The historic Goodwill Building in St. Louis, Missouri has been standing since 1919, now a landmark

Goodwill Building in St. Louis, Missouri.Photo byPaul Sableman, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The historic Goodwill Industries building is at 4140 Forest Park Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri. It was also known as the Standard Sanitary Manufacturing Company Building. The building was acquired by Washington University in 2019 from MERS Goodwill Industries.

Earlier this year, it was reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Washington University was planning on converting the building into office and lab space. The university also wants to build an addition to the existing Goodwill Building.

The Goodwill Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 25, 2021. The foundation is concrete and the walls are brick. When it was nominated for the National Register, it was vacant.

Backstory

Albert B. Groves (1866-1925) designed the Goodwill Building. It was constructed in 1919 for the Standard Sanitary Manufacturing Company. Standard Sanitary used the building until World War II, and after that, it was used for the war effort. In 1944, Goodwill moved into the building.

In 1962, Maritz and Sons remodeled the building and built a two-story loading dock to the west of it. In 1987, Goodwill acquired the Fiske Tire Company Building at 4200 Forest Park (built in 1922). It was connected to the 4140 Forest Park building.

The Goodwill Building is important because of its role in social history. It was the headquarters for Goodwill Industries serving as the leading social services organization in St. Louis. Goodwill purchased the building after their other location was destroyed by fire. The building also served as a warehouse for training and going through donations before they were distributed to its retail locations.

The Goodwill Building remained in operation until 2019. When Goodwill Industries of St. Louis was founded in 1918, there were few resources to help people with disabilities so they had to rely on family for help or they were institutionalized. When founded, it was the first to help with job training and employment of the poor, unemployed, and those with disabilities.

In 1934, Goodwill focused on serving those with disabilities developed from programs used after World War I which was when many being helped were veterans with disabilities.

Goodwill Industries was founded by Dr. Edgar James Helms of Boston in 1902. While Goodwill continues to perform some of the same functions today, going into the 1970s, it no longer served as the chief source for job training for those with disabilities. This was especially after the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission was created in 1965 and the Rehabilitation Act was passed in 1973.

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