Not many families come around to play at the St. Luke’s Hospital Play Area anymore, Dr. Ted E. Bear informed me on a recent visit to Chesterfield Mall. Play areas were never this cool when I was young.
We chatted a bit, and I realized later my portrait of Dr. Bear actually ended up being a self-portrait due to the high sheen of his fur.
The expression on this friendly turtle’s face almost seems to be, “Can someone please play with me? I’m so desperately lonely.”
The entrance to the old Sears reminds me of the maw of the Planet Killer in the episode “The Doomsday Machine” from the original Star Trek back in 1967.
Architecturally, I always appreciated Chesterfield Mall, and I suppose with the absence of humans,? shop signs and merchandise interrupting the symmetry and clean lines of the composition, I can enjoy it more now.
Who left these trash cans in this manner? There is a certain elegance to their placement. Feng-shui? Something more mundane such as leaks in the skylights? Also, I didn’t realize Daoism played such an integral role in the renovation of the mall twenty years ago. There appears to be a giant yin-yang in the pavement of the central court I’d never noticed before.
Outside, there seems to be a masonry malfunction above the loading dock on the newest part of the mall, which will most likely survive the demolition of the rest of the building.
Here is the number to call if you’re looking for 500,000 square feet of retail space.
I’ve heard rumors that the AMC is going to undergo a renovation to keep up with the new upgrades at Marcus Theaters with their plush new recliners.
There is also plenty of free parking.
Update: In response to a reader request, here is an aerial photograph of the Chesterfield Mall site from the 1970-2 time period.
What do you think about the proposed redevelopment of the mall, Chris?
If they do it right, it could be very successful. Two of the wealthiest and highest-earning ZIP codes in the St. Louis region are adjacent to the site, so there is plenty of disposable income to be spent in the area. I have seen successful “town center” projects such as this in Reston, Virginia (Washington, DC) and Roseland, Illinois (Chicago).
There is also a great project like this in Kingwood, Texas, north of Houston. It started as a a town center mall rather than as an enclosed mall that was converted. I have seen other examples in Jackson, MS and Dallas.
Thanks for letting me know! It’s been years since I visited Houston, and I didn’t see the example you mentioned in Dallas when I was last there.
Do you have any idea what was removed to build the Chesterfield Mall? I know that Chesterfield was not nearly as populated as it currently is, so I suspect the developers bought a farm or two.
Great question! See the addendum above from the St. Louis County Open Government website aerial photograph of the land in 1970-2. It was indeed several farm fields. The 1937 aerial photograph revealed a large orchard on much of the site.