Opened in 1962 as one of the nation's first shopping malls,[1] it featured J. C. Penney, F. W. Woolworth Company, Kroger, and Stix, Baer & Fuller as its anchor stores.

The mall was expanded in 1972 with a new location of J. C. Penney, but began losing major stores in the early 1980s.

Tenancy continued to decline throughout the 1990s, culminating in the closure of the J. C. Penney outlet and mall proper in 1995, although the abandoned structure was not demolished until 2006.

At the time of the closing announcement, the mall's then-owners had proposed reducing the size of the store in order to sustain profitability, but the company had decided to follow through with closing the location due to the presence of other J. C. Penney stores in nearby areas.

Then-owners Benderson Corp. had proposed converting River Roads to an outlet mall, but these plans were canceled due to concerns over the nation's economy and a surplus of retail space in the St. Louis market at the time.

[9] Following this closure, the interior mall was abandoned in 1995, except for Food for Less and some tenants that had exterior entrances.