750 N 16th St
St. Louis, MO 63103
(314) 436-7676
St. Louis' only social circus school.
750 N 16th St
St. Louis, MO 63103
(314) 436-7676
How do we do it? We provide technical assistance to help neighborhood organizations realize and maintain their visions of positive change. We partner with neighborhood organizations to develop housing and other improvements to revitalize neighborhoods. We provide development consulting and historic preservation consulting services, as well as mapping and database management services, empowering both nonprofit organizations and for-profit developers to effect sustainable neighborhood revitalization. We provide pre-development funding to enable nonprofit organizations to begin work on difficult, important redevelopment projects where conventional financing is not available. We are a conduit for knowledge between organizations, residents, and institutions facing similar struggles and working toward similar goals, bringing consistency to the region-wide community development process. We make a difference!
We serve people in Missouri, Illinois and around the world. The New Life Evangelistic Center provides over 150,000 meals and sandwiches, and more than 65,000 nights of emergency overnight shelter every year. We provide 80,000 social service contacts — helping individuals and families throughout mid-America with clothing and food through our free stores, fans, blankets, utility assistance, transportation, medical assistance and housing assistance. The millions of people we serve in the Midwest and around the world include homeless men, women and children, the poor, elderly and families in our communities overwhelmed by the need to provide the basic necessities, and earthquake and hurricane survivors. New Life Evangelistic Center has branches in India and Africa and has long-standing partnerships with organizations in more than 10 countries, including Haiti.
The Studio houses all media at St. Louis Public Library’s central branch. With over 20,000 CDs and over 4,000 DVDs in The Studio, we have something for everyone, from fiction to non-fiction, feature films and movies for the kids. We even have great TV shows to get you through the week, and educational films for use in the classroom. Our classical and opera music selections are vast, but don’t leave the room without hitting up some jazz or popular music CDs. We have a small collection of local artists from folk to rap, and our indie rock collection is always growing. Not interested in CDs or DVDs? Check out our video games, audiobooks, and playaways. Playaways are digital audiobooks that are great for listening to while you exercise and audiobooks, or books on CD, are perfect for long road trips. Our video game collection has grown to include both Playstation 4 and Xbox One as well! If you can’t find something or have questions about films and filmmakers, flip through one of our reference books on cinema or ask one of The Studio employees for help. If you’re interested in the latest news on music or entertainment, flip through a Billboard magazine, Rolling Stone or Variety, while you listen to some music on your headphones. The Studio hosts a wide range of programs at Central Library throughout the year; we invite you to stop by and check them out or give us a call for more information.
In 2003 Anthony and Kim Thompson started the Kwame Foundation. The Kwame Foundation is a non –profit organization that provide young people an opportunity to learn, grow, and become professionals in their chosen careers. To accomplish our mission the Kwame Foundation provides financial assistance, educational mentorships, internship opportunities, and training in careers consistent with those needed to compete in a changing environment. Although we serve students of all races, our target is minority students pursuing post-secondary and graduate degrees who are bright, talented, high-achieving individuals that would not otherwise have an opportunity for higher education. One of the principles upon which Kwame Foundation was founded was to provide opportunities for growth, development and leadership to young professionals. As an extension of that principle – and in alignment with our holistic approach to sustainability – KWAME supports various education and mentorship focused organizations. In addition, through the Kwame Foundation, we endow scholarships at various institutions of higher learning across the country in order to assist in removing the financial barrier that exists for many minority and first generation college students.
Our goal is to reach as many young people as possible, and give them the tools and recourses they would need to become successful entrepreneurs, while building character and teaching them valuable, transferable life skills, and ultimately provide them with alternatives to unemployment, low paying jobs and destructive life choices.
St. Patrick Center is building permanent, positive change by helping hundreds of families each year move into permanent HOMES; by placing hundreds of people each year into full-time and part-time JOBS; and by providing HEALTH services to hundreds of people each year dealing with mental illness and/or substance abuse.
Find out more about recent events with ArchCity at http://archcitydefenders.tumblr.com/
Making Disciples Building Congregations For the Life of the World
TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. TEDxStLouis brings together the brightest minds in the St. Louis area to spark deep discussion and connection. About TED TED - Technology, Entertainment, Design - is a non-profit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California nearly 30 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes or less. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani,Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
The initiative to construct a memorial plaza and memorial building to honor the gallant sons and daughters of Missouri, and of our city, who "made the supreme sacrifice in the World War", began in 1923. Over the course of several years, the City of St. Louis and its citizens raised money for the project. Under the leadership of Mayor Bernard F. Dickmann, and with some funds coming from the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works (Project No. 5098), the construction of the building, development of the memorial plaza, and improvements to the parks began on October 21, 1935 and the memorial and museum officially opened on Memorial Day, May 30, 1938. "This magnificent edifice, erected as a perpetual reminder of the valor and sacrifice that has enabled America to live, will spur us on as a people to make America greater. We, who live, because others have died, should make of this shrine a place of love and a monument of peace." - Mayor Bernard F. Dickmann, May 30, 1938 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, came to St. Louis to dedicate the site for the Soldiers Memorial building on October 14, 1936. “…Here will rise a fitting structure—a symbol of devoted patriotism and unselfish service. We in America do not build monuments to war: we do not build monuments to conquests; we build monuments to commemorate the spirit of sacrifice in war—reminders of our desire for peace. The memory of those, whom the war called to the Beyond, urges us to consecrate the best that is in us to the service of country in times of peace. We best honor the memory of those dead by striving for Peace, that the terror of the days of war will be with us no more. May the beauty of this monument, which will rise on this site, cast a beneficent light on the memories of our comrades, may a substantial structure typify the strength of their purpose, and may it inspire future generations with a desire to be of service to their fellows and their country.” Seemingly, the poignancy of the President’s words were not lost on his audience: The quality and pride of craftsmanship, the careful attention to detail and design, confirm the depth of commitment and steadfast appreciation of Great Depression-era St. Louisans for those who served in the armed forces—veterans—and for those who served to the last measure of their lives—who made “The Supreme Sacrifice.” Further, these St. Louisans did not forget the families, understanding that war reaches beyond the battlefield, to the American home, with lasting effect long after peace treaties are signed. Here are a few architectural features to notice the next time you visit Soldiers Memorial. The quoted material is as described in a very early guide book, published by Mason Printing Company, St. Louis: * Exterior walls of the building itself: Of Bedford limestone, from Bedford Indiana. * Outside, looking up, trimming the building just below the second floor balcony: “On the facing of the parapet, surrounding the upper promenade, are carved medallions representing infantrymen, marines, tank operators, sailors and the other divisions of service.” (p. 14) * Outside, large sculptured, limestone figures flanking the stairs: “Four magnificent sculptured stone figures, two on the south side [Chestnut street side], representing Courage [male figure] and Vision [female figure]; two on the north side [Pine street side], representing Loyalty [male figure] and Sacrifice [female figure]. These massive, beautiful figures are the work of Walker Hancock, a native St. Louisan.” (p. 14) * Going up the stairs to the entrance and under the covered atrium area, the Cenotaph: “Of black granite resting upon a base of Bedford stone. Carved upon [the cenotaph] are 1075 names of soldiers and nurses from our city, who made the supreme sacrifice [referring to WWI].” (p.11) * In the covered atrium area, looking up: Gold Star Mother mosaic ceiling: Probably designed and installed by the Ravenna Mosaic Company, St. Louis—the same company that did the mosaics at the Cathedral Basilica on Lindell. Note that lights embedded inside the cenotaph shine upwards onto the ceiling at night—to highlight the detail and color of the tiles. As stated in the Mason Printing guide book: “Large flood lights in the hollowed center of the Cenotaph illuminate the ceiling which is of glass mosaic in red, gold and silver. Centered in the ceiling is a large gold star, dedicated to the mothers of St. Louisans who died in the war.” (p. 11) * Elevator and stairway, located in the west museum lobby, north end and south end, respectively: “Access to the upper part [second floor] of the Memorial is by automatic elevator, which is completely paneled in American Walnut [probably from Missouri]. There is also a magnificent modernistic stairway, the walls of which are napoleon gray marble from Phoenix, MO. The treads and risers are of terrazzo. Modernistic aluminum rails and lighting fixtures create a pleasing and entrancing atmosphere.” (p.17) * Entrance doors and museums: “There are two museums, east and west sides, at the entrance to which are modernistic aluminum light standards. The doors to the museums are made of heavy plate glass, encased in frames of aluminum and alloys that produce a soft, satin silver finish. The floors of the museum[s] are of terrazzo, while the nine-foot wainscoating [in the museums] is of St. Genevieve [Missouri] rose marble, with Belgian blue marble as a trim. The grill work over the doors and the 28-foot windows in the museums is of aluminum.” (p. 15) * Basement area where CEMA offices are currently located: “On the ground floor is the assembly room used by the Gold Star Mothers and other war organizations of women. The assembly room accommodates 300 persons.” (p. 18) Note also that the U.S.O. held events in the basement area before CEMA and before the U.S.O. moved to Lambert Airport. The Soldiers' Memorial was designed by St. Louis architectural firm Mauran, Russell & Crowell, in the Classical style, but with limited ornamentation. Its entrances are flanked by four monumental sculptural groups carved in Bedford stone, representing figures of Loyalty, Vision, Courage and Sacrifice. Created by sculptor Walker Hancock they stand, with their horses, on the North and South sides of the building. Ornamental pylons on the terrace level name major World War I battles in which St. Louisans participated. Inside the building, a 38-foot high ceiling of mosaic tile tops the loggia area. The tiles form a large gold star dedicated to the mothers of St. Louisans who died in wars. A black granite cenotaph in the center of the loggia is inscribed with the names of 1,075 St. Louisans who lost their lives in World War I.