Part Vi. The Search For A New 
‘‘Permanent’’ Home, 1941-1956 
The Academy lost some of the momentum gained in the late 1930s 
after the outbreak of World War II. Nevertheless, it remained extremely 
active, under the circumstances, throughout the conflict. For example, 
the Academy published three lengthy articles despite the paper shortage. ! 
The main activity, however, was the struggle to begin a science museum 
in St. Louis that would also serve as the Academy’s home. 
The effort to start a museum was concentrated in the Board of 
Trustees and the Council. During the first two years of the war several 
proposals were drawn up—including the possibility of using the ground 
floor of the old courthouse building, which by that time was controlled 
by the National Park Service. However, this and other plans never jelled. 
In January 1943, the Board and the Council held a special meeting 
at #1 Portland Place, in what was called the Faust House. Chairman 
of the Board Stratford Lee Morton explained that the meeting was be- 
ing held in the house since there was a possibility that the structure might 
be obtained by the Academy.” 
The Faust House, an elegant 3-story mansion inspired by the Villa 
Borghese in Rome, was built by Mr. and Mrs. Edward A. Faust in 1911. 
They lived there until their deaths in 1936. Their son, Leicester Busch 
Faust, occupied the home from 1936 until 1938. 
When Leicester Faust moved from #1 Portland Place, he offered 
the property to St. Louis for use as a mayor’s residence. The city declined 
it, however, on the grounds that it would be too costly to maintain. 
The Academy approached Faust about possibly acquiring the building 
after the city turned it down, but these negotiations also fell through. 
In 1943, The Academy learned that the Faust heirs had decided 
to donate the residence to some worthy organization. When this came 
to light, Stratford Lee Morton contacted Leicester Faust and Faust 
promptly offered the house to the Academy with ‘‘no strings attached.”’ 
The building was in a residential area, however, which was an obstacle. 
Faust informed Morton that the residents of Portland Place had to con- 
sent to the Academy’s tenancy of the building. Faust wrote: 
We have discussed with you the current existing restrictions upon the 
use of the property in Portland Place and the necessity of either the 
modification of such restrictions by the residents of that Place or their 
consent to the proposed use.3 
Unfortunately, when the residents of Portland Place met to discuss 
the proposed use of the Faust House as a museum, some of them ob- 
jected on the grounds that the Academy appeared financially unstable. 
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