Unseen STL History Talks: June 2024
Made in St. Louis: The local stuff underfoot that built the 19th-century city
Join us on June 20, 2024, for the next Unseen STL History Talks. This month, explore the natural resources that shaped St. Louis and the workers who brought the city to life. Discover the materials and stories behind our historic buildings and streets.
The event will be held at Spine Bookstore and Cafe, 1982 Arsenal St. Doors open at 6 pm, and the talk begins at 7 pm. Enjoy an evening of learning and community for just a $5 cover.
The Talk
Today, with our railroads, trucks, and container ships, it’s relatively easy to send building resources anywhere in the world. It’s amazing to consider that not that long ago cities had to use natural materials very close by. And in this regard, St. Louis hit the jackpot. From billion-year-old granite buried deep within the Missouri hills to sticky clay found beneath our own backyards, the area’s natural resources turned St. Louis into the city you see today—a city that looks like none other in the world.
In this talk, historian Andrew Wanko will give a rapid-fire look across eight different locally sourced materials that helped build 19th and early 20th-century St. Louis. Some—like our crumbly and pockmarked local variety of limestone—were put to un-sexy workhorse uses like building retaining walls, house foundations, and surfacing for the city’s unpaved streets. Others—like the city’s countless varieties of ornamental brick and decorative terra cotta—became stars of the built environment that still dazzles today.
You’ll learn how these materials shaped St. Louis structures, from massive landmarks to tombstones, hear about the lives of the people who worked with them, and leave with new oddities to look for when you’re out and about around the city.
The Speaker
Andrew Wanko is a Public Historian at the Missouri Historical Society, where he has served as the content lead on award-winning exhibits, including “Lost Buildings of St. Louis,” “A Walk in 1875 St. Louis,” “St. Louis Sound,” and “Coloring STL.”
He's the author of Great River City: How the Mississippi Shaped St. Louis and Coloring STL: A Coloring Book for All Ages, and directed the feature-length documentary Show Me 66: Main Street Through Missouri, which won the 2016 Midwest Regional Emmy for Best Historic Documentary Film.
STL History & Preservation on Facebook
For those interested in history conversations and preservation topics, we have a Facebook group called STL History & Preservation. Join us to talk about St. Louis history, discuss endangered buildings, share news, and become part of the Unseen STL community.
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