Southdale Shopping Center in Edina, Minnesota, February 1957. In 1956, the Southdale Shopping Center, located in Edina, Minnesota, opened its doors to the public as the first modern shopping mall in the nation.
Being Minnesota with 6 months of winter, kinds of makes sense they were 1st
Spent many hours hanging out in the Southdale Mall growing up, starting around 4th grade I imagine. Riding our bikes the 5 miles to the mall, hanging out, dropping dimes in pinball machines in the basement. My buddies got the big bird (Cockatoo?) that was in a cage built into the wall of the pet store to say my name. Sounded like my mom calling me in for dinner!
I’m guessing that mall is still in pretty good shape - the nearby area is still growing and getting upgrades. There was (still is I think) a large public outdoor pool near the mall. And a couple of ponds we would fish for sunfish and perch in.
You’re wrong. Northland shopping Center in Southfield Michigan northwest of Detroit was the first shopping mall, opening on March 22, 1954.