3700 SO. HIGHWAY 100

This parcel, now home to Burlington Coat Factory and MicroCenter, was part of Collins second addition to St. Louis Park, platted in 1892 as part of T.B. Walker’s original plat of the Village. Today it consists of blocks 2, 3, 6, 7, and 8. It lay vacant for many years, often used as a ball field.

One of the first uses came in 1946, when Quonset huts were moved in for Veterans Housing. That same year, Lots 1 and 2 of block 6 were sold to the Village by Albert and Rosa Mae Harper.

In 1956, Percy Ross requested a permit to build an auction house at 36th and Highway 100, but the plan never materialized. Ross often requested permission to hold auctions of heavy equipment on the site.

In the 1950s and ‘60s, the land was often used for carnivals held by the VFW, etc. In June 1952 the Village leased it to "Happy Acres" Kiddie Rides.  In 1959, the 11th Annual VFW Jamboree was held on May 22-27.

In 1956, the land was conveyed to the State/county.

City Center

The Veteran’s housing structures had been removed by 1960, when the City purchased the 10-acre site from Hennepin County. The City Planning Department proposed that it be used for a Civic Center, featuring an open fountain surrounded by public buildings such as the City Hall, Library, and a Municipal Auditorium.

Topps

The first Topps Discount City was opened on October 15, 1956, in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1962, Interstate Department Stores of New York offered the City $440,000 for the property.  The City determined that the profit could be used to fund a City Hall at another location. (As planned, the current City Hall was built at Carpenter Park, completed and occupied by city staff on October 18, 1963.) Area residents and the adjacent Aldersgate Methodist Church protested the sale, fearing that the store would interfere with the Church and take business away from Miracle Mile. However, Interstate said it had two other offers for property in St. Louis Park (rumors were that they were from Ernie Jacobson for the dump site or Charles Friedheim for his concrete works), so the City went ahead with the sale in August 1961, with the proviso that a 1.5-acre buffer be provided between the store and the church. [The first such discount store to open in the Twin Cities was a GEM store, which opened in Bloomington in August 1959.]

In the fall of 1963, Interstate opened a Topps Discount City store at the site, which had by then reverted to a ballfield. The company owned and operated 61 downtown stores and discount houses throughout the country. An April 1963 ad used the slogans “Profits in Pennies” and “America’s Discount Leader.” A National Food Supermarket opened next to Topps in the spring of 1964, but closed on July 24, 1965. Topps itself went bankrupt - an ad said "We Lost Our Lease - Going Out of Business Sale." Last day to shop:  August 29, 1965. Some remember there was a problem with rats at the store, perhaps because of the dump nearby. There is quite an extensive web site devoted to Topps.

Shoppers’ City

On November 15, 1965, a Shoppers' City store opened at the site. The store featured a department store, grocery store, bakery, barber shop, beauty salon, eye doctor, auto repair, gas station, dry cleaning, shoe repair, tire store, garden store, and pet shop. It also featured a furniture and appliance department on the mezannine, at one time run by the Furniture Barn. Shoppers' City was a local chain started in 1959 in Brooklyn Center, and at the time had stores in Minneapolis (63rd Ave. No. and Hwy.152(Osseo Rd.); St. Paul (between Larpenteur and No. St. Paul Rd.) and Duluth. [A 1966 ad says Brooklyn Center, Maplewood, SLP, and Duluth.]  Mel Roth, St. Paul, was the owner (Shoppers' City Four), and Frank Anslow was the first store manager.

Once upon a time it was illegal for stores to open on Sunday.  On July 1, 1967, the law changed, allowing stores to open but banning a list of certain products.  Rumors flew that Shoppers' City was planning to test the law by selling the proscribed items.  On the first Sunday in July the store opened but complied with the law.  Speculation ran wild, wondering whether Red Owl, National, and Penny’s would follow suit. Seymour Rothstein, Executive Vice President of Shoppers’ City, stated that most of their Sunday customers at their Brooklyn Center store were rural shoppers. The Chamber of Commerce was absolutely against stores opening on Sundays.  The folks at Aldersgate Church next door objected to the store being open on Sunday, saying it would interfere with churchgoers. This so-called “blue law” would eventually be phased out.

In March 1967 the store was bought out by the Zayre chain, based in Framingham, Massachusetts. This meant renovation of existing stores and the building of new stores. Inspection records of the St. Louis Park store show some major problems with the building. On May 7, 1971, the electrical inspector found the electrical maintenance within this building “absolutely appalling.” “We have been fooling around with the same violations for the last 12 months.” His letter cited 38 separate violations. One particular sore point were the bathrooms, which were right inside the door. The City insisted that they be moved within the store so they could be better supervised. In 1972, architects were hired to remodel, but with enough parking an issue, it took til the next year for the City Council to approve the plan. The store struggled along until the end of 1979. (The Zayre Corp. was later bought by Ames in 1988 and thereafter went bankrupt amid accusations of fraudulent business practices.)

Kmart

Next, Kmart took over the store in January 1980, and opened for business on May 17, 1981. They rented the building from Peninsula Industries in California. There was a fire at the building on March 14, 1982, and the store closed on December 31, 1983. One document indicates that Kmart had to dig up the abandoned gas tanks left by Shoppers' City. Kmart was created in 1899 as Kresge's or The S.S. Kresge Company. In 1962 it was renamed Kmart.

Red Owl Country Store

From May 18, 1981 to 1985, Red Owl ran a Country Store in the south end of the building. The store was on the edge of the new concept of no-frills marketing, where customers bag their own groceries, and – at least at first – filled their own egg cartons. Mead Stone was the manager in 1981.




 

Burlington Coat Factory

Burlington Coat Factory took over the store in 1984, still renting from Peninsula Industries.

Almstead's New Market

In March 1990, Jim Almsted coverted the south end of the building to Almstead’s New Market.  It was still there in 1998.

Micro Center

MicroCenter was founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1979 by two former Radio Shack employees. It now occupies the south end of the building.

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.