Purchasing the building at Lake and Waterman
The English Tudor structure, built in 1901, served students of the Washington University-owned Mary Institute at Lake and Waterman avenues until 1930. The building had been used by the U. S. Army Communication Corps during World War II. It became available for purchase in 1945.
The Association trustees met and proposed to fund the purchase of the building and grounds, remodel and equip it. A local bank financed the entire purchase without one cent being deposited in its coffers. The bank officials commented “. . . if St. Louis Lutherans were behind the project, that was sufficient guarantee.” Beginning on November 11, the first day of the annual Lutheran Education Week, Chair Victor Eggerding started the three-week $500,000 fund drive in which twenty-nine congregations participated. Almost 1,500 men and women personally visited the members of their congregations to solicit subscriptions. The first drive garnered $275,000. The remaining debt was amortized through funds from the operating budget.