Time Capsule: Northwest Plaza
Shannon Howard | Oct 23, 2009 | Comments 7
After decades of gradual decline and various owners, Northwest Plaza went into foreclosure this year and was sold on September 1. The new owners, a conglomerate of 17 pension and investment funds, say they will continue to maintain the mall and keep it open while searching for a new developer.
Visiting the mall today, it’s hard to believe that it was ever a thriving shopping center. But in fact, when Northwest Plaza opened in the 1960s, it was a stylish and vibrant destination featuring striking architecture and unique modern sculpture.
click on images for a larger view
Dinoland Tour, 1966
Filed Under: Time Capsule
I think I’m going to start crying with happiness over these photos! That b&w collage of photos is a memory revelation. Thank you for compiling them!
That T-Rex looks very much like the one that used to be near the Science and Natural History Museums in Clayton. Those museums closed when the Science Center opened on Highway 40…oops, I mean I-64…oh, who cares? It will always be 40 to me!
Thank you so much for posting these photos. Although I grew up in St. Charles, I went to Northwest Plaza many, many times and have so many wonderful memories of how it used to be. Thank for bringing those memories back to life!!
I love how the DINOSAURS sign is stretched over a Sinclair gasoline sign. Makes perfect sense! And thanks for this post…I grew up at (roofless) NW Plaza!
I have many happy memories of the old roofless Northwest Plaza and these photos brought a lot of lost ones back. My mom managed the Burger King on the lower level under the Famous Barr, which by the way, my grandfather designed the interior layout when he worked for May Company. My dad also worked at NWP in the general office for Venture Stores, another May Company offering, tucked in the tunnels and hidden underneath the shops. Friends of my grandparents owned Nosh A Rye, a Jewish deli and restaurant on the back side of the plaza next to the old Landmark Bank.
It was a sad day when the plaza became a mall and the spaces I knew so well became an arcade or were lost forever. There’s nothing like shopping during the holiday season ducking in and out of the cold air, and watching the light displays in the fountains, not to mention the Santa on top of the office tower. It was truly a magical place that has been lost to changing times.
I remember the fountains so well. My large family, (10 kids) was pretty poor then, and we would actually swim in the fountains… until we got caught and sent home! LOL
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