Academy met in another temporary setting—the St. Louis Public School 
Board’s building. These makeshift quarters proved unsatisfactory for 
a variety of reasons, and in 1876 the Academy made the first of several 
attempts to raise money to erect or buy a building of its own. 
This first effort, which was shared by the Missouri Historical Socie- 
ty, resulted in the acquisition of a building site on which a home for 
both was to be constructed. The Academy could not procure enough 
money to build, however, and was forced to sell its share in the land. 
After this failed attempt, the Academy carried on meeting in the 
Hall of Public Schools for the next twelve years before launching another 
campaign to acquire a home. This endeavor also failed, and the Academy 
moved to rooms at Washington University. In the 1890s the organiza- 
tion relocated to the Missouri Historical Society, which had by then 
secured a building. 
The Academy was grateful for its quarters at the Missouri Historical 
Society, but the accommodations there were also insufficient. The 
Historical Society provided a large meeting room and limited shelf space 
for the Academy’s many books, but the museum materials were stored 
in a basement and in other out-of-the-way places. '6 
The Academy made a new effort to obtain the much-desired build- 
ing at the turn of the century, but with little success at first. Then, in 
1903, the organization became the owner of a structure at 3817 Olive 
Street in St. Louis. After some rennovations, the building, a gift from 
Mrs. William McMillan and her son William Northrup McMillan, 
seemed more than adequate for the Academy’s purposes. For the first 
time in its nearly fifty years, the Academy owned a home of its own with 
a suitable place for its library and plenty of space to exhibit specimens. 
The Academy’s future had never looked brighter. 
