Historic Bank Sign That Served as Weather Beacon Saved From Landfill

Riverfront Times // June 4, 2014

Another Modernist landmark will soon vanish from St. Louis once wrecking crews complete the demolition of State Bank of Wellston. But at least once piece of the historic bank at Martin Luther King Drive and Kienlan Avenue will live on. Last month preservationist Larry Giles salvaged the building’s iconic sign and safely transported the massive structure to his architectural non-profit, National Building Arts Center.

For decades the State Bank of Wellston anchored the western end of a lively commercial strip that straddled the city-county divide. But by the 1970s many of the major commercial institutions along that stretch of MLK Drive had either moved out to newer suburbs or closed, including a JC Penney that left the strip without a major anchor on its eastern edge. The State Bank of Wellston, meanwhile, was eventually bought by Regions Bank that now occupies a newer building nearby.

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Profile of Larry in the St. Louis Business Journal, August 22, 2014

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Frank Lloyd Wright Birthday Benefit photo gallery, June 2, 2013

Help Needed Saving Iconic North St. Louis Weatherball and Sign, Riverfront Times, January 7, 2013

Dream of architectural artifact museum gets closer to reality, St. Louis Beacon, June 18, 2012

The Curator Larry Giles’ Building Arts Foundation provides a safe repository for the lovely fragments of demolished historic buildings, St. Louis Magazine, November 11, 2008

KETC | Living St. Louis | Brick by Brick, April 30, 2008