The long decade between the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the entry of the US into World War 11 in 1941 is notable in the history of architecture in St. Louis because modernist trends first appeared during the period. This thesis examines these early appearances. Some three decades bad elapsed since the Viennese architect, Otto Wagner (1841-1918) in 1896 had coined the term \"modern architecture\" in his book of the same name, in which he argued for fresh architectural responses to the rapidly changing conditions of the machine age. 1 1n St. Louis, architectural works that even now appear startling in their departure from the prevailing styles of the time, illustrate that the practice of modern ideas was far more varied in St. Louis than is commonly acknowledged. The goal ofthis thesis is to set out the richness and diversity of styles that have a legitimate claim to the modem label and to characterize their sources. I will attempt to determine why modernist designs were attractive to certain architects and their clients. l will also endeavor to establish how modernist buildings shaped the lives and professional conduct of the people who occupied them.
","abstract_html":"<p>The long decade between the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the entry of the US into World War 11 in 1941 is notable in the history of architecture in St. Louis because modernist trends first appeared during the period. This thesis examines these early appearances. Some three decades bad elapsed since the Viennese architect, Otto Wagner (1841-1918) in 1896 had coined the term "modern architecture" in his book of the same name, in which he argued for fresh architectural responses to the rapidly changing conditions of the machine age. 1 1n St. Louis, architectural works that even now appear startling in their departure from the prevailing styles of the time, illustrate that the practice of modern ideas was far more varied in St. Louis than is commonly acknowledged. The goal ofthis thesis is to set out the richness and diversity of styles that have a legitimate claim to the modem label and to characterize their sources. I will attempt to determine why modernist designs were attractive to certain architects and their clients. l will also endeavor to establish how modernist buildings shaped the lives and professional conduct of the people who occupied them.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Brunstrom, Mary Reid"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (AM/MA)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2006,"date_issued":"2006-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2006-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:12:08Z","subjects":["St. Louis","St Louis","Saint Louis","STL","Saint Louis (Mo.)","Architecture"],"languages":["English (en)"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.7936/tyqt-ej02"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://doi.org/10.7936/tyqt-ej02","href":"https://doi.org/10.7936/tyqt-ej02","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/etd_restrict/74","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Brunstrom, Mary Reid"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (AM/MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["St. Louis","St Louis","Saint Louis","STL","Saint Louis (Mo.)","Architecture"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English (en)"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/etd_restrict/74"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.7936/tyqt-ej02"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The long decade between the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the entry of the US into World War 11 in 1941 is notable in the history of architecture in St. Louis because modernist trends first appeared during the period. This thesis examines these early appearances. Some three decades bad elapsed since the Viennese architect, Otto Wagner (1841-1918) in 1896 had coined the term \"modern architecture\" in his book of the same name, in which he argued for fresh architectural responses to the rapidly changing conditions of the machine age. 1 1n St. Louis, architectural works that even now appear startling in their departure from the prevailing styles of the time, illustrate that the practice of modern ideas was far more varied in St. Louis than is commonly acknowledged. The goal ofthis thesis is to set out the richness and diversity of styles that have a legitimate claim to the modem label and to characterize their sources. I will attempt to determine why modernist designs were attractive to certain architects and their clients. l will also endeavor to establish how modernist buildings shaped the lives and professional conduct of the people who occupied them.
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