Cherry Creek Shopping Center, Denver, CO

 An extant asset

Named after the abundance of chokecherries along its banks, Cherry Creek meanders its way through the heart of Denver from the reservoir of the same name toward the northwest and a confluence with the South Platte River in downtown.  Also along its banks can be found the city’s oldest modern shopping mall, the Cherry Creek Shopping Center.

1- Neiman Marcus and the northeastern portion of the mall exterior.  2- Macy’s store.  3- Restoration Hardware.  4-The Nordstrom edifice located in the former home of Lord & Taylor.  5 & 6- The vey nineties red brick of the northwestern facing exterior.

Located in an urban neighborhood of high-rise residential and office towers, Cherry Creek Shopping Center, much like Lenox Square in Buckhead, is the main retail destination for those living in the central portion of Denver.  There are no expansive parking lots or ring roads here, just a collection of exclusive brands for the more well off population residing within its trade area.

Cherry Creek Shopping Center Mallmanac ca. 2000. View the full PDF version here.

My first sight of the shopping complex was toward Macy’s as I walked toward through the South Steele Street entrance.   A meager but rather well attended farmers’ market was in full swing in a small surface car park and overall Cherry Creek Shopping Center looked decidedly healthy; a status that is unfortunately not shared by many of its peers.

1- One of the north facing mall entrances.  2- The farmer’s market in a parking area just outside of Macy’s.  3- The water feature along the greenway running along Cherry Creek.  4- The distinctive angles of the main Cherry Creek entrance on the south facing the greenway.  5 & 6- The food court located just inside the south facing entrance.

The exterior is nearly camouflaged by the dense urban landscape rising around it, so there were no obvious elements of note from my perspective.  But after entering the main mall concourse through what can best be described as a fairly common Macy’s, the interior of the facility really took me aback.  All the ways to the nineties.

The southeastern portion of Cherry Creek Shopping Center including the Macy’s mall entrance, the AMC Theaters and the children’s play area.

Inside, Cherry Creek Shopping Center looked every bit the part of the decade that gave us The Peach Pit and In Living Color.  From the multi-hued frosted skylight panels in a staggered pattern to the stepped ceiling treatments surrounding them, down to the speckled marble earth tone floor tile, Cherry Creek still wears what looks to be a late nineties makeover proudly, and I appreciate that.

Cherry Creek Mallmanac ca. 2019. View the full PDF version here.

But on the exterior, the best was yet to be found.  Abutting a greenway on the eponymous tributary was the crimson colored brick, multi cornered, and dark glass adorned southern facing egress.  Reminiscent of Lynnhaven Mall’s fantastically dated atrium (R.I.P.) I love these ostentatious architectural elements that are being unceremoniously replaced by the bland and the basic.

Cherry Creek Shopping Center’s very late twentieth century inspired center court including Neiman Marcus’s entrance and a rather popular bear.

Making its premier in 1953, Cherry Creek Shopping Center saw its beginnings as an open air plaza comprised of several different buildings.  Designed with multiple levels boasting larger retails names such as Woolworth, Walgreens and a Miller’s supermarket, several additional buildings were added during its first decade before expanding into adjacent land in the sixties.

A bird sculpture, the Nordstrom entrance and a fast car located along Cherry Creek’s main concourse.

Cherry Creek stayed true to its open air beginnings until the mid-eighties when Taubman embarked on an expansion and renovation to fully enclose the historic facility.  In 1990, the Cherry Creek Shopping Center we know today debuted with full line anchors May, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor and Neiman Marcus opening soon after.  Not long after, May was rebranded as Houston based Foley’s.

Cherry Creek Shopping Center Mallmanac ca. 2024. View the full PDF version here.

Nordstrom opened its second Denver area location at Cherry Creek Shopping Center in 2001 in the former Lord & Taylor building just a few years before Foley’s was changed over to Macy’s.  Saks shuttered their location in 2011 which to this day has housed a Restoration Hardware since 2015.  The same anchor lineup remains to the present.

More shots of the main concourse with a focus on the elaborate ceiling and skylight elements.

Cherry Creek Shopping Center remains one of several shopping malls within the Denver area that shows no signs of slowing down.  With all of its five anchor spots still occupied, it is an anomaly amongst its peers and I don’t see that changing any time soon.

Cherry Creek Shopping Center official website

Saint Louis Galleria, Richmond Heights, MO

 An extant asset

I've patronized this retail facility only once among my many travels to Saint Louis, one of my favorite cities in the United States. When working for the airlines, I flew in quite often, but with the Saint Louis Galleria being more than a short distance from the city's light rail line at the time, I only got to walk through its corridors on my initial trek to the Gateway City in 1996.

1- One of the mall entrances on the older, northern section of the Saint Louis Galleria.  2- The Cheesecake Factory and mall entrance next to Dillard’s.  3- The mall’s northern section with the roofline visible.  4- Dillard’s.  5- Nordstrom where Lord & Taylor used to be.  6- Dillard’s from Nordstrom.

I was at work when I got the call late one Saturday evening. It was my best friend asking me for a favor. His girlfriend, who was going to Saint Louis University at the time, was having some sort of crisis and he had to fetch her right away. That night. And he wanted me to come along. I was 21 at the time and spontaneity was the order of the day; how could I refuse? In just a few hours, we were driving across the darkest stretch of interstate I've ever seen in rural Kentucky.

Saint Louis Galleria Mallmanac ca 1996. View the full PDF version here.

It was cold and rainy as we crossed the bridge from Illinois to Missouri. The top of the arch was obscured by a thin layer of stratus, but it was magnificent on first sight, nonetheless. It wasn't long before the two young lovers were in each other’s much relieved arms. But what to do at that point? There was always the mall.

1- Macy’s.  2- The mall entrance on Saint Louis Galleria’s southern section.  3 to 6- Nordstrom.

The mall was quite a sight. It seemed to stretch forever down South Brentwood Boulevard, under the looming shadow of a mid-century modern 70's era suburban skyscraper located right across the thoroughfare. I can't recall the specific elements of the interior, just that it was very upscale. I loved the Mark Shale store, though with my being a poor college student at the time, I could hardly afford anything in there. We got a bite to eat, browsed the shops, then dragged our tired selves back to the car for a long drive back to Alabama.

Saint Louis lease plan ca 2011. View the full PDF version here.

The Saint Louis Galleria opened in 1984 on the grounds of the former Westroads shopping center. It debuted with Dillard's and Mark Shale as anchors. In subsequent years, Famous Barr and Lord and Taylor were added, and the Galleria had established itself as the upscale retail destination of Saint Louis. It was quite healthy and robust on my one and only visit, and it seems the almost two decades since then have only brought continuing prosperity to the center.

The Saint Louis Galleria atrium, the original southern terminus of the mall.  The last four shots are of the bottom level food court.

I always regretted not pulling out my camera on my one and only previous visit to the Saint Louis Galleria.  Of course, back then I had no idea that one day I would write a blog about malls.  But in 2024 when I made my latest visit to the sprawling complex in Richmond Heights, I had to pay the place a visit.  And I was delighted to see that not much has really changed about the Galleria in the ensuing two decades.

Scenes of the older northern concourse.

By now, the Saint Louis Metrolink had been extended via the blue line to Richmond Heights and points west and south.  It was a chilly Saturday morning when I took that first train ride to the upscale retail destination, and I knew that I was close when I could see the mid-century modern skyscraper clad in black glass appear on the horizon.

Scenes in the main concourse.

Just a short walk across South Brentwood and I found myself in the shadow of the large monolith for the first time in almost thirty years.  The most noticeable change, besides the entrance adornments which had been updated, probably more than once, since my previous visit, was the Nordstrom which was built in the place of Lord and Taylor.  The red roofline running the length of the facility remained unchanged and gave me some hope that maybe the rest of the mall hadn’t been gray-scaped of all personality.

The old school fountain in the newer southern end of the Saint Louis Galleria.

Some people would say that it is dated.  Others would say tacky.  But what I walked into was a corridor that hadn’t been updated since my previous visit.  The amber colored tiles still lay beneath my feet.  The extensive water feature still flowed in the Galleria’s center court.  And the ceilings underneath that distinctive red roofline, although a little dirty, still displayed the funky, geometric skylights that I fell in love with years ago.

Saint Louis Mallmanac ca 2024. View the full PDF version here.

Located not far from Plaza Frontenac, Saint Louis Galleria and its neighbor are the retail anchors of Saint Louis County’s old money communities.  Though not as upscale as Plaza Frontenac, the Galleria still hosts heavy hitters such as The Apple Store, Johnston & Murphy, Michael Kors, and Tommy Bahama.  Even on my visit just at opening time, the complex was filling up fast with weekend consumers ready to spend.

The unique ceiling treatments of the Saint Louis Galleria.

I expect the Saint Louis Galleria to continue doing well.  And although in market peers such as Northwest Plaza, Crestwood Plaza, and Saint Louis Centre have fallen by the wayside while others struggle, I feel confident that the Saint Louis Galleria will still be around for my next visit.

Saint Louis Galleria official website