I have always had a soft spot for the Railway Exchange Building, that hulking, terracotta covered edifice rising right in the heart of downtown. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I learned through satellite images that the top floors of the office building portion of the structure has a large donut light well in the center. You can see it here.






Originally planned to be the headquarters of St. Louis’s railroads, it became the center for May Department Stores.

I long for the day when the skybridge is removed and the terracotta carefully replaced from the old St. Louis Centre.

Update: The skybridge has been demolished, and the building as of October 2015 sits largely empty.