The barn was built in 1916 for the Ganahl family and was designed by Spernelli, a Swiss architect. (The Henry Bopp family had owned the property. but the Ganahls bought it from a firm called Schisler and Corneli.) It was one of the first large dairy barns in the country and the largest in the state. Built of a reinforced concrete shell, the 50,000 square foot barn had steel window sash, running water, electric lights and fireproofing. It was home to the finest of dairy cattle. Ganahl ran the dairy for 15 years and then sold it to an investment group of whom a member was Firmin Desloge. In 1941, St. Louis Dairy took over. The operation was eventually absorbed by Sealtest before its use as a dairy barn came to an end. It sat idle except for a time when it was used as an antique auto museum.

In 1968, a fire of undetermined cause damaged the barn extensively. Vandalism, and its accompanying expense, continued well into the beginnings of the project of changing the barn into a shopping center. In 1974, shops and restaurant spaces were made from the old stalls and from buildings added to augment the old structure.
Quote from Ballwin Historical Commission