urbanSTL

^ That's why I get frustrated with those that quickly dismiss the store- you know- those that automatically assume it's a ghost town simply because it's downtown. Comments I've read from Federated brass suggest to me that they're encouraged by the population growth and the level of investment in downtown, both of which suggest a promising future for the store IMHO.



It's hard to make direct comparisons because the merchandise is spread over seven floors, and the largest Macy's suburban locations here in Greater St. Louis have a maximum of three levels. Plus, I have been to mall stores many times when they weren't exactly teeming with customers. Since the DT Macy's caters primarily to the 90,000 or so workers downtown, the peaks and valleys are a bit different than the average suburban store. Direct comparisons really are futile.

Hello Urban St. Louis Friends!



WELL, nasty day in St. Louis today...



Should we postpone our meet up tommorrow at Macy's Downtown?

To date we have 6 of us meeting.



Please let me know on Friday Asap.



I will email this to everyone who registered and I will also post it at www.urbanstl.com



Thank you for your input.



Tod



matguy70

So.. WHY do they charge for parking in the garage? This isn't Chicago or New York. Parking should be free. Hmm. pay to park or park for free in the suburbs... They charge for parking at Union Station too, and it certainly has helped them. Obviously there are other factors there, but the high price to park can't help either.

JCity wrote:So.. WHY do they charge for parking in the garage? This isn't Chicago or New York. Parking should be free. Hmm. pay to park or park for free in the suburbs... They charge for parking at Union Station too, and it certainly has helped them. Obviously there are other factors there, but the high price to park can't help either.

You have to pay to park in an urban garage for the same reason you have to pay to park on urban streets: Otherwise the public would use it as their personal parking spaces, and the garage would be full to capacity all of the time -- leaving no spaces for actual shoppers.

JCity wrote:So.. WHY do they charge for parking in the garage? This isn't Chicago or New York. Parking should be free. Hmm. pay to park or park for free in the suburbs... They charge for parking at Union Station too, and it certainly has helped them. Obviously there are other factors there, but the high price to park can't help either.

No offense but that's a narrow car-centric point of view. Shouldn't you change your name to JSuburb?

dweebe wrote:

JCity wrote:So.. WHY do they charge for parking in the garage? This isn't Chicago or New York. Parking should be free. Hmm. pay to park or park for free in the suburbs... They charge for parking at Union Station too, and it certainly has helped them. Obviously there are other factors there, but the high price to park can't help either.

No offense but that's a narrow car-centric point of view. Shouldn't you change your name to JSuburb?

Ok, I have to admit I got a chuckle out of this, very clever.

I would like to see Macy's validate parking for customers who make purchases at or above a certain level - $15-$20, maybe?

In the Dark Ages long ago (when the Famous downtown store was reasonably well-attended), there was a self-validation machine on the store side of the skybridge into the garage. Seems like it gave you at least first-hour-free, but I can't recall.



Laclede's Landing, St. Louis Centre, Union Station and Grand Center have all suffered because of their parking pricing. You can cite "car-centricity" all you want from an academic basis, but until there's a critical mass of residents and employees downtown that will make those places self-sustaining, they're still competing with suburban alternatives. And history has clearly taught that they're not competing very well.

Hamilton Jewelers is great about validating parking - I've visited their store several times for both big and small purchases, and they encourage their customers to keep their cars in the Hamilton lot a little longer to extend their stay downtown and have lunch, do additional shopping etc.



And Hamilton has been very successful during a time in which other downtown businesses have failed...coincidence?

bonwich wrote:...Laclede's Landing, St. Louis Centre, Union Station and Grand Center have all suffered because of their parking pricing. You can cite "car-centricity" all you want from an academic basis, but until there's a critical mass of residents and employees downtown that will make those places self-sustaining, they're still competing with suburban alternatives. And history has clearly taught that they're not competing very well.

I don't see the lack of free parking being the only problem. People also don't like the "inconvenience" of parking in a garage. There is a (perhaps unwarranted) perception that it takes an extra 5 minutes to park, and an extra 10-15 minutes to leave. This is true even in the suburbs. Except for days with severe weather, the Galleria parking lot will fill up before the garage does.

^ You may be onto something there. The Hampton Village Target is a good example, because people jockey for spots in the small lot in front of the store even though there's a huge, free parking garage underneath. As I said recently in another thread, their loss is my gain, as I can park out of the elements, away from automotive riff-raff, and still enjoy a short walk to the escalators that lead into the store.



To answer DeBaliviere's direct question, I don't think it's a coincidence that Hamilton Jewelers has succeeded where other businesses not offering this little perk have failed. Even though garage parking may be a barrier that will still drive away your average NASCAR Dad or Soccer Mom, I do think that validated parking with anywhere from a $20-$50 purchase (including restaurants within the store) would win over many people that presently steer clear of the downtown store.



- On an unrelated note- Breakfast with Santa at Macy's last Saturday in the St. Louis Room was packed- and the queue to see Santa downstairs was long (at least in the first hour or so). The French toast was good, and so was the entertainment. From my understanding, all future dates are sold out. Those of you with kids should go next year if you didn't get the chance, and those of you w/out kids need to babysit that day or borrow a niece or nephew for a couple of hours. It's not Santaland, but it's close enough for me.



- OK, one more thing: While at the train window with my son (again!), I talked with a couple of ladies in their early 20s with a downtown map in hand. As I encountered them near the corner of Seventh and Olive, one of them said: "It's a good thing St. Louis is safe, because we couldn't be more obvious as tourists with this map in our hands." (Obviously they haven't heard of Morgan Quitno.)



In a matter of 2-3 minutes, I explained that Macy's was newly renovated, and that the embarrassment across the street would be revamped as condos starting next year. When asked about dining options, I explained that there are many new restaurants downtown, but I was loathe to tell them that most were closed because it's Saturday. Not knowing what was open for sure, I directed them to City Grocers since they were going west from Macy's. (It's nice not having to apologize for downtown's condition anymore, but it's frustrating to know that most of our great downtown eateries are closed on Saturdays.)

Patience. It will happen soon.

^ I know. Just two or three years ago, we would've been the only family at that train window on a Saturday morning.

ThreeOneFour - good idea garnered from your conversation with tourists would be an intuitive downtown roughguide:



Where to get coffee on weekends and weekday evenings.

Where to eat on Saturdays and Sundays.

Beer here.

others?



These could be simple handouts updated frequently and made available at all hotels, stores and other places. Downtown had street kiosks a few years ago but I guess they went away.



As a frequent traveler, I get so frustrated with glossy directory brochures and magazines that include information only about advertisers.

Went downtown today to run some errands and walked along Olive to check out the window displays. Not too shabby, but could they get some mannequins that don't look they are being stabbed or have some awful disease?! The two on one of the western windows on Olive look so awful theyre funny in a sad way.



Is the train dispay on a different street? I was extremely pressed on time and unfortunately didn't get a chance to see it.

^TIAB- the train display is at Seventh and Locust streets- at the NW corner of Macy's.



Matt- your idea of a downtown roughguide is an excellent one. Like you, I get tired of everything being advertising-driven, although I realize that's how the bills get paid to make such publications in the first place.



Still, I think a list like this would be a GREAT resource for downtown visitors.

Didn't know where else to put this, but a girl I'm currently dating works at Macy's, and I'm doing all sorts of holiday shopping with her, gettin' that discount baby! We're gonna start next week.



w00t!

^ any chance you want to loan her out? for shopping.

I might have to give you a heads up when we go shopping. She just told me that there's an extra 10% off her normal 25% this weekend. And if the stuff is already on sale, that is taken off the sale price.



BOMB!

Sounds like a keeper!

^ It was busy Friday afternoon, and again on Saturday morning. Another flood of families descended on the store for Breakfast with Santa this morning, only this time I was going solo since I had gifts for Mrs. 314 and little 314 to purchase.

Will someone please post pictures of the Christmas windows? No one posts pictures anymore.