I’d never been over to St. Clair Square Mall, and I wanted to view this important component of sprawl out of East St. Louis in the 1960’s. The old Famous Barr dome brings back memories of the now lost West County Mall counterpart, though I found the latter more elegant.
Brutalism abounds, as can be seen in the JC Penny, which in its shear size and massive bulkiness almost pulls off a certain level of beauty.
I like the clean shadows and lines cast by the corner of the department store as well.
The Sears continues the trend, as well. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this mall was how it had seemed to completely weather the economic storm that has closed so many other malls built at the same time on the Missouri side. Renovated recently, the mall, much like West County and South County Malls, seems to have been judged by the shopping center gods as healthy, and will not be a victim of triage as other malls have seem to fallen victim.
