St. Louis Centre, downtown St. Louis’s indoor shopping mall opened in 1985, featured an Aladdin’s Castle arcade tucked beneath the food court near the west atrium. Designed as part of the city’s urban renewal, the mall’s arcade quickly became a weekend destination for families seeking climate-controlled fun.
Local newspaper ads from 1987 list Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and a nascent Street Fighter II among its offerings, and mall staff recollections note birthday-party bookings that included free token packages. The AC signage—neon yellow against mirrored glass—was a landmark for teens heading to the nearby “Eat’n Park.”
After the mall closed in 2006, the arcade disappeared along with most tenants. Today the former Centre complex houses offices, but former patrons still share faded snapshots of its token machines and joystick-scarred cabinets.