NORTHLAND CENTER
West Florissant Avenue and Lucas and Hunt Road
Jennings, Missouri

One of the earliest regional shopping centers in metropolitan Saint Louis opened in August 1955. It was located 7 miles northwest of the downtown area, in the "North County" suburb of Jennings, Missouri.

NORTHLAND CENTER was not a shopping mall, per se, but is being inducted into the Mall Hall Of Fame because of its sheer size (at the time, among the largest of America's suburban shopping complexes), its stunning 'Mid Mod" architectural details and its unique design.

The 60 acre complex was developed by the Saint Louis-based Nooney and Company; Russell Mullgardt, Schwartz and Van Hoef were its architects.

NORTHLAND was, in essence, a strip shopping center, but was complex, and clever, in layout. It was anchored by a huge, Saint Louis-based Famous-Barr, from which its three store blocks extended.

The first (on the Upper -front-facing- Level) was connected to the north side of Famous-Barr. The second (also a part of the Upper -front-facing- Level) was on Famous Barr's south side. A Lower -rear-facing- store block was situated below the entire Upper Level of the shopping center and also had a single-level wing stretching to the northwest.

The NORTHLAND Famous-Barr was the department store chain's first shopping center location. The 5-level (331,000 square foot) store was almost as large as the downtown flagship and was nearly twice the size of any of the suburban stores that followed it. Its interior was done in grand style, with fine wood paneling and floors of marble.

All retail spaces of the open-air shopping center were air-conditioned, which -in 1955- was still considered something of a luxury. Moreover, there was ample parking in the upper and lower level lots.

NORTHLAND opened with forty-five stores, including an S.S. Kresge 5 and 10, Walgreen Drug, Pope's Cafeteria and Lerner Shop. A bowling alley was added to the Lower Level, Northwest Wing. There were also several outparcel structures, such as Schnucks Foods, Goodyear Tire and Auto and 3-level Medical Center (which eventually became an office complex).

The first retail competitor in the area, RIVER ROADS MALL (1961), 1.5 miles east of NORTHLAND, was also in Jennings. Next, came NORTHWEST PLAZA (1966). It was located 6 miles west, in unincorporated St. Ann. JAMESTOWN MALL, 6 miles north, near Florissant, was completed in 1977. Even with all of its regional retail rivals, NORTHLAND prospered.

The situation began to change by the late 1980s, when the demographics of the area surrounding the center had shifted. By the early 1990s, the once-fabulous Famous-Barr was a derelict, delapidated shadow of its former self.

The national chain mall merchants had long since vacated. Space in the center was now leased by smaller, local retailers. In 1994, Famous-Barr pulled out; a blow from which the thirty-nine year-old shopping center could not recover.

NORTHLAND, once a regional-class shopping venue, was now more on the level of an over-sized, community retail center. Its nearest interstate highway connection, over 1 mile south, left it not within easy access of the surrounding population. It wasn't long before its owners, the Saint Louis-based Sansome Group, began to view it as an obsolete, dinosaur structure.

And so, the typical, oft-repeated scenario was underway. A unique, architecturally-significant, mid-20th century retail center had outlived its -perceived- usefulness. No consideration was given to its importance as an historic structure, well worthy of restoration.

It was not old enough to benefit from any mandated preservation effort. In April 2005, it had its destiny date with the wrecking ball. The site is now home to a rather mundane power center, PLAZA ON THE BOULEVARD.

As an adjunct here, anyone wanting to read more detailed accounts of NORTHLAND CENTER- or wanting to see photographs of the grand, mid-century modern shopping complex -should consult Toby Weiss' splendid tribute website "Toby Weiss' Northland" [ www.tobyweiss.com ] or Rob Power's "Built Saint Louis / Northland" [ www.builtstlouis.net ].

Sources:

www.builtstlouis.net/northland
www.tobyweiss.com
"Northland Center" article on Dead Malls.com / Ed Franke's Commentary
"The Final Sale - The decision to Close the Famous-Barr Northland Store" / Saint Louis University John Cook School Of Business, Emerson Center for Business Ethics / International Journal of Case Studies and Research / Volume 5, Number 1, 1997 / Jim Fisher, Dr. Mark J. Arnold and John T. Rueue