urbanSTL

Or the City Museum. They have great exhibits on St. Louis architecture, etc.

Tysalpha wrote:

JMedwick wrote:Hmm... well it is a nice move to at least keep the 4 on the corners, but really I would argue that the signage on the awnings makes the addtional bronze macy's signage unessisary.



Do you know what will happen the the bronze FB plates that are being removed? Macy's should be required to keep them/ donate them so they are not lost.

A nice gesture would be to donate them to the St. Louis collection at SLU, the Mercantile Library at UMSL, or even the Missouri History Museum.

Or donate at least one to me. It would look sweet in my garage with my vintage signs and license plates.



I'm just dreaming...and kidding. Seriously, I think the plaques should be donated to the places you suggested. Perhaps the Missouri History Museum could make it part of a retail exhibit, along with items from other ghosts of Saint Louis retail past...

A nice gesture would be to donate them to the St. Louis collection at SLU, the Mercantile Library at UMSL, or even the Missouri History Museum.

How about The Famous Bar?

^The place on Chippewa? Great idea! I'm sure they would love it (although the sign is probably bigger than the whole bar).

According to Fox 2 news, the brass plates will remain on the building, as a tribute to the Famous Barr name and its presence/history in downtown. Thank you, Macy's!

Does anyone know what happened to (I don't even know if they ever existed) the Stix or Dillard's Plaques?

stlmike wrote:Does anyone know what happened to (I don't even know if they ever existed) the Stix or Dillard's Plaques?

Did Stix have plaques on their downtown store? I was too young when it changed over to Dillards to notice (or appreciate) something like that. I'd love to know if anyone kept some of the outdoor lightbox signage for Stix, though -- I always thought it was cool the way they did their logo in lights, too, not just the company name.

^ My memories of SB&F are vague, because I was only 10 years old when the transition from SB&F to Dillard's began. I don't remember whether or not the plaques were there when I was young, but I recently saw a picture in which SB&F plaques similar to those presently on the Famous-Barr exterior walls were visible.



What happened to those plaques, or any other notable fixtures, is anyone's guess.

Workers were all over the ol' Railway Exchange this morning; they're removing all the windows to redo the framing and stripping paint from iron ornamentation. Macy's appears to be taking the streetfront very seriously.

It is nice to hear about improvements. This is encouraging. Sounds like they really do intend to keep the downtown store. Not just pretend to for awhile and then close it.

Expat wrote:It is nice to hear about improvements. This is encouraging. Sounds like they really do intend to keep the downtown store. Not just pretend to for awhile and then close it.

Which is what I think a lot of us feared. But they wouldn't be putting money into it if they were ready to give up. Funny, I was afraid Macy's wouldn't appreciate our market the way the "local" company did. But maybe May actually had taken St. Louis for granted. That certainly could explain why St. Louis never got the cool merchandise other supposedly "more sophisticated" markets got.

I noticed that the landmark Carson, Pirie, & Scott (sic) department store in Downtown Chicago is closing, due to slow sales.

^ That is very sad to hear. I just read an article.



http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/ ... TE=DEFAULT



That really is one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever seen and probably the most ornately decorated exterior any store has ever had. One of Louis Sullivan's masterpieces.



One quote struck me:

Just as it was a lot easier to find someone lamenting last year's announcement that The Berghoff Restaurant would close after more than a century than it was finding someone who still ate there regularly, so, too, the store's owner said shoppers weren't flocking to the State Street store the way they used to.

Let's not let this happen in St Louis! If you like something, go there and support it! Don't take it for granted!

It's ironic that store is closing since State Street has undergone something of a Rennaissance in the last dozen years. I'm guessing the deciding factor was that CPS's flagship couldn't compete with Marshall Field's a few blocks away.

I used to work right across the street from the State Street Carson Pirie Scott. It was a dump then and I am sure it hasn't improved. I am not at all surprised that it is closing. I would always go next door to Marshall-Field's, which honestly really wasn't that much better. The State Street stores were never well-maintained, have both gone through ownership changes, and simply can't compete with the wide selection of upscale stores along the Magnificent Mile that are only about a 5-10 minute walk away.

jlblues wrote:I used to work right across the street from the State Street Carson Pirie Scott. It was a dump then and I am sure it hasn't improved. I am not at all surprised that it is closing. I would always go next door to Marshall-Field's, which honestly really wasn't that much better. The State Street stores were never well-maintained, have both gone through ownership changes, and simply can't compete with the wide selection of upscale stores along the Magnificent Mile that are only about a 5-10 minute walk away.

I disagree. While it might not be the greatest department store, it never amazed me by how good of deals I could get there everytime I went. Plus, the building itself is beautiful, inside and out. I remember in the shoe department looking at the old tile flooring that had been restored, with bay windows looking out onto State St. downtown. This is so sad.



It sounds like the closing had nothing to do with Marshall Fields / Macy's. Instead, they had been losing money for quite some time, while State St. continues to get more attractive and popular. I guess the price was right, but I sure am sad.



I hope everyone here supports the downtown Macy's in St. Louis - It really needs support to stay open.



On a side note, I was in the Marshall Field's on State St. in Chicago yesterday, and I saw they had a big picture/sketch showing parts of downtown STL, Chicago, and New York all combined. Pretty cool! I guess these are the new large markets that Federated is taking over?

Great idea! No telling what Macy's has planned for the Christmas season for the downtown store!



Visited the first floor today and there are some big changes taking place. New bronze Macy's plaques are placed all around the building except for a couple Famous ones left up. The appear to be completing renovating the display windows. I've heard that Macy's will expand the footprint of the upper floors all the way out to the exterior windows. If this happens, think about the views while shopping of downtown!

KTVI had footage of workers installing the new Macy's plaques on the 6PM news tonight. It looks as though workers simply drilled at the edges of the original Famous Barr and Co. plaques and installed the new Macy's plaques over them..



After watching the Cardinals tonight, we took a drive around the store to see the finished result. IMHO it looks classy- as if the signs have always been there. And yes, the original plaques still grace all four corners of the building.



The rooftop signage is illuminated at night- just as the Famous-Barr lettering was- and it looks great. I'm not sure why it's off-center, but then the base on which the Macy's letters are mounted has always been slightly off-center, even when the Famous-Barr lettering was in place.



I haven't been in the store in about a week or so, so I'm looking forward to checking it out next Friday during the block party, to see more of the changes made inside!

On the way home from seeing a movie at the Hi-Pointe and eating at Olympia (I love that place), I saw the new Macy's sign on the Galleria. It was off-center as well. It was also lit pretty well.

Went into Macy's downtown today (SUN) and was pleasantly surprised by the number of people in the store... also saw Mayor Slay walk through the store (think he was checking out the progress).

They have invitations throughout the store for the Macy's Street Party for Grand Opening. I bought a Macy's Gift Card for a birthday I was headed to. The store is looking spacious and bright. The music has been changed from elevator music to upbeat hitmusic - which sounds much more hip but classy too. Macy's is making this store look fabulous - especially their main floor... everything from walls, paint, floor, carpet, furniture, music, and merchandise is getting replaced or upgraded. Very nice! Will be great to see completely finished.



Here are few pics of the new plaques and signage outside.

I noticed today that the Famous Barr plaques on the corners have not been replaced with Macy's plaques. I wonder if they are going to leave those few plaques as a remembrance of sort or if they just haven't been switched out yet.