Comments on: Northwest Plaza; St. Ann, Missouri

By: paul

paul — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:54:06 +0000

sad only 5 stores left i was mad macys was supposed to close today they closed yesterday i wanted some good deals!!!!!!!!!!

By: 65impala

65impala — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 01:25:51 +0000

one last cruise night, lets pack that sucker like we did in the 80’s. lay some rubber rev up your motor crank up the stereos yell at girls and make the security chase us around the lot all night.

By: diana

diana — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:00:50 +0000

i live by northwest all my life ,as a teen we would walk up there and hang out with are friends ,i love the way it was ,then it went down hill after that they just had to put it in side and i hated it after that …..

By: Kyle Muldrow

Kyle Muldrow — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:36:14 +0000

Blogger and Mid-Century Modern architecture enthusiast Toby Weiss has posted a person recollection of NWP, as well as some information about groups formed on Facebook who are rallying around the mall. Check it out:

http://www.beltstl.com/2010/01/can-northwest-plaza-be-saved/#comments

By: 935

935 — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:38:23 +0000

I heard that as of Saturday,(01-16-10) Andrews International is leaving the mall to be replaced by Whelan Security. Also, since Macys is leaving it will leave only Sears and the tower on the property. This building at 1.8 million square feet is still the largest mall in the state of Missouri. The public perception is what killed it.
This could have probably been prevented had NWP put a little money into promoting itsself.
I worked security at NWP for 22 months. (12-07 to 09-09) It was like working for a dying grandparent. Sure there were times it got scarry, even at times dangerous. But No where near the danger some of the people would lead you to believe. One of the first questions I would get from people was “Isnt there a lot of crime?” I would reply, “Not really…there werent a lot of people there with money!” I saw store after store close. One of the first was Things Remembered to the last one to close when I worked there was “Journeys” The biggest danger at NWP was getting lost in the tunnels that were constantly open and unsecure.
One of the things I remembered about patrols was going through the old “Tilt” and thinking “Why doesnt someone do something with this. The full sized mini golf course was still there and could be operable with a minimum of effort. But alas, it was viewed as “A black mall” so no one was interested in the space. The food court was horrible, with only a KFC and Subway there. Bread Company was sorely missed after closing. They were trying but it was tough with the sparce crowds there. At the end of my time there, only the anchor stores were keeping regular hours. We would write up stores for opening late and closing early and it seemed like a useless effort. Doors were constantly broken. The garage door in the “Basement” used for deliveries was broken and in the open position for the last three months. Access to the old Venture headquarters was open pretty much till the end of my employment.
People may ask “Why wasnt more done to secure the premises?” The answer plain and simple…MONEY. The management wouldnt spend a nickle on the mall. When a door would break, it usually sat for weeks or months till fixed, usually with the door chained shut, or locked if it could be. Security vehicles were impossible to fix, most of the time they got fixed by a security officer or management. Tires were repaired a lot of times by officers. Most major repairs were put off until the money was brought up by management, only to pray for reimbursement that would be a long way, if not ever, coming.
I feel sorry for other officers who stayed after I left. Some really dedicated officers at the mall from what Ive heard are being offered embarassing wages, and virtually no benefits for jobs they have spent (In some cases) many years of dedicated service.
What killed the mall? The desire to milk every cent of profit out of it, and not put anything into it. And its a shame it had to die this way. It could have been prevented. But no one thought forward on it.

By: Linc

Linc — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 03:51:34 +0000

@Chip,

The top floor of the Sears is 90% empty only the part that is still open has power to it. When the 4th quarter for SHC comes out It will determine if the Sears will stay open till August or if it will close before. But it will close. Sad I like working there and I love the old Mall.

By: Linc

Linc — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 03:42:43 +0000

@lincoln,

Kyle Did you see in the news that Macy’s is pulling out of the mall? Sears is next! At this point I dont see them being there after February.

By: Chip

Chip — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 23:29:33 +0000

@Pseudo3D, The top floors of the Downtown Macy’s have never been updated. There are still 1930’s era tile floor numbers by the escalators

By: Pseudo3D

Pseudo3D — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:44:23 +0000

That article, which does NOT need to be reprinted here is important a few ways:

The mall has no “real” owner. Any and all redevelopment plans are impossible.

The city of St. Ann is looking to take the property via eminent domain and start completely over. The structures that may be left are Sears and the office tower, both 1960s structures.

The downtown Macy’s is closing four floors. Sad. This shows the history that will be lost. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83UYCFfd1g8

By: Kyle Muldrow

Kyle Muldrow — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:16:17 +0000

Here’s a link to the story of Macy’s closing at NWP:

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/050B88FACDAC363D862576A3000F6A49?OpenDocument#tp_newCommentAnchor