Famous-Barr - Clayton
downtown Clayton
Architect:
Date: 1948

This is the sole survivor of Famous-Barr's three elegant post-War department stores, the others being on South Kingshighway and at Northland Shopping Center.

The building's footprint gracefully follows the curve of Forsyth Boulevard. Two stories in beige brick float over a ground level clad in black polished stone, and are punctured by small square windows that cast fascinating shadows across the curved facade in the sunlight of late afternoon. When new, the curved motif continued through the interior.

Facing competition from the nearby Galleria location, Famous-Barr closed its Clayton store in 1991. The building stood shuttered for a few years, till Washington University began using it as an overflow library storage space. Other occupants include a wine and cheese seller, and auction house Ivey-Selkirk -- both fittingly upscale functions for this stylish building.

Gallery: November 2005

Gallery: March 2007