By KERRY SMITH, EDITOR, ST. LOUIS CONSTRUCTION NEWS AND REVIEW MAGAZINE
Construction is wrapping up on a new 35,000-square-foot building as part of an expansion that will triple the size of the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum.
The museum, which is owned by the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, is located on the northwest corner of Lindbergh Blvd. and Schuetz Rd. The $21 million project includes Chesterfield-based A.J. Brown, Inc. Construction Services and St. Louis-based TR,i Architects.
Work began in November 2020 on the museum addition, which is connected to the original museum space. The existing space is being completely renovated. In addition to exhibit spaces, the new facility will include a 250-seat multipurpose auditorium.
A.J. Brown President Doug Rendleman says the façade is built with 3×8-foot large format tile, a synthetic stone material that is also carried through to the interior ceiling and one of its large walls. The undulating design, Rendleman adds, honors and remembers the Kristallnacht or Night of the Broken Glass in November 1938 when 30,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps, and many were murdered.
A.J. Brown anticipates completing construction of the expansion in July. Then the museum’s designer, Silver Spring, Maryland-based Gallagher & Associates, will begin installing the exhibits, many of which will feature interactive and experiential learning opportunities.
St. Louis-based O’Toole Design Associates designed the museum’s interiors. Avison Young’s Chris Slagle has served as the museum’s owners representative and project manager.
The renovated, expanded museum is anticipated to open in late August or early September. It is one of 22 Holocaust museums in the United States.
