The South Grand Building With Many Names
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Some call it the Melba Theatre building, others refer to it as the Pizza A Go-Go building for a long-time tenant, and still others call it Grand View Arcade. Whatever the name, it is stunning. With few exceptions, this has to be one of best proportioned and detailed buildings in all of St. Louis.
Anyone looking to construct a new mixed-use building in the city of St. Louis should study this one closely. I’m not advocating copying the detailing, although it is fine. Rather, the massing and relationship of windows to solid is very pleasing.
A modern interpretation of this building would be quite nice a block south on the old Sears site. Oh that is right, Ald. Jennifer Florida wants a McDonald’s on that site. Well, I guess she knows best…
The Lawrence Group is tackling this building along with the former Southside National Bank across Grand. This building will have sidewalk level retail with apartments above. Parking for residents will be in the basement, accessed from the former bank drive-thru area to the south. Unfortunately, the existing curb-cut on Grand will remain. I’d like to see access to this side parcel from the alley, not Grand.
The name Grand View Arcade, according to TLG, is the official historical name of the building. Like the larger Arcade building downtown at 8th & Olive, this one sports an indoor hall with shops facing it on two levels. Basically, it was an early indoor mall. This, in fact, pre-dates the early suburban outdoor mall concept. Where this differs is scale: it works as a small space in a great building in a pedestrian neighborhood.
Apartments will occupy the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building so it remains to be seen if this arcade will once again be a public space or it will become a grand entrance lobby for the apartments. I’d like to see it open to the public.
So the name thing. The Pizza A Go-Go name is simple, it was a tenant for many years and people fondly remember it. But how did the Melba Theatre fit into all of this? Well, not inside this building that is for sure. The Melba was behind the building to the east. Basically you’d enter the Arcade off Grand and walk past this staircase to the actual theatre.
The east facade of the Grand View Arcade is seen at right here. Note how the lovely facade wraps around the corner from Grand onto Miami Street. On the left of the image is an unfortunate apartment building that was built where the Melba Theatre once existed. It is not clear to me how you got from the Arcade into the Melba: by going back outside? By going through a hallway? Did the Melba have an entrance off Miami Street as well? Perhaps some historians will know or someone will look up some old records. Razing this ugly apartment complex and building something new up to Miami Street would be a great next step.
Apparently TLG already has interest from retail tenants for this building so they are moving ahead their renovations. These tenants haven’t yet been announced by it is good to see the strong interest in street-level retail in this area.
Additional photos can be seen on Flickr.
– Steve
From what I have heard you entered the theater from Grand. As a matter of fact, there was a story on the news some years back telling the story of how the Melba Theater’s marquis is still in use at at movie house in Desoto, MO.
If it’s like a lot of old theatres, you walked through the arcade to get to the auditorium, kind of like you walk through a modern-day shopping mall to get to the multiplex. My guess is the “new” apartment building was required to be setback from the older structure for fire and safety reasons, although the site was likely one larger building originally, and the lovely back side was bricked-in at that point . . .
[REPLY – Actually the new apartment building is exceptionally close to the old Grand View Arcade building, no more than 3ft. Where it is set back is from the side street, Miami. This set back has more to do with the concepts of the period and parking. – SLP]
I’m not sure why The Lawrence Group is calling this the South View Arcade. An intern at Landmarks did some research on this building for them last year and he found the historical name to be the Grandview Arcade. It was built in 1925 in front of the existing Melba Theater.
Because Landmarks did research on the building I was able to tour it, and it is quite stunning. Except for the Pizza a GoGo area, it has had little alterations. It is one of those vacant buildings where you have the eery feeling that you are going back in time. The marble staircase and arcade is the highlight of the building. If I remember right most of the building has a terrazzo floor.
[REPLY – Sorry about that, the wrong name was my mistake. TLG is calling it the correct Grand View Arcade. Yes, the building is highly original. – SLP]
So what is it going to take to get the building on the corner of Grand and Gravois (next to the Arcade) to be redeveloped?
[REPLY – I love that corner building! Unlike some, I also like the billboard on the roof — just seems like a very urban thing. – SLP]
The theater, which pre-dated the Arcade building, was connected to the lobby. After passing through the doors behind the stairs, patrons passed through a theater lobby into the auditorium.
Give it time.
The Farmers & Merchants Bank building at 3552 Gravois at Grand is owned by the major occupant, Friends N Luvers Inc. I personally don’t have a problem with their store at all. They do rent out the other storefront to a diabetic supply company, and they often have creative displays in the windows of the apparently vacant 2nd and 3rd floors.
Meanwhile, the building at the NE corner of Grand and Miami (it’s address is, confusingly, 3552 S Grand) seems to be owned by a Vietnamese couple, and there’s an African grocery store/restaurant in the ground floor retail space that’s frequented by local cab drivers.
Unfortunately, given traffic and turning movements, on-street parking in front of these locations is pretty much infeasible. And neither has much parking space in the back.
I’d hate to see any of these businesses forced out. They contribute to the identity and culture of the neighborhood. At the same time, I’d like to see the upper floors be more occupied. The SSNB and the Melba/Grand View are collectively a HUGE project. Once those are done, the whole area will have a very different feel.