Hazelwood, Missouri: Psychedelic Mall

Garish architecture designed to put you in the mood to spend. Some have described it as Disney on acid, but isn't that what all malls should be?

St. Louis Mills - Disney-esque Mall

The St. Louis Mills mall is one of several malls across the country called "Mills" built by Simon Properties. All of the Mills malls are unique in design and feature strange, Disney-esque architectural touches that reflect the area of the country where they're located.

The St. Louis Mills features a food court with an exaggerated World's Fair theme, reflecting St. Louis as the host of the 1904 World's Fair. There is a children's section inspired by PBS cartoons like Arthur that looks like a children's paradise in the forest. One section is decorated to look like a castle, complete with giant fiberglass thrones like something out of the Kingdom Hearts video game series.

Each area has stores that loosely go with the theme. For example, the children's area features one of the few KB Toys stores left in the country, Limited Too, Sanrio, a candy store, and other stores for kids. There is also a huge Cabela's [like this].

That's not all. There's also an ice rink, glow-in-the-dark mini golf, a NASCAR Speedpark, a kiddie train, a very strange aquarium that only has piranhas, a fire fighter museum, and three arcades. This place is like the Mall of America... except smaller... quite a lot smaller... but it's still worth a day trip.

[Katrina Johnson, 07/25/2008]

Psychedelic Mall

My sister wisely insisted I see the most acid-inspired, Disneyesque mall concept, the St. Louis Mills (I hate malls.). Each of the seven entrances has a different theme. One garish shopping promenade is labeled "The Circus of Fire." The food court uses the seasons as its theme, although the mall designers neglected to include winter. When you live in a place where it occasionally snows, who needs winter?

[missy b., 08/08/2005]