Like a shell collector, carefully gathering and labeling exquisite varieties, Larry Giles understands the significance of St. Louis’ brick-and-mortar specimens, both standing and fallen.
The former U.S. Marine has spent a lifetime studying and saving the architectural landscape, rushing in after the wrecking ball swings and scooping up the remains. In four decades, he’s amassed an enormous collection—the largest of its kind in the nation—in an effort to preserve what’s left of the past.
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Now owned by the St. Louis Building Arts Foundation, an organization Giles founded in 2002, the collection includes pieces from some of St. Louis’ most notable bygone buildings and districts: the Ambassador Theatre, the Soulard Station Post Office, Gaslight Square. Their remains are stored in the National Building Arts Center (2300 Falling Springs, Sauget, Ill., 618-332-5000), a 15-acre complex that was at one time the Sterling Steel Company casting foundry.
