Items Tagged ‘shoe factory’
CITY MUSEUM
Project Name:
CITY MUSEUMLocation:
Saint Louis, Missouri, USACompletion Date:
1997Original Use(s):
shoe factory and warehouseNew Use(s):
museum and residential loftsProject Description:
History
The building was once home to the International Shoe Company. At 600,000 square feet, it included a shoe factory and warehouse.
(Re)Developer
Purchased in 1993, the site found a new purpose and life thanks to Bob and Gail Cassilly. Bob, a classically trained sculptor and serial entrepreneur, spent four years reworking the site for his new vision.[1]
Outcome
Opened in 1997, the museum is not only an example of adaptive reuse itself but its displays and elements are repurposed architectural and industrial objects. It includes such features as old chimneys, salvaged bridges, construction cranes, miles of tile, and two abandoned planes. “CITY MUSEUM makes you want to know,” says Cassilly. “The point is not to learn every fact, but to say, ‘Wow, that’s wonderful.’ And if it’s wonderful, it’s worth preserving.”[2]
Some of the exhibits include: shoelace museum, World Aquarium, Enchanted Caves and Shoe Shaft, Skateless Park, and MonstroCity. Thanks to the success and vibrancy of the museum, Cassily has used the City Museum as a neighborhood anchor to help develop several nearby commercial and residential buildings as well as include lofts within the shoe factory.[3]
[1]Wikipedia
[2]CITY MUSEUM
[3]Wikipedia
Images courtesy of Wikipedia, UNC Asheville Multimedia Arts/Sciences Council, and artnet.
At Old Shoe Factory, a Foot in the Door for Affordable Housing
Project Name:
At Old Shoe Factory, a Foot in the Door for Affordable HousingLocation:
Completion Date:
Original Use(s):
New Use(s):
Project Description:
The private affordable housing developer Aeon will soon convert the old Renaissance Box shoe factory into 70 units of affordable housing. Utilizing a mix of state and city funds, foundation grants, private investors using federal tax credits, as well as tax credits from the federal stimulus program, the developer will begin work once the building is granted federal historic certification. The building will remain intact, save the addition that was put on which will be removed to create green space. The housing will primarily focus on workers downtown in the service industry.