The Railway Exchange Building is an , 21-story high-rise office building in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, whic ...

. The 1914 steel-frame building is in the Chicago school architectural style, and was designed by architect Mauran, Russell & Crowell. The building was the city's tallest when it opened, and remains the second-largest building in downtown St. Louis by interior area, with almost of space. The building was long home to the flagship store of the

Famous-Barr The Famous-Barr Co. (originally Famous and Barr Co.) was a division of Macy's, Inc. (formerly Federated Department Stores). Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, in the Railway Exchange Building, it was the flagship store of The May Department ...

chain of department stores — and the headquarters of its parent company

May Department Stores The May Department Stores Company was an American department store holding company, formerly headquartered in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded in Leadville, Colorado, by David May in 1877, moving to St. Louis in 1905. After many c ...

— until

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

purchased the brand; the store was rebranded as Macy's in 2006. Macy's sold the building in 2008 and closed the store in 2013. In January 2017, Hudson Holdings, a National Historic Property Developer based in

Delray Beach, Florida Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020 was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States Census. Located 52 miles (83 kilometers) north of Miami, Delray Beach is in the ...

, purchased the building for $20 million. The city of St. Louis was granted an emergency condemnation on 4 Jan 2023, and proceeded to kick out people who appeared to be squatting and board up the building.

Notable people

Marie Moentmann Marie Moentmann (1900–1974) was a 15-year-old girl who lost her hands and full use of both arms in a factory accident in 1915 in St. Louis, Missouri. She became a center of public attention in what the ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' called an "extr ...

(1900-1974), worked at information desk.

References

{{Commons category Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Buildings designated early commercial in the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis Skyscraper office buildings in St. Louis Commercial buildings completed in 1914 Terracotta Downtown St. Louis Chicago school architecture in Missouri Buildings and structures in St. Louis 1930 establishments in Missouri Tourist attractions in St. Louis