Centene Center
for
Arts and Education
Click here to learn more.
Office Space available...click here for information.
The Centene Center for Arts and Education, located at 3547 Olive Street in Grand Center, has been renovated through a collaborative effort of Owen Development, Grand Center, Inc. and the Arts and Education Council, the Master Lessee.
Join 14 arts organizations in a centrally-located, beautiful renovated building. Office space is still available. Click here to download current information or call Todd Roth at 314-289-4160.
Learn more about our rental opportunities and rates available to all.
History
The Centene Center for Arts and Education began its life in the late 1880s when Jacob Mahler built a dance studio. In 1906 Ann Hamilton Bailey deeded additional frontage space and in 1907 Archbishop John J. Glennon dedicated the new home of the Knights of Columbus with great fanfare and spectacle. This architectural masterpiece, designed by Baker and Knell, would become the showpiece for the Knights of Columbus for decades to come.
Later the structure served as home to the International Machinists Union and the Medinah Temple. After nearly twenty years without occupancy, dance and all the arts have returned to this space.
Many of the original architectural features have been preserved: the beautiful gothic-style white glazed terra cotta faηade, the corridors lined in Italian marble, the original tile and wooden floors, the elaborate ironwork all installed during the days of the Knights of Columbus Hall.
A New Beginning
Through the vision of Vince Schoemehl and the Grand Center Board of Directors, Steve Trampe and Owen Development, and the Arts and Education Council Board and Staff, a new home for the arts in Grand Center was formed.
Through the leadership gift of the Centene Charitable Foundation, the Centene Center for Arts and Education provides arts organizations state-of-the-art offices and technology.
Additional leadership gifts provide amenities for all arts organizations to enjoy:
The Pulaski Performance Terrace and Atrium
The Emerson Box Office
The May Council Hall, home of the Arts and Education Council
The Arthur and Helen Baer Visual Arts Galleries
The Gerdine Rehearsal Studio
The Dana Brown Rehearsal Hall
The Round Table in May Council Hall, supported by the Harry Edison Fund #2
The Laclede Conference Room
AT&T Foundation for additional technology
St. Louis Rams Huddle
Organizations housed in the Centene Center for Arts and Education:
Arts and Education Council
AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts)
aTrek Dance Collective
Bach Society of St. Louis
Cinema St. Louis
Circus Flora
Dance St. Louis
HotCity Theatre
Jazz St. Louis
Prison Performing Arts
River Styx
Springboard to Learning/Young Audiences
St. Louis African Chorus
St. Louis ArtWorks
The Centene Center for Arts and Education offers the tenants many amenities and resources to share including:
• Rehearsal and performance space
• Meeting and event space
• Multimedia capabilities
• Visual art galleries
• Box office
• An education center
• Storage space
• State-of-the-art technology
• Office equipment
• Kitchen
• Chat rooms
