Last week I photographed the interior of the structure that formerly housed St. Louis Centre for the first time since the closure of the Pyramid Companies in 2008. I had avoided going there because I knew it would be a depressing experience, which it was. Before posting those photos, I realized that I last posted about the Centre's short lived good years.
As most of you know, by the mid 1990's St. Louis Centre was on a non-stop down hill slide, never recovering from the opening of the expansion of the St. Louis Galleria in suburban Richmond Heights in 1991. The Galleria, which had opened as a redevelopment of the 1955 Westroads Shopping Center in 1986 more than tripled in size with over 100 new stores, the opening of St. Louis' first Lord & Taylor and a new flagship Famous Barr which moved from Forsyth Boulevard in Clayton. Other retailers along Forsyth similarly went into a downward spiral.
In 1996 St. Louis based retailing giant Edison Brothers Stores, which was headquartered in what is now known as One Financial Plaza just east of St. Louis Centre, filed for bankruptcy. As Edison Brothers closed hundreds of stores across the country, its St. Louis Centre stores including Oak Tree, Jeans West, The Wild Pair, and 579 all closed, while newer stores at the Galleria remained open for several more years before the company was liquidated in 1999.
Another major blow to St. Louis Centre was the conversion of the Dillards from a conventional department store to a clearance center. The store, which Associated Dry Goods had originally been planned for the 1985 mall opening as a completely renovated Stix Baer & Fuller with six sales floors was reduced to a three story Dillards (purchased SBF in 1984) before St. Louis Centre even opened. By 2001, the clearance center had been shrunk to the ground floor only, and closed entirely.
By 2005 only a handful of retail tenants remained in St. Louis Centre, including Walgreens, Payless Shoes, GNC, T-Mobile, and a few others. The food court was empty except for the Chick-Fil-A, Sbarro and a Chinese Express. It was only a matter of time until the failed mall would be sold for redevelopment.
In August 2006, Pyramid Companies finally closed on the purchase of St. Louis Centre from Barry Cohen. When Pyramid first contemplated purchasing the mall a year earlier, the head of commercial development had intensions to demolish the building and start over. I convinced him that the structure of the building, which was barely 20 years old was not only sound, but that the 30 foot by 30 foot bays and 15 foot ceilings, made the building very flexible for a variety of new uses.
And thus began a two and half year merry-go-round ride of looking at several different condo schemes, a residential tower addition, a new theater for the Black Rep, and the last stop in early 2008, a 40,000 s.f. ballroom for the America's Center. These photos were taken a few weeks after Pyramid Companies closed the mall permanently on September 15th 2006, just one month after its 21st birthday.
Is this what it currently looks like on the inside (the top few photos)? I've been peaking in the windows for a quite a while, it looked to me like it was a gutted empty space prepped for parking and first floor retail?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post, big fan of this blog!!
Chris, all of these photos are from early October 2006. I will be doing another post probably next week with current photos of the new ground floor retail and the current state of the upper floors.
ReplyDeleteI was only there once and so happy that Downtown was back up and alive. I had not thought about it since. I was in STL during the time when everyone shopped downtown and went on the bus or streetcar. Times have changed. I see now where it might be a parking building for 750 cars. Really sad. My hometown is falling in hard times. I like the blog here, thanks!
ReplyDeleteTim/Eugene Or.
Having been to many large cities in the US and around the world, there are so many stores and attractions that this mall could acquire to become the best in the Midwest again. However, after recent communications with PR of Union Station, I see the St. Louis Mall as a threat to what was once or ever could be at Union Station. If I had the money, or an organization that pooled large sums of money together for the purpose of improving STL, I would have this mall back on its feet and profitable in less than 2 years. The thing with most property owners, is that they like to buy these fantastic properties and hold them, thinking that one day they will be worth trillions. What they don't see and understand is that the more they do not develop them, the more the rest of the area goes into a decline and their property values decreases. I remember going the St. Louis Mall when I was young and then it closed and I doubt that it will be redone in my lifetime.
ReplyDeleteFun times growing up in St Louis at this Mall, Mrs Hullens cakes to 4th floor food court, even Sears portraits, a lot of memories were created here. I recently heard its been changed into condominiums and a theatre.
ReplyDeleteThe Galleria isn't what killed St. Louis Centre.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/mtqfvZx6--Q?t=47s
Video says it all. Why we quit going there.
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