I have already thought this out well before coming across an article during research to locate all the mall properties listed further in this post, The Life and Death of Great St. Louis Malls, by Next SLT is such an in depth, well written article summarizing were shopping trends rose and fell over time in specifically in the city of St. Louis, although the trend rings true with Kansas City, or pretty much any major city over time. Most to all of the malls in the cities of St. Louis and Kansas City seem to be closed, gone, or repurposed and now have settled to only a few major shopping meca's around the vicinity from the point of downtown out.
What I see it as the spirit of the mall is pretty much est. 90% dead in the state of Missouri based on my research and what I have seen in this area over any other, although nowhere malls are is perfect in terms of customers and business, but how many are built in one area and now all seem to be gone.
The number of malls that were developed in the state and around the major cities like St. Louis, and Kansas City around the suburbanization boom of the 50s, that lead into future mall development into the 60s and 70s, even going into the 80s are now a shadow of what once was a booming market of the industry. The first real shopping center outside of downtown opened way before the idea of urban sprawl was thought of, the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri opened in 1922 followed by the opening of Northland Mall in Jennings in 1955, a year before the first enclosed mall in Edina, Minnesota opened in 1956.
Fast forward to the 70s, all the surrounding suburbs of the major cities were opened and bustling with stores and business in what seems to be a perfect combination of attraction and family fun, think of it as a shopping theme park, with bags of consumer goods being the prize.
By the 80s, ideas were dried up and developers needed something to keep people coming back, the idea wasn't dead yet, but changing directions with the concept was in question leading into the 90s and the start of Internet sales that leads to what we coin the name "dead mall".
There is no other way to put it than by saying that in the mid-2000s, state malls began to experience a total collapse, Bannister mall in Kansas City and Crestwood Court and Northwest Plaza in St. Louis.
Kansas City, Kansas mall culture
Open-
Town Center Place- Leawood
Oak Park Mall- Overland Park
Legends Outlets Kansas City- Kansas City
Dead-
Metcalf South Center- Overland Park; closed September 2014.
The Great Mall of the Great Plains- Olathe; closing late 2015?
Gone-
India Springs Mall- Kansas City; closed 2001.
Kansas City, Missouri mall culture
Open-
Zona Rosa- Kansas City
Independence Center- Independence
Ward Parkway Center- Kansas City
Summit Fair Mall- Lee's Summit
Crown Center- Kansas City
Dead-
Metro North Mall- Gallatin (Kansas City); closed April 2014
Gone-
Bannister Mall- Kansas City; closed May 2007.
Antioch Center- Kansas City; closed 2012
Blue Ridge Mall- Kansas City; closed 2001?
St. Louis, Missouri
Open-
South County Center- St. Louis
West County Center- Des Peres
St. Louis Union Station- St. Louis
St. Louis Galleria- Richmond Heights
Taubman Prestige Outlets- Chesterfield
Plaza Frontenac- St. Louis
Chesterfield Mall- Chesterfield
Mid-Rivers Mall- St. Peters
St. Louis Mills- Hazelwood
St. Louis Premium Outlets- Chesterfield
Dead-
Jamestown Mall- Florissant; closed July 2014.
Crestwood Court- Crestwood; closed July 2013.
Gone-
St. Louis Centre- downtown; closed 2006.
River Roads Mall- Jennings, closed 1995.
Northland Mall- Jennings; closed 2005?.
As I previously stated, any area is like this, one mall is always replaced by the next, and of course there is still pretty of choices shop at area both cities, but Missouri to me makes for the best example on what might be the future we are all trying to predict on what will come after the mall is gone.
Thank you for reading and remember to ask questions and post comments below.
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