What Is the International Fur Exchange Building?
Now the Drury Plaza Hotel, this was the world’s largest raw fur exchange!
What Makes It Historical?
Luckily for us beavers, furs are not as in vogue today as in the early days of the country. In fact, back in the early 1800s, expanding the fur trade was a big incentive for the Lewis & Clark expedition! St. Louis itself had been founded as a fur trading post in 1764, being at the confluence of the massive Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, and by 1896, the city had claimed its dominance as the leading market for North American furs!
This building was part of the second wave of fur trading, which was interrupted by the decline of beavers and the embrace of silk. In the late 1800s, two new commission firms opened up: the F.C. Taylor Company and Funsten Bros., and these took full advantage of new fashion trends at the start of the 20th Century. For one thing, fur became outside fashion instead of just coat liner, creating a new demand for minks, skunks, raccoons, and opossums as far north as Alaska! Speaking of Alaska, the U.S. Government took ownership of a fur seal colony in the Pribiloff Islands and nearly drove them to extinction by leasing hunting rights!
By 1910, 70% of all furs trapped in North America were sold in St. Louis, and the leader of Funsten Bros, Philip Fouke, not only scored a monopoly on all sealskins from the Pribilof Islands but also merged with F.C Taylor to become the International Fur Exchange. In 1919, the Exchange hired architect, George Hellmuth, to build a 7-story commercial warehouse building, where buyers could view pelts and bid on them in one place. But then World War I took a big bite out of the fur industry, and within one year of their huge building opening, the International Exchange split into the Funsten Bros and Fouke Fur Company, which persisted in selling sealskins and fox pelts in gradually smaller amounts until the 1980s.
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Stay the night in the Drury Plaza Hotel St. Louis At The Arch!
- Donate to the State Historical Society of Missouri!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
2 S 4th St
St. Louis, MO 63102
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
Whenever the mood strikes you!