Jamestown Mall, MO

Jamestown Mall in the northern St Louis area (north of Florissant on Lindbergh) is a small mall; it appears to have been originally designed to serve a growing community of subdivisions that never quite materialized. Regardless of it's origins, I'm sad to report that Jamestown Mall is quickly on it's way to becoming a dead mall. Approximately 40% of the square footage is closed, with the remainder being mostly filled with small independent shops. The main draws are a Macys and a fabulously large JC Penney Outlet store.

For mall lovers like me, however, this place is purely beautiful. Both the interior and exterior speak of a classic 80s mall design. I was so impressed by the ceilings and large interior fountain with sculptures (that picture didn't turn out, unfortunately) that I found myself really saddened by the mall's slow death.



With the state Jamestown is currently in, I'm not going to bother with the traditional "Kiosk" rating system or listing pluses and minuses. There are few reasons other than an appreciation for mall history to visit Jamestown. It's out of the way and there are not many stores. The JC Penney outlet, while out of the way, offers much in the way of reasonably priced clothing (my wife was able to purchase 7 new shirts and a few other items for about $100), and if you have an interest in supporting independently owned specialty businesses, this mall might be worth a short trip.

St Claire Square Mall, Fairview Heights IL

St Claire Square is one of the first malls I visited in the St Louis area, back when my wife and I had first gotten married and long before I thought of moving here. The mall is an older mall, with many stores that have been there for decades. It has managed to remain lively and active; I only noticed two closed storefronts during my most recent visit, and it is full of shoppers on almost every visit.

Located just a few minutes from downtown St Louis across the river in Fairview Heights, just off of interstate 64, St Claire Square is easy to reach for visitors to the St Louis area, and provides a wide assortment of modern mall staples, such as Victoria's Secret, Macy's, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Hot Topic. Several older mall staples, such as RadioShack, Deb, and General Nutrition Center, can also be found here. One thing that impresses me about this mall is the size of some of the stores. In particular, I noticed the Justice and Forever 21 stores are massive compared to their counterparts in other malls I've reviewed (though, by contrast, their Layne Bryant is one of the smallest I've seen).




The food court is acceptable without being spectacular, taking it's cue from other St Louis area malls (or perhaps the other way around) with a Sbarro, Charley's Subs, and Panda Express. Also included are a place called Gyro Gyro, which I've not encountered in a mall before (guess what they sell) and a Quizno's subs, which is unusual in malls, at least those in the Midwest. Located off the food court is Hanley's Grill and Tap (keep meaning to eat there someday, looks good). Satellite stores include Casa Gallardo (a St Louis Mexican restaurant chain which is quite good), and a soon to open Qdoba. Many other restaurants and shopping venues are nearby.



One aspect of this mall which does not particularly stick out to me is the architecture and design. Internally, it's got an L-shaped layout, except for a couple small wings that lead a person to basically a dead end. The sky lighting is fine but somewhat overdone, and the white tile design which seems elegant in The Galleria is less impressive due to improper lighting.

In short, there is something for everyone in St Claire Square mall. Children (particularly girls) have many stores to interest them, and the clothing choices are both many and quite impressive. I recommend visitors to the area to try this mall if they've already seen many of the more iconic St Louis malls.

Pluses - A great many stores, many of which have a lot of square footage and thus a large inventory. A large variety of stores. Near many other shopping and dining venues.
Minuses - Design is nothing spectacular, traffic getting to the mall is a little nuts (if you're in the wrong lane getting off the highway, it can be almost impossible to get left when you need to).

I give St Claire Square mall 4 Kiosks.