Shopping is always popular in St. Louis because this is the Midwest and we’re bored. We also like to look our best just in case we happen to run into John Goodman at a restaurant.
We’ve been thinking recently about all of the places we used to love to shop at that have disappeared from the local landscape.
Some of these spots were St. Louis originals, some of them are chain stores that were particularly hot in our area, but all of them are missed dearly. Shopping just isn’t what it used to be the age of Amazon, and these are the places we remember most fondly.
Library Ltd.
Library Ltd. hopped around St. Louis a bit before landing on the corner of Forsyth Boulevard and Hanley Road in Clayton. The beloved bookstore was unlike any other in town because the selection was outstanding. While at chains like Borders you’d find the same stuff in stores across the nation, Library Ltd. always carried weird St. Louis-specific books along with a huge ever-changing collection of photography books and the hottest titles of the time. The multi-level store was wonderfully quiet, and the employees didn’t mind if you camped out all day researching something for your college paper or just getting lost in your favorite book. It was the perfect cross between a bookstore and a library.
Streetside Records
If you wanted a record store with a great selection that had none of the annoying record store vibes, Streetside Records was your favorite place in St. Louis. Instead of hiring only music nerds, this place also hired kids who were happy to help customers — but also happy to goof off a bit, too. The CD selection was primo and because they bought CDs off of the public, the selection was always changing, too. It was like each Streetside location had a whole new inventory each week, which kept St. Louis shoppers coming back for more. This photo shows the ones that was on the Loop, near the Tivoli. (RIP to the Tivoli, too.)
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Famous-Barr
Every St. Louisan of a certain age has fond memories of visiting the Famous-Barr location in downtown St. Louis on the corner of Olive and North Sixth streets. It was the first air-conditioned department store in the country and considered a cosmopolitan destination back in the golden age of downtown when it was bustling with business and shoppers. Hundreds of people shuffled past the big display windows each day on their way to work, with many stopping to stare at the enchanting designs. Sadly, that magic didn’t last. Famous-Barr was sold to Macy’s in 2006 and Macy’s closed the downtown store in 2013.
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Union Station Mall
Union Station is still open and thriving, thank goodness, but the Union Station Mall experienced a slow, painful death. It opened in 1985 after a $150 million renovation of the former train station, with amenities including a hotel, restaurants and a food court. But the mall couldn’t survive the retail apocalypse and the stores closed one by one. The space has since been redesigned to host something much better, though: the St. Louis Aquarium.
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Nagle’s
Nagle’s loved weirdos and weirdos loved Nagle’s. The Florissant five-and-dime stayed strange to the end, too. When it closed in 2016, long-time shoppers flocked to the store to score discounts on everything from lava lamps to a farting alarm clock. Back in the 1980s, this bizarro shop was the best spot in town to get Troll dolls. They had every kind available and in every color, too. It was also the best place to stop if you were throwing a party because the balloon section was huge and there were so many gift options.
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National
St. Louis grocery shoppers are currently split into two gangs: Team Schnucks and Team Dierbergs. Team Schnucks says their stores are the best because they’re affordable and they’re everywhere (even, gasp, the city). But Team Dierbergs says they’re the best because they’re not actually expensive anymore, but they still provide a slower, more relaxed grocery-buying experience.
But back in the day it was National stores that were the kings of St. Louis. This cheap grocery chain had everything, and it was all dirt cheap. They even had their own line of inexpensive basics. The Nationals stores were sold to Schnucks in 1995 and our wallets have been crying about it ever since.
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St. Louis Centre
When it opened in 1985, St. Louis Centre was the largest urban shopping mall in the entire country. The downtown mall had more than 150 stores and 20 restaurants inside and not only did it have a Dillard’s and a Famous-Barr, it was also the corporate headquarters of the May Company — the company that owned Famous-Barr. The mall was very popular until the St. Louis Galleria was redeveloped in 1991. St. Louis Centre survived all the way until 2006, when the struggling ol’ girl was finally put out of her misery.
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Northwest Plaza
Northwest Plaza opened in 1965 and was once the largest shopping center in the world. Designed by Louis Zorensky, it was originally an open-air mall that featured four department stores, 210 shops, a movie theater and 9,000 parking spots. Northwest Plaza closed in 2010.
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Crestwood Mall
This is definitely the most-missed dead mall in the entire St. Louis area. Always crawling with teenagers, Crestwood Mall was the perfect place to loiter during the golden era of “meet you at the mall.” Opened in 1957, it was the first major mall in the St. Louis area and it lived on (in some form or another) all the way until May 2016, when it was demolished. The land it was on sat unused for a long time, but now it’s the hottest property in Crestwood with a brand new Dierbergs built on the spot with an expensive new neighborhood of McBride Homes being built right next door to it.
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Jamestown Mall
Jamestown Mall was once the hottest place to be in Florissant but it’s now one of the area’s most missed dead malls. It was half-dead long before its closure in 2014 but for a while there, it had everything. It had Sears, Famous Barr and Stix, Baer & Fuller as anchor stores and there was a movie theater, too. Old ladies loved to grab lunch upstairs in the restaurant at the Dillard’s and kids loved to kick it on the main level at Aladdin’s Arcade. The inside of the mall was filled with large sculptures and plenty of greenery, giving it a uniquely lush look for a retail location.
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Screengrab via
Google Maps
Herman’s Toggery
All of the fanciest men in town used to shop at Herman’s Toggery. Located in the heart of Maplewood, Herman’s was the best place to shop if you were on a mission to look dapper. They had suits displayed in the windows and a large selection inside. You’d probably have to save up before a visit, though. Herman’s was not necessarily known as affordable.
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@vanishingstl / Flickr
Stix, Baer & Fuller
Stix, Baer & Fuller was St. Louis’ favorite department store. Most people couldn’t afford the high-end fashions offered there, but that didn’t stop them from getting dressed up and going downtown to pretend like they could afford them. (The first location was on Washington Avenue between Sixth and Seventh streets and it took up an entire city block.) The store was high-style, too, with a gorgeous interior and an opulent atmosphere. The
