Update: Demolished in 2017. What was once probably a machine room for the Barry-Wehmiller Machinery Co. sits open to the elements, hosting everything from the remnants of the resale business to the remainder of a game of bowling.
Tag: Deserted
Abandoned Factory, Walnut Park #1
Update: Demolished in 2017. Situated on a quiet backstreet near West Florissant Avenue, the Barry-Wehmiller Machinery Co. sits in a state of increasing ruin. Later taken over in the 1990’s by a wholesale industrial product resale concern, it now sits abandoned, and filled with “stuff.” See an article here about the interior of the factory….
The Horseshoe, Completely Gone
Update: By February 2017, the area had been completely transformed beyond recognition, with a large storm water retention pond having been constructed. Other portions of the street have become a parking lot for a church. There has been substantial demolition of buildings on the streets around the Horseshoe, as well. I had the opportunity to…
Abandoned Delta Wing Gas Station, South Kansas City, Missouri
We think this gas station was still occupied but turned into a mechanic’s shop.
Northwest Plaza Exterior
Update: Most of the mall was demolished and portions were redeveloped. When will these walls coming crashing down, the victim of demolition? Will there be any memory of what was here fifty years from now? How could such a thriving place decline so rapidly? Was its hold on the retail market so tenuous? Update: May…
Sears, Northwest Plaza
I have a sentimental soft spot for the Northwest Plaza Sears, as its architecture is very similar to the mall I went to as a child in Saginaw, Michigan, Fashion Square Mall. I also realized that in some ways the architecture reminds me of Jabba the Hutt’s palace from third Star Wars movie. Perhaps a…
St. Louis Centre, Eviscerated
I decided to use the new St. Louis Centre Memorial Parking Garage last Friday. That was a big mistake. I had already seen the new exterior, but I wanted the opportunity to see the new parking garage built in the floors of the old mall. I must say, it is the most open, light-filled parking…
The Sun Sets on Crestwood Mall
Update: Demolished by 2016. Update: See the old Stix, Baer and Fuller at its prime. I stopped by the Crestwood Sears last Thursday, looking for some good going-out-of-business-sale deals. I found the store just about completely stripped of all of its merchandise. I spent a lot of time at Crestwood Mall in the early 1990’s,…
Northwest Plaza Famous Barr
Besides the Fairview Heights and South County stores, the Northwest Plaza Famous Barr is the third of the remaining signature domed departments stores. Much ado has been made of the enclosure of the original outdoor mall, but it is interesting to see that the anchors at the mall changed very little on the exterior. I’m…
Desolation and Southern St. Louis Place
Update: Demolished for the new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in 2017. The City of St. Louis cut ties with Paul McKee’s Northside in June of 2018. I recently was passing through the area of the worst demolition and desolation in St. Louis, where I had been almost four years before. Nothing has changed. To many St….