The massive Railway Exchange Building on Olive
Macy’s has started the renovation and downsizing of the store in the Railway Exchange building on Olive Street downtown. Floor 6 and 7 have been vacated and the new store will eventually count three floors. The first floor will host women’s apparel, jewelry, cosmetics and shoes. The long-time candy counter will remain. The second floor will be home to men’s wear and Cardinal sports apparel as well as a luggage collection will be added. Women’s apparel, kid’s wear and home merchandise will be set up on the third floor. Macy’s says it will focus on loft-style and downtown living.
The total floor area will shrink from almost 700,000 to 200,000 square feet, more in line with Macy’s suburban stores. The St. Louis room on the sixth floor as well as Papa Fabarre’s on the second have fallen victim to the new format. There are no plans for a new restaurant.
Floors 4-7 will be developed by Bruce Development. A Fashion Incubator has been considered for this space. Macy’s will continue to use their offices on the 9th and 10th floors.
New to the store will be a Sunglass Hut department.
The bridge from the store to the parking garage is on the fourth floor so there won’t be direct access to the store from the garage once the renovation has been completed.
The current store still has the feel and smell of the former Famous-Barr and is definitely in need of a makeover. Let’s take a last tour of the store for old times’ sake:
An eerily quiet and dark 7th floor
The 6th Floor has been largely vacated
Narrow and wood-paneled escalators on the 6th floor
Beautiful Art Deco details on sixth floor
The Empire State Building's escalators are identical
Bridge to parking garage
Papa Fabarre's no more
A last view of skyline photo collage
The second floor will host men's wear and Cardinals gear
Incredible detail from a bygone era
The current first floor from escalator
Sunglass Hut department coming to new Macy's
The Railway Exchange is cladded with intricate Terra-Cotta detail.
What was once this........
.....will be transformed into this.
Nice to see the photos, but it makes me sad to be honest. I do not always think new means improved, and I liked the old Famous and Barr. I loved the Southtown store as well as the Clayton store… both terrific examples of department store architecture and they are gone. My parents used to take me to the downtown Famous Barr store, and I have lots of fond memories about the Christmas decorations, the candy counter and bakery, the restaurants, and all those floors of shopping. I love the bronze and wood details that are so moderne and wonderful. I worked in the store just after I graduated from college until I got married and moved away. I hate to see all those wonderful details get ripped up and replaced with gaudy fake details, (remember when they re-did the Esquire….. why, pray tell, take an authentic deco theater and make it into a neo-fake one?) I used to go to the Ambassador, torn down so the bank can have a patio…. great use of space, (NOT), the Arcade Building (Sitting and rotting), Stix Baer and Fuller, (missed and swallowed up by DIllard’s), and the other downtown stores. I loved the old Bissengers on McPherson. I loved the Landing before it got trashed by giant casinos, and anyone remember terra-cotta row? I believe that is gone as well, even though it was considered to be one of the most important streets, architecturally speaking, in the US. I am glad to see that Macy’s is not closing the store, but to be honest, I am not in love with the idea of all our great and old St. Louis companies being taken over by other corporations. Remember Ozark Airlines, TWA, Pet, Purina, Anheuser Busch, Nooter Corp, and too many other names to print, all gone. And once it is gone, then what. I can’t believe it took so long to re-open Kiel Opera House. Thank goodness they did not tear that down. I grew up in the St. Louis area. I moved away when I was 25, and after 20 years of living elsewhere I moved back. I feel like Chrissie Hynde when she sang/bemoaned that her “City was Gone” I have lived in enough other cities to say that St. Louis is pathetic in protecting it’s architectural heritage. Cleveland does better. Not everything can be saved, but it astounds me that they make a huge deal of saving old warehouses to make lofts, (which is nice), but tear down important buildings like The Ambassador, and The Century. Does anyone even realize that the Wainwright building was NOT the only Adler-Sullivan building in St. Louis? It is now, but there were several at one time. Again, thanks for the photos, but I am straining to see that it will be a genuine improvement, rather than more stripping away of St. Louis architectural character.