From Glamour Shots to French onion soup, St. Clair Square celebrates 50 years of memories

Ah, the mall. Growing up, we didn’t call it “St. Clair Square.” To me it was, and still is, “the mall.”

My parents used to take my favorite brother and me to the mall. Dad would wait with us as we played in the mall’s giant planters and fountains while Mom shopped for clothes. Yes, younger readers, I said fountains.

St. Clair Square originally had a concrete oasis at its center, with fountains and planters. There were tall palm trees that started on the lower level and reached up toward the ceiling above the upper level.

Flooring throughout the mall consisted of red brick tiles. Steel and wood beams held huge round light fixtures. The space was a lot darker than the more brightly lit mall we know today.

The mall had many restaurants (not just fast food, either), stores that are long gone or have changed drastically over the years, an arcade, and much more.

There are so many memories of St. Clair Square. Fifty years of memories, in fact.

Famous-Barr was the first store at St. Clair Square, opening on Oct. 29, 1973. The mall part of the development opened on Oct. 31, 1974.

I wasn’t there at the time; however, plenty of others were, and they do remember those early days.

I asked members of several community Facebook groups to share their memories of St. Clair Square, and they didn’t disappoint.

• I miss the mall’s aesthetics. It had that huge center court fountain that flowed down into a reflecting pool, with stepping stones you could walk across, as well as those giant palm trees on either side of the fountain. I miss that smaller fountain in front of Dillard’s (Stix) as well. That sunken area in center court though, totally looked amazing before its first remodel in 1992. – Jim Clarida

• My mom and I were shopping at Famous-Barr the very first day they were open. I had a broken leg and was on crutches, but we were not going to miss it for anything. – Jan Velayas

• I was a freshman in high school when Famous-Barr opened at the mall. That was the first store to open and I was amazed at how large it was and all the merchandise they had! I had never seen anything quite like it before. Loved the open spire you could look up into at the center of the store. – LaDean Goodwin-Scheurer

• I cut the ribbon with Mayor Moody to open the mall. I ran across those newspaper clipping the other day. I worked in Weisfelds Jewelers. – Debbie Manning (Note: Manning was Debbie Braden, Miss Fairview Heights, at the time.)

The years following the opening of St. Clair Square saw the openings of Sears on April 29, 1975, and J.C. Penney in January 1976. On April 23, 1979, the fourth department store, Stix Baer & Fuller, opened. (Dillard’s bought Stix and changed the name in 1984.)

There were so many stores throughout the mall, some of them I forgot or didn’t even know about until others started sharing their favorites.

• Stix and Famous-Barr restaurants and Olga’s. Sears, the nail salon upper level just inside mall entrance. I could go on but these are the things I miss the most. – Dolores McCullough

• Union Jack for denim jeans and Famous-Barr’s French Onion Soup!! – Pam Johnson

• Glamour Shots … went with a friend for my 40th birthday. – Lourdes Nagel

• The Record Bar! Coolest store in the mall! Many great memories, a lot of music & concert tickets. One of my displays at the store. It scored me free concert ticket! – Judy Zee

• Natural Wonders store was also one of my fav! I had gotten a wooden rain stick. – Monica Stier

• Remember a Sees Candy and a Candle store across from Circus World. – John Poole

• Babbages. Bought lots of big box computer games over the years. – Tim Doherty

• Jawbreakers the size of softballs at Mr. Bulky’s. – Stephanie Haisler

• Oh the poster shop, Prints Plus? I used to buy a poster on occasion and dream of becoming rich so I could buy the big framed ones to put in my future fancy house. – Mary Kitley

Memorable eats

Before food courts became trendy at malls, restaurants were spread throughout St. Clair Square, including some inside the department stores.

Many of the memories shared on Facebook mentioned restaurants. There were many mentions of Olga’s Kitchen, York Steak House, and the French onion soup at Famous-Barr’s Scandia Restaurant.

• Olga’s Cafe was my family’s favorite. I imagine I can still smell the French onion soup from the Famous cafe! – Dee Dee Hughes Ligibel

• Leo’s sandwich shop. Probably mid-late ‘70s. They had the best pastrami and Swiss sandwich. – Donna Gutierrez

• The Famous-Barr restaurant for French onion soup or shrimp salad in toasted cheese bread. – Kathleen Burch

• Love shopping at Famous-Barr and dining at the restaurant and having their famous French onion soup. And eating at Olga’s restaurant!!! Orange julius was another one – Rita Smiley

• The Orange Bowl! And Burger Chef! … For five bucks I went and had lunch with my girlfriends and bought toffee covered peanuts at the Sears candy counter. – Tracy Dillon

• We would arrive at 10 a.m., eat Famous-Barr’s French onion soup at lunch. Olga’s for dinner then leave mall at 10 p.m. There were that many stores to keep us entertained that long. One other place was a for sure stop was Aunt Annie’s pretzel. – Bev Williams

• Famous-Barr French onion soup with that thick gruyere cheese on top, butter and baguettes! Great lunch! – Terry Yocks

When I was little, my family ate at Hardee’s (formerly Burger Chef), which was located where you’ll now find Victoria’s Secret. I always liked sitting by the brick wall that was just taller than the tables. We could sit and watch people as we ate.

Ample employment

Plenty of jobs were available at St. Clair Square.

In the 1990s, I had friends at Sears and Dillard’s. I worked in the juniors department at J.C. Penney.

Honestly, they should’ve just kept my paychecks with all of the clothes I bought with my employee discount. That was more than 25 years ago – I still “mall fold” my clothes at home and straighten while I clothes shop.

• I met my husband there. I was the store manager for The Gap and he was the mall’s assistant GM. We now have two daughters and just had our 20th anniversary. – Sarah Baum Snow

• I worked at Glik’s and Glik’s for guys in the 80’s. Aladdin’s Castle, Swenson’s Ice Cream and chocolates from Sears counter were break time favorites. – Cheryl Forneris

• I miss Natural Wonders. My first job in the mall, such a unique store. – Nikki Steiger

• Working at Saturday Matinee was so much fun. Getting to talk about movies all day … didn’t seem much like work at all. – Joseph Little

• I worked at Riley’s Coffee and Fudge, just outside of Penneys. I absolutely LOVED working there!! The people watching was the best, and the friends I worked with created lifelong memories!! – Shanna Loness

• Ludwig Aeolian – I worked there, taught organ lessons. The employees stood at the entrance and played music, so much fun. – Cindy Lea Walters

• I worked at the Sears Auto Center from 1980-1985. We would often take our break at Orange Julius. – Cindy Ruger

• I worked as a hostess at York Steakhouse from 1985-1987! – Melissa Beeler AuBuchon

• I worked @ Paul Harris back in the day! That’s where I started my love for fashion. – Diana Mitchell

• Worked at Stuart’s 1980 to 1982. There were two Stuart’s. I was in the bigger one near Olga’s. A lot of fun working there and a lot of good memories. – Mary Poirot Kerr

• Dipped a lot of ice cream at my high school job at Dipper Dan. – Paula Harry-Shinn

• I was one of the first employees at Sears. I worked during the placement of fixtures and displays before the store opened. – Lynn Schwarz Haas

• I helped open the JC Penny store. Set up the cosmetic department. Met my husband at the perfume counter. We celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary this past January. – Santha Jepson Jackson

Other memories

Some memories of St. Clair Square weren’t just about the places we shopped, worked or ate.

In high school, my girlfriends and I would hit the mall on Friday nights in hopes that someone’s crush would be there with his friends.

During our first year of college, one friend was home for Christmas break. She and I hit the mall and had a moment of silliness when we ran around Kay-Bee Toys with toy guns. (She has no idea how I remember things like this.)

Memories of times with friends, family and co-workers, unexpected events, celebrity sightings and shenanigans were well represented.

• Tossing pennies in the indoor fountains/water features and making a wish! – Ashley Small

• It was quite entertaining when someone put soap in the fountain. It was full of suds. LOL – James Osborne

• The fountains!! I remember once my mom was looking in the waterbed store and I was out my the fountains messing around. Though she ALWAYS told me to stop playing by them, I never listened. And what do ya know? It finally happened! I fell in. I love that memory!!! Also, the character chairs at the McDonald’s and the video game table at Sbarros. – Andie Susie

• Worked at The Limited for over 15 years. Pass Pets got miniature kangaroos (before exotic pet law!) that sold for $999.00 and were litter box trained. Everyone was so busy gawking at them and the monkey got loose. We had to send one person from every store using the “phone tree” to go look for him. He was in Sears! – Lisa Krummrich Quandt

• Anyone remember when the Bay City Rollers did a meet and greet there? I must have been in Jr. High at the time. – Lisa Morrison-Kidwell

People remember.

• My first concert – are you all ready for it – “The Bay City Rollers.” Yes, they played inside the mall. – Shirley Rouggly

• I went to see the Bay City Rollers and almost got crushed in the crowd of screaming girls. – Dee Dee Hughes Ligibel

• In 1975 or ‘76, the Bay City Rollers (‘70s boy band) signed autographs at the mall. We donned our groupie plaid and hopped a Bi-State bus from Main Street. – Kathy Bretsch

• Met and spoke to George Harrison’s (The Beatles) sister who was there on some type of promotion. – Rick Willard

• I remember seeing Barry Goldwater speak in front of the fountain when he was running for President. – Deborah R. Woods

• I was shopping with my grandmother the day Tommy Hilfiger launched his clothing line and he came to the mall. It was so cool seeing him that day, didn’t know who he was (so nice/kind) and my grandma was being the typical “little old lady looking at shoes, comparing prices, etc., but standing in the middle of the aisle not letting anyone pass … then there comes Tommy Hilfiger in his white dress shirt and khaki pants with like 15 men dressed is 3 piece suits … as a teenager I’m like holy smokes move out of their way grandma …. He very kindly said, “Oh no, it’s really okay!!” My grandma being the unique/blunt school of hard knocks lady she was says, “I’m not moving it’s just a bunch of Famous-Barr executives”… one of the suits turns around and says “ma’am, that’s Tommy Hilfiger”…. As a preteen I died on the spot in that aisle!!! – Danielle Michelle Springer

In its heyday, the mall really had everything, and then some, all in one place.

For half a century, St. Clair Square was a big part of many people’s lives. Even now, after all these years and so many changes, St. Clair Square is still a great place to shop, eat, hang out and walk for so many – myself included.

It’s still a place to make some long lasting memories.

About St. Clair Square

St. Clair Square celebrates its 50 anniversary later this year.

According to Senior General Manager Michael Hagen, the mall’s marketing team is already making big plans that include special events, giveaways and more.

St. Clair Square mall is located at 134 St. Clair Square in Fairview Heights. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. (Individual store hours may vary.)

For more info, call 618-632-7567, visit stclairsquare.com or follow the Facebook page.

BND St Clair Square Clips 1973-1994 by Jennifer Green on Scribd