Sunday, June 6, 2010

Gutting St. Louis Centre

When I was going to high school -- in the years before CD was old enough to drive us there -- before I was old enough to have a job (even with a work permit) I took two buses a day to get there.

The first bus would let me off at 10th and Washington. I had to catch the second at 6th and Locust. If it sounds like there was some distance there, there was. I only mention it because I did some walking around Friday to see how the skybridge demo was coming and to get a closer look at the former St. Louis Centre which is being transformed into the Seventh Street Garage. I stood there, just across the street, transfixed on it for a few minutes.

For some reason, I thought about the many times I'd stood on that corner back when it was home to a Woolworth's store. Back before I'd be using the employee entrance to the old Famous Barr that was just across the street.

I'd been to that Woolworth's a bazillion times in my life. The mother and I had eaten lunch and shopped there when I was little. I only vaguely recall it being torn down though I vividly remember the construction of the mall. Funny how selective our memories can be sometimes.

At any rate, here's a few shots from the gutting of the center. The signage is now gone from over the entryway, the windows to its skyway are boarded up and the windows on the first few floors have been removed.

As I walked by, a guy was dismantling lights on the third floor. At first, I didn't see the guy, only the sparks from his blowtorch.

The camera's fabulous zoom fixed that for me! It made for kind of a cool shot.

3 comments:

Karen Anne said...

Do I miss Woolworths! You could take a break from shopping and have a nice egg salad sandwich on toast or a root beer float at the lunch counter.

toddjames said...

Great post, the architecture is at the st louis centre is truly stunning and allows for substantial improvement after gutted. My client, McGraw Hill offers some great architectural specifications resources too for everyone.

NV said...

Karen Anne -- you know, there are STILL days I'd love to have one of their club sandwiches. :-)