Merchants Exchange Building (St. Louis)

The Merchants Exchange Building was a building at Third Street[1] at Chestnut and Pine in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1875 to 1958, that housed the St. Louis Merchants Exchange and hosted the 1876 Democratic National Convention.

The building was designed by Francis Lee and Thomas Annan, who placed second in a competition for the structure (the winner was George I. Barnett, but his work was considered too expensive).

During the American Civil War, members of the exchange split along North-South lines.

The second and third floors of the western half of the building had an iron truss system that supported the roof and created the largest open indoor space in the United States at the time of its construction (235 feet long and 98 feet (30 m) wide and 65 feet (20 m) tall), and thus was chosen for the 1876 Democratic National Convention, which was the first Democratic or Republican national convention held west of the Mississippi River.

At the same time of its construction, the Merchants Exchange also built the Eads Bridge across the Mississippi River.