Interior Vignettes, Arcade-Wright Building

Update: Pyramid Companies went bankrupt, but the building’s renovation by a new company was completed in September 2015.

Back when Pyramid Companies was renovating the Arcade-Wright Building into condos, an employee gave a small group a tour of the building.  These photos come from that visit, years ago.

An alleyway separates the Arcade-Wright Building from the nearby Paul Brown Building.  The Wright Building was actually built first, but when the Arcade Building was built, it wrapped around the older skyscraper, creating one massive skyscraper.  The three buildings form one of only a few intact blocks of turn of the century skyscrapers in the city.

The Arcade takes its name from the Gothic Revival shopping arcade on the first two floors of the building.

The details, while slightly damaged, still present very well.

Small shields with coats of arms decorate the vaulting.

Much of the building is severely deteriorated, as this portion of a lower floor attests.

The Arcade Building was famous for all of its jewelers, and the sign remnants remain on many of the doors.

It was freezing the day we went, so many of the pictures were taken furtively.

The gutting of the upper floors had begun, leaving behind grand open spaces.

Original terracotta elements from the Wright Building, hidden when the Arcade Building was built adjacent, were revealed during demolition.

The elevators featured glass doors, which when new, must have been stunning.

And looking down the elevator shaft; hopefully someday the building will be finished by a new developer.

4 Comments Add yours

  1. Ray Phillips says:

    I walk past this building sometimes on my way to lunch. I pray that someday someone will bring this building back. It’s such a beautiful place.

  2. Marie Brannon says:

    One of the businesses that operated from this building in the 1910s was the American Art Company, which produced steel engravings on the 3rd and 4th floors. You can see more about this business here: http://mariebrannon.hubpages.com/hub/The-American-Art-Company-of-St-Louis-Arcade-Wright-Building

  3. linda says:

    i had a ring made from the jeweler 30 years + and it need repairs hoping they were available

  4. EJN says:

    Your prayers have been answered. The building has been refashioned as a residence for artists!

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