As with many projects involving the restoration and renovation of a historic building, one of the first tasks that must be completed is a complete background investigation of the building’s history.
Questions must be asked such as who originally designed the building? Who built it? What was its original function? What is the building’s significance? All of these questions plus hundreds more must first be answered before the actual construction can proceed. Knowing the structure’s complete history is a top priority for knowing how to appropriately proceed with restoration and renovation efforts.
As in the case of the Post Exchange Building, many of these questions have already been researched and many answers have already been found. We know that the building was originally designed by the Federal government in December of 1903 and constructed at Jefferson Barracks a short time later.
We know that the government designed the building to become a military installation’s officer’s post exchange and gymnasium building. It would be equipped with a full-size gymnasium, a barbershop, an indoor pistol range, and a two-lane bowling alley. In addition, the building would have a small store located within it as well as a kitchen area, recreational rooms, and an athletic locker room. It was designed to assist the veterans in relaxing and keeping active on their off-duty time and it appears to have done this quite well.
We also know that our building in Jefferson Barracks has three other sister buildings in the United States that still survive today. Original blueprint drawings of the building from 1903 have been tracked down and located with copies now in our possession to aid us in the restoration and renovation of it.
The Post Exchange Building was actively utilized prior to World War I until sometime after World War II. Many surviving photographs of servicemen taken at Jefferson Barracks have the building in the background. Many servicemen posed for photographs while standing on its front steps, which leads to the belief that the building was important enough to them to include it in their many photographs.
During the decades that followed World War II, it appears that the Post Exchange started suffering from maintenance neglect and a decline in overall condition. It is also during this time that the Federal government started selling off surplus property such as equipment and land. These reductions are what actually lead to the purchase of much of the surrounding land by St. Louis County to create the beautiful county park we enjoy today.
In 1988, after many years of maintenance neglect and inactive use, the Post Exchange Building along with some other property, was deeded over to the government of St. Louis County where an attempt was made to stabilize some of the structures.
In 2002, the Missouri Civil War Museum not-for-profit corporation, along with the support and partnership of the St. Louis County Parks and Recreation Department, officially began the long and extensive historic restoration of the Post Exchange Building and gave it a second chance at life.
Although the building will become a museum and educational facility, the restoration and implementation efforts will place top priority on the historic integrity of the building and its original details. The restoration work will not entail any changes to its original character or design.
As part of the Jefferson Barracks Historic Complex, the Post Exchange Building is already included under its umbrella in the National Registry of Historic Places. The Board however, will soon begin collecting all available information and documentation on the building and its rich history and prepare its own nomination for the National Registry. [More on Jefferson Barracks History]
The Board feels that the building can stand on its own merits and is deserving of its own recognition in the Registry.
In keeping with the building’s historic integrity, the primary goal of the restoration is to retrofit all of the new improvements and uses around the building’s original details. The new improvements will not deface or eliminate any of the original elements unless it is absolutely necessary.
The first part of the restoration activities focused on the building’s exterior damage such as the leaking roof, damaged windows and doors, and the restoration of its unique and intricate wooden architectural features. Once the exterior of the building was completely secure and weather tight, major interior restoration began. The Board of Directors are confident that with a well-planned and operated nationwide fundraising campaign, along with the financial support of several grant programs and some outside corporate support and our dedicated membership, the restoration of the Post Exchange Building at Jefferson Barracks will be successful within five years.
The restoration project has gained media attention and will ultimately become a model example nationwide of how a group of concerned citizens and businesses, along with the cooperation of their local government, can partner together and preserve the historic treasures within their communities.
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