St. Louis Galleria
Encyclopedia
The Saint Louis Galleria (or St. Louis Galleria) is a shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...

 in the St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 suburb of Richmond Heights
Richmond Heights, Missouri
Richmond Heights, a city in St. Louis County, is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 8,603 at the 2010 census. According to Robert L. Ramsay, the name was suggested by Robert E. Lee, who thought the topography of the area resembled Richmond, Virginia...

. The mall is owned and operated by General Growth Properties
General Growth Properties
General Growth Properties, Inc. is a publicly traded real estate investment trust in the United States. It is based in Chicago, Illinois at 110 North Wacker Drive, a historic building designed by architectural firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White...

. Originally the site of the Westroads Shopping Center anchored by Stix Baer & Fuller, the property was sold in 1984 to Hycel Properties, which demolished most of the mall (but not the Stix or North Wing which included Walgreens (demolished & now soon to close Mark Shale store) and built the Saint Louis Galleria. Dillard's
Dillard's
Dillard's, Inc. is a department store chain in the United States, with 330 stores in 29 states. Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Dillard's locations are concentrated in Texas and Florida; with a major presence in other states including Arizona, Iowa, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri,...

, which had acquired the old Stix chain, expanded the existing location at the same time, while retailer Mark Shale opened a major store.

In 1991, the building was expanded south of the Atrium. The Clayton Famous Barr store(now Macys)moved to the Galleria, and the May company also opened a Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor, colloquially known as L&T, or LT, based in New York City, is the oldest upscale, specialty-retail department store chain in the United States. Concentrated in the eastern U.S., the retailer operated independently for nearly a century prior to joining American Dry Goods...

 store on the south end. The addition also included an emergency electric generator that can supply limited lighting and monitoring functions (but not full operations) during a power failure. The mall receives external electric service from four points. It adapted the enclosed delivery corridor concept (but very little of the actual structure) from the Westroads design. Trucks enter on the south end and exit on the north end. The original loading dock for the Stix store (which remains in operation) is very similar in design to the loading dock at River Roads Mall
River Roads Mall
River Roads Mall was an enclosed shopping mall located in the city of Jennings, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Opened in the mid-1950s as one of the nation's first shopping malls, the mall declined in the 1990s, becoming a dead mall and eventually being shuttered...

, another Stix-developed shopping mall.

The Galleria hosts the flagship St. Louis stores of Gap Inc
Gap (clothing retailer)
The Gap, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008,...

, Urban Outfitters
Urban Outfitters
Urban Outfitters, Inc. is a publicly traded American company that owns and operates five retail brands: Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, and BHLDN....

, Janie and Jack, Pandora Jewelry and many other stores, including one of the metropolitan area's two Apple Stores. The shopping center has an independent movie theater with six screens.

The Galleria is where the first Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop is an American retailer headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri that sells teddy bears and other stuffed animals. Customers go through an interactive process in which the stuffed animal of their choice is assembled and customized during their visit to the store, and is the...

 opened in 1997 before it was a chain.

The below-ground food court was renovated just before the holiday season of 2005; local and regional restaurants were replaced with chain restaurants.

In 2006, two incidents between teenagers led officials on April 20, 2007, to require anyone under 16 to be accompanied by someone at least 21 years old on Fridays and Saturdays after 3 p.m.

In 2006, Nordstrom
Nordstrom
Nordstrom, Inc. is an upscale department store chain in the United States, founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin. Initially a shoe retailer, the company today also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishings...

 had announced plans to open a store on the site of the now-demolished Lord & Taylor store. In December 2008, the firm said it would delay opening of the store until 2011.

Recession hit Galleria sales hard in 2008. Jimmy'z and Mark Shale closed their Galleria outlets as a result of the recession. Richmond Heights, which gets half its revenue from sales taxes and for which the Galleria is the largest taxpayer, saw sales-tax receipts drop from $10.1 million in fiscal 2007 to $9.1 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2008.

On April 16, 2009, General Growth Properties
General Growth Properties
General Growth Properties, Inc. is a publicly traded real estate investment trust in the United States. It is based in Chicago, Illinois at 110 North Wacker Drive, a historic building designed by architectural firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White...

 and 158 of its properties filed for the largest real estate bankruptcy in U.S. history.

In 2010, store openings included a Saint Louis Bread Company, Five Guys
Five Guys
Five Guys is a fast casual restaurant chain focused on hamburgers, hot dogs, and French fries. Originating in Arlington, Virginia, the company's headquarters are now in Lorton, Virginia.-Food:...

 Burgers and the PANDORA Jewelry Store. In September 2010, the Saint Louis Bread Company suffered a minor fire. The restaurant was fixed, and reopened in less than 1 week.

Anchor stores

  • Dillard's
    Dillard's
    Dillard's, Inc. is a department store chain in the United States, with 330 stores in 29 states. Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Dillard's locations are concentrated in Texas and Florida; with a major presence in other states including Arizona, Iowa, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri,...

     (opened 1984, 330,000 ft²)
  • Macy's
    Macy's
    Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...

     (opened 1991 as Famous-Barr, became Macy's 2006, 265,000 ft²)
  • Nordstrom
    Nordstrom
    Nordstrom, Inc. is an upscale department store chain in the United States, founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin. Initially a shoe retailer, the company today also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishings...

    (opening September 23, 2011 on site of demolished Lord & Taylor)

External links

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