the author, photographer, and researcher behind Belt STL. She remains shocked but grateful that building pieces saved from demolition sites and photos taken of St. Louis Midcentury Modern architecture were included in recent Missouri History Museum and Kempner Arts exhibits. To her this suggests that efforts to preserve our architectural history does matter.
Paul Hohmann is a preservation architect with Ebersoldt + Associates, where he has contributed to significant building restoration projects, including the Arcade Building, the Metropolitan Building in Grand Center, and the Kiel Opera House. A dedicated advocate for preservation, Hohmann started the blog Vanishing STL about a dozen years ago to document buildings lost in St. Louis. He continues this mission on Instagram under the same name.
Emery Cox, Archives and Collections Manager at the National Building Arts Center (NBAC), oversees an extensive collection of artifacts and printed materials and assists researchers. With over two decades of experience in public libraries, Emery brings a diverse academic background spanning physics to political science, enriching his role at the NBAC. He joined the team in 2016 and assumed his current position in December 2021, where he works to highlight the breadth and significance of the NBAC collection.
Laurie Ahrens is a marketing writer who lives in an almost 100-year-old house in St. Louis City. Her father was a carpenter for over 50 years, and he instilled in her a love of historic homes, building construction, and figuring out ways to reuse cool old bits and pieces that might otherwise end up in a landfill. She currently helps other people gain their own appreciation of even more cool old bits and pieces of the built environment as a volunteer at the National Building Arts Center in Sauget, IL.
Chris Naffziger has focused his scholarly research on the history and built environment of St. Louis and the Midwest for the past fifteen years, with a particular interest in the 19th-century German-American brewing industry. His work has been published across the United States and Europe. Recently, he has focused on the history of the Lemp Brewery since its foundation in the 19th Century.
Join us on January 16th!
Don’t miss this opportunity to explore our city’s unique architectural legacy and engage with the people working to preserve it. Whether you’re passionate about history and architecture, or simply love learning about the city we call home, this event promises to inspire and inform. Mark your calendar for January 16th at Spine Bookstore and Cafe—come for the film, stay for the fascinating discussion, and leave with a deeper appreciation for the built environment that shapes St. Louis. We look forward to seeing you there!
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