I welcome correspondence about everyday urban landscapes--the places through which we move each day--as well as about changing expressions of memory and historical awareness in US and international cities. Find me via email or on Bluesky (@ericsandweiss.bsky.social).
My intellectual and professional path: Born at a young age. Grew up pronouncing Washington as 'Warshington' and 'four' as 'fahr.' Studied American folklore, literature, and history at Harvard,. Began a career in historic preservation in San Francisco in the 1980s. Cut this work short to train as an architectural historian at the University of California. Postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University's Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture, then Director of Research at the Missouri Historical Society, in my home town of St. Louis. Spent one decade of research, exhibitions, community programming, and general fun at MHS. Came to Indiana University as the inaugural Carmony Chair of History. Edited the Indiana Magazine of History for 18 years; served a term as History Department chair, joined founding board of the IU Environmental Resilience Institute, and spent two terms as founding Director of IU's graduate program in Curatorship.
Since retiring from the IU History faculty, I have joined my urban history and museum interests in service to the National Building Arts Center (NBAC), outside of St. Louis. With the nation's largest collection of architectural elements, NBAC tells the story of the craftspeople, laborers, architects, and artisans who created the fabric of urban America.
My most recent book, The Obits (2026), is a historical novel about urban life in 20th-century America.
The College of Arts + Sciences