West County Center

West County Center is a shopping mall located in Des Peres, Missouri; originally built in 1969. The original mall closed in 2001 and a new mall on the site opened in 2002. From the mid 1990s-2007, the mall was known as Westfield (Shoppingtown) West County and was one of 7 St. Louis malls owned by the Australian mall company until CBL & Associates acquired 4 out of 5 Westfield St. Louis malls in October, 2007.

1969 mall

The original mall opened on February 5, 1969 at the southeast corner of I-270 and Manchester Road in Des Peres, Missouri. It was built on the site of the Manchester Drive-In movie theater, which many remember for the Easter sunrise services that were held there. It was convert|563621|sqft|m2, and anchored by Famous-Barr and JCPenney. The original mall closed on January 27, 2001.

2002 mall

The new West County Center, featuring convert|1200000|sqft|m2, opened on September 20, 2002. The new mall featured as anchor stores: Famous-Barr (now Macy's), JCPenney, Lord and Taylor, Nordstrom, and Galyan's Sports and Outdoor Adventure (now Dick's Sporting Goods. Lord and Taylor closed in June 2006 and a new lifestyle center, featuring Barnes and Noble, as well as several announced tenants, is being built on the site.

Dove sign

The most famous part of the mall is the large dove sign that sits outside the mall next to Interstate 270. The dove was created by Joe Thaler, and has become a meeting place for thousands of people during the almost 40 years it has been around. The removal of the dove in early 2001 caused minor controversy among nearby churches. The dove was refurbished during the renovation, and in mid 2002, returned to its original perch. Today, it is in the parking lot outside of Nordstrom.

Former Westfield malls

Until 2007, 7 St. Louis Malls were owned by Westfield.
*Crestwood Court: Sold to Jone Lang LaSalle in March 2008, mall renamed from (Westfield) Crestwood Plaza to its current name and may be redeveloped.
*Chesterfield Mall, Mid Rivers Mall, South County Center & West County Center: Acquired by CBL in October, 2007
*West Park Mall: Divested by Westfield in 2006
*Northwest Plaza: Largest St. Louis mall, sold to General Growth Properties in 2007 after diving Square Feet sales.

References

Lang, Lynne "Under the Dove, a Collection of Memories" 2002.

External links

* http://www.shopwestcountycenter.com Official website