Southdale Center, which opened in 1956 in Edina, Minnesota, was the first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping mall in the United States.
Designed by Austrian-born architect Victor Gruen and developed by the Dayton Company, Southdale opened on October 8, 1956. Its roof and air-conditioning system created a comfortable indoor environment year-round, a particularly important innovation in Minnesota’s harsh winters.
The mall was conceived as more than a collection of shops. Gruen wanted it to function as a civic gathering place, with restaurants, landscaped interior spaces, art, and social areas. Its central garden court and controlled environment helped define the modern American indoor mall.
Southdale is sometimes confused with earlier enclosed shopping arcades. The Westminster Arcade in Rhode Island, opened in 1828, is older and fully enclosed, but it was not climate-controlled. Southdale’s distinction is the combination of complete enclosure, mechanical climate control, and the modern suburban shopping-center format.