Designed by architect Eero Saarinen, the Gateway Arch is midcentury modernism architecture at its most iconic.
And to celebrate the monument’s 50th anniversary—taking place in 2015—preservation advocacy group Modern STL recently released graphic T-shirts and prints of the Arch as part of its “Icons of St. Louis Modernism” series. The design, created by All Along Press, is the latest in the organization’s merchandise line, launched in the spring of 2013.
Founded as a nonprofit in 2010 to preserve and protect St. Louis’ midcentury modernist structures, Modern STL initiated the “Icons of St. Louis Modernism” series to help foster an appreciation for local midcentury modern architecture. According to Modern STL secretary Nathan Wilber, this encompasses structures constructed from roughly 1945 to 1965. “We started to do the ‘Icons of St. Louis Modernism’ (series) mainly because it was a project that we thought our members would really appreciate,” Wilber said. “Being able to wear your favorite St. Louis building on a T-shirt is kind of fun—or hang it on your wall.”
The Arch is the latest in a series of six designs—which have included Lambert Terminal, Priory Chapel, the Midtown Saucer, Lewis and Clark Branch Library and residential architecture of Ralph Fournier—created by Elysia Mann of All Along Press. Mann, who connected with the nonprofit through a former Modern STL board member and friend, has created all six designs while working closely with the organization. “It’s a collaborative process that involves some brainstorming about color schemes, building angles and historical context,” Mann said in an email. “I compose each design, ask for feedback—and approval—from Modern STL, and then hand it over to the mavericks at STL-Style to be printed onto T-shirts. For the posters, I do the printing myself—each one is hand-printed in three to four colors via silkscreen.”
Modern STL released its retro-themed Arch design in early fall in an effort to be among the first to kick-off the Arch’s 50th anniversary, taking place next year. It pays homage to St. Louis’ most recognizable—and sometimes overlooked—icon. “It’s easy to take for granted if you live here,” Wilber said of the Arch. “I think it’s probably the most recognizable icon of St. Louis architecture. For people who live here, it’s easy to forget that it’s one of the greatest modernist monuments anywhere in the world.”
The T-shirts, printed by local apparel shop STL-Style, along with the 18-x-24-inch prints, can be purchased from Modern STL’s Etsy shop for $22.95 and $20, respectively. A portion of the profits from each print goes into Modern STL’s recently established Preservation Fund, which was set up to help preserve and protect the region’s threatened midcentury landmarks. “We’ll see how we can grow, but our hope is that, at some point, we’ll have the funds to help fight bigger battles if we need to,” Wilber said.
The issue Modern STL runs into with preserving these types of buildings, Wilber said, is that they’re not that old, thus people don’t think about the need to preserve them. “Most of these buildings fall within what most people deem to be the recent past—they’re not the standard age you tend to think of buildings that need preservation,” he said. “The problem with that is that because they are still relatively young in the eyes of most people, it’s easy for them to not see the value of these buildings.” But that’s what Modern STL hopes to accomplish with its “Icons of St. Louis Modernism” project—raise awareness of the need to preserve these architectural monuments while there’s still time. “If there’s no one standing up for these buildings now, too many of them will be gone by the time people really do gain an appreciation for them—so we feel it’s important to preserve what we have now before it’s too late,” Wilber said.
To purchase the new Gateway Arch print or T-shirt—or to check out other “Icons of St. Louis Modernism” designs—visit Modern STL’s Esty store at www.etsy.com/shop/ModernSTL. For more information on Modern STL, visit its website at modern-stl.com.
