Southdale Center opened in 1956, becoming the first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping mall in the United States. It opened on October 8 in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, and attracted more than 40,000 visitors on its first day.
The mall was developed by the Dayton Company, the department-store business that later became part of Target Corporation. Austrian-born architect Victor Gruen designed it as more than a retail building: he imagined an indoor civic gathering place with shops, restaurants, art, entertainment, and communal spaces. Its enclosed, air-conditioned design was especially suited to Minnesota’s severe winters.
Southdale is often called the first enclosed shopping mall, but the wording can hide important distinctions. Earlier enclosed or partially enclosed shopping centers existed, including Valley Fair in Wisconsin and the Westminster Arcade in Rhode Island. Southdale’s landmark status refers specifically to the modern, regional-scale, fully enclosed and climate-controlled mall model that spread across suburban America.
The project broke ground in 1954 and originally included anchors such as Dayton’s, Donaldson’s, Walgreens, and Woolworth. Its design strongly influenced the familiar American mall format that followed.