Maplewood History: The Rise and Fall of the Maplewood K-Mart

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Thanks to Newspapers.com.

The Rise

The Fall

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 7, 1997

Thanks to Newspapers.com.

Shortest post I’ve ever made.

Doug Houser       October 16, 2022

10 COMMENTS

  1. So I’m curious: what eventually went in to the original, smaller Shop ‘n Save space three blocks to the east?

    • Toni, You must be thinking of the building that now houses the Schlafly Bottleworks. I know that Kroger was in there in the 1950s and probably the 60s. I’m fuzzy on whether or not Shop’N’Save was there later.

  2. Once Goldies burnt down, the downtown shopping district began slowly to go downhill, many people stopped shopping the small town stores and opted for the malls in the county. I remember when the parking garage under Kmart had to have structural support installed in between pillars which were poorly poured. When cars would go over the whole structure shook. At the end larger chunks of concrete were breaking up. I don’t think it was built well to begin with.

  3. I remember that garage well. I grew up in Brentwood in the 70s and 80s, and yes Maplewood was pretty rundown back then. The garage, I remember when you walked on the upper level how you could feel the structure vibrating and shaking when cars drove by.

    • Todd, There are others who share your memory of the K-Mart garage. It seemed to have been rather poorly built.

  4. I remember 40 years ago moving here and having my family asking me what I was doing moving to Maplewood. They thought it was such a rundown place and often pointed to the Kmart store as a place only poor people shopped at. I never did ask but maybe for them Walmart or Venture or Target were upgrades? My kids used the lower parking lot area a lot on Sundays when it was pretty empty and raining outside. We would be riding bikes down there, roller blading sometimes playing wiffle ball with the neighbor kids.

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