Historical November 1991 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Designed by Cass Gilbert: Drawings for Forest Park focuses on the 1916 plan to enlarge the St. Louis Art Museum and embellish its surroundings within Forest Park.
The present building, erected as a permanent structure in Forest Park for the World’s Fair of 1904, was designed by Cass Gilbert, one of the leading architects of his time. Born in Zanesville, Ohio, in 1859, Gilbert gained national prominence through his designs for landmarks such as the Woolworth Building in New York City, the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., and the main branch of the St. Louis Public Library. Gilbert designed the Palace of Fine Arts, the original structure for the St. Louis Art Museum, using elements of Greek and Roman architecture.
The building was conceived as a gallery space, with a series of sky-lit rooms laid out symmetrically around a grand entrance hall.
After the Fair, the Museum Board determined that the existing building lacked the basic elements necessary for a growing museum and that the facility would need areas for storage and staff support, conservation studios, and auditorium, dining room and kitchen.
In light of these additions, Cass Gilbert was called in again to provide plans for an expansion of the Museum.
The ten drawings displayed in the exhibition were presented to the Museum Board in November 1916 and enthusiastically received.
The present building would have been joined by a grand rotunda flanked by two additional sculpture halls, two wings extending from the east and west ends of the building, and pools and fountains on the south side.
The landscaping covered the western third of Forest Park and included plans for an amphitheater, rose and dahlia gardens, bandstands and a Grand Canal reaching out to Lindell Boulevard. Eight of the drawings consist of architectural and aerial views of the elevations and central plan of the Museum, including designs for lamp posts, sculpture and landscaping.
The other two drawings are artist’s perspectival renderings of the plan by Jules Guerin, the master delineator and illustrator born in St. Louis, who produced lively visions of the proposed architecture within a picturesque setting. Soon after the plan was presented to the Museum, the United States entered World War I, virtually squelching any opportunity to proceed with the building project. Hopes for the plan stayed alive through 1926, but by that time interest had waned and going forward with such an enlargement was deemed unnecessary. Even though Gilbert’s plan for enlarging the Museum was not realized, the drawings still offer a telling glimpse into the mind of a great architect during an important period of growth in American architecture.
They also provide details of landscaping, structure and materials which have inspired later designers involved with the Museum’s expansion projects, forging a link with the comprehensive vision of the original architect.
This exhibition is supported with financial assistance from the St. Louis Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, November 1991.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1991_11.pdf, printed page(s) 2; PDF page(s) 2.
