Vanished North Side and County Institutions

Update: Shop ‘N Save was purchased by local supermarket chain Schnuck’s in 2018, and many of its stores were closed or rebranded.

Famous St. Louis institutions are what make the city unique. Sadly, many of those institutions are fading, one by one. Rinderer’s Drugs, long an institution in North City and North County, recently announced its sale to Shop ‘N Save.

Update: The Lewis and Clark Tower is now abandoned, condemned for occupancy.

The Top of Tower Restaurant, long closed, still retains its sign atop the circular apartment building that it called home. Read more about it here.

And finally, while many people might not consider it an institution since it was a national chain, Children’s Palace still maintains a place in my heart as the purchasing location of most of my toys in my childhood. Sadly, just the like the one in Manchester, the one on Hall’s Ferry is still sitting largely neglected and empty, over twenty years since the original store closed. Perhaps that was part of the problem: having stores no one could get to easily or were slightly off the beaten path.

10 Comments Add yours

  1. Angel says:

    The Children’s Palace location in North County was made into a roller rink called The Palace for a number of years. Higher crime caused much of the businesses on the North side of 270 to close. Olive Garden, Casa Gallardo, Red Lobster, the Halls Ferry 14 cinema and the Showbiz Pizza to name a few…

  2. Billy Bob says:

    Is this that same store?

    1. Chris Naffziger says:

      Yes, that’s the store. Technically it’s outside the boundaries of Ferguson, but it’s in the vicinity of that suburb of St. Louis.

  3. Donell says:

    I want to purchase The Palace rename it & bring back a all new skating rink.

    1. Chris Naffziger says:

      That would be cool! Looks like there’s still a sign on the side with the number to call if you’re interested in purchasing it.

    2. Aaron says:

      Is this Donell from the projects? I been thinking the same thing G.

      1. Chris Naffziger says:

        You guys should do it!

        1. Kevin Jordan says:

          I also been thinking about reopening it. Who own the building is the first question.

    3. Bree says:

      Me toooooooo!!!!!!!

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