How did Minnesota get so many malls?

MINNEAPOLIS— This holiday season, many Minnesotans will be heading to one of the state’s many shopping centers.

Although Minnesota is home to the Mall of America, it is also the birthplace of the country’s very first indoor mall: Southdale Center, which opened in 1956 and was developed by the Dayton family.

“We have a lot of shopping centers, largely because of the weather,” said Tom Fisher of the University of Minnesota

At the time, Southdale Center was one of the largest air-conditioned spaces in the country, and there was even a lake to provide heating and cooling for the building.

Austrian architect Victor Gruen designed the shopping center, which looked very different from the current design.

“It was the same width as a typical Viennese street and there were trees, there were birds, there were fish. There was a pond and there were terraces,” Fisher said.

The innovative shopping center received international attention and created a shopping boom.

In 1992, the Mall of America opened its doors to much excitement. The mall is located on the site of the former Metropolitan Stadium, where the Twins and Vikings played before moving to Minneapolis.

“The Mall of America was the first time people realized that malls were destinations,” Fisher said.

While some malls continue to experience success, the rise of online shopping has caused a sharp decline in foot traffic.

“There was research done a few years ago that showed about 25% of malls will close in the next five years,” Fisher says.

Today, Fisher says successful malls are creating experiences for people that involve more than just buying goods.

“I think there will be some malls that cater to the older population, some malls that cater to families, some malls that cater to the Latino or Somali community, so you’ll see some sort of differentiation between malls” , Fisher said.

Fisher says some malls are opening stores where customers can pick up products online or try them out before buying. It is yet another attempt to transform shopping centers in the world of online shopping.