A little tale about American urban decay and rebirth: in the 1980s, the city authorities and private developers planned and built St. Louis Centre, which at the time was the largest downtown shopping mall in the U.S. It was a big hit at first but then withered. If you are interested in the whole story, take a look at the fascinating but somewhat morbid site deadmalls.com. Some pictures of the structure are here.The place became nearly vacant. The remaining tenants were mostly bottom-of-the barrel. This picture, taken about two years ago, is a window of a ground floor corner space, which was then occupied by an unappealing fried chicken and fish joint.
The Centre closed in 2006. However, it has been bought by St. Louis premier redeveloper, Pyramid Architects, which is transforming it into ground floor retail with luxury condominiums above. It will add to the resurgence of population downtown.
Tomorrow: Black and White Week Continues - Twain (not Mark)
