"RETAIL SALES IN DOWNTOWN AREA DROPPED $8,000,000 IN 4 YEARS
by William H. Kester
Post-Dispatch Business Correspondent
Retail sales in the St. Louis central business district dropped by about $8,000,000 from 1954 to 1958. At the same time, sales in the entire metropolitan area rose by $279,700,000, the United States Bureau of Census reported yesterday.

Sales of retain stores in the downtown area in 1958 totaled $234,812,000, compared with $242,794,000 in 1954. Total retail sales in the entire metropolitan area were $2,331,275,000 in 1958 and $2,051,508,000 in 1954.

The decline in the central business district amounted to 3.3 percent, contrasted with an increase of 13.6 percent for the entire metropolitian area...

Department store sales in downtown St. Louis fell $10,992,000 from 1954 to 1958, compared with a $44,541,000 gain in department store sales in the entire metropolitan area. From 1948 to 1954, sales of the three downtown department stores dropped $12,031,000, a previous census reported. For the 10 year period, sales of the three downtown department stores fell 16 percent. In physical volume, the decline would have been greater, as prices have increased substantially.

The three downtown stores sold $118,974,000 in 1958, or 45 percent of the total sales of such stores in the metropolitan area. The downtown stores had 60 percent of the area total in 1954 and 78 percent in 1948.

Sales of apparel and accessory stores in the downtown St. Louis area fell 12.3 percent from 1954 to 1958, contrasted with an increase of 24.3 percent for the entire metropolitan area.

Source: St. Louis Post Dispatch, February 12, 1961