Minnesota: Mall Capital of America (Minneapolis, Burnsville: for sale, movies, live)

[Trimac20]

Both the first enclosed shopping mall in the world - Southdale Mall in Edina, and the Mall of America are in the greater Minneapolis area. The climate was a factor in the creation of malls, as you would know.

I'm interested, how well known is Southdale and it's claim to fame known in Minnesota? Is it something most kids know about? Being the mall buff I intend to visit it and MOA when I go to America.

[MplsTodd]

I think that Southdale's status as the first enclosed mall in the nation is pretty well known among folks who pay attention to those sorts of things. Southdale used to be the Twin Cities premier enclosed mall, but its suffered in the past ten years, due to:

* close proximity of the Mall of America (only 4-5 miles away)
* the renaissance of Eden Prairie Center: This mall was originally built in the mid-70s and was a perpetual dud, until General Growth did a massive redevelopment about 8-9 years ago
* multiple owners who develop plans to redo Southdale, but sell it before anything happens
* The success of Galleria (a high-end mall located one block south of Southdale)

[Slig]

I think that is more of something that would interest Mall buffs like yourself than the general public. I've only been to Southdale a few times in my life and I guess I've read that before but didn't think much of it. If anything, I'd say the Eden Prairie mall is more famous haven been where the cult-classic film "Mallrats" was shot.

I would definitely say that Southdale is probably missing out by not playing into that claim to fame more. They should post more signage about that and publicize it a little more, it might help them increase human traffic a little bit.

[uptown_urbanist]

I grew up in Minneapolis and was very aware of Southdale's history. I don't know how many other people do, though, especially now with the Mall of America overshadowing it in many ways.

I agree with Slig, though, that Southdale should do more with their history. They're losing a golden opportunity to do something - anything - to give them an edge.

Good luck visiting Southdale, but (as I'm sure you know) it's changed dramatically over the years.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

Both the first enclosed shopping mall in the world - Southdale Mall in Edina, and the Mall of America are in the greater Minneapolis area. The climate was a factor in the creation of malls, as you would know.

I'm interested, how well known is Southdale and it's claim to fame known in Minnesota? Is it something most kids know about? Being the mall buff I intend to visit it and MOA when I go to America.

I know about it, but I'm a bit of a trivia buff. While I lived in the Twin Cities, though (1962-2004) the main malls I tended to visit were Ridgedale on Hwy 12 (now 394), Eden Prairie Center, and Burnsville Center.

Even when I lived close to the Mall of America I didn't visit it very often, and Southdale hasn't been on my radar since Ridgedale was built (I grew up on the eastern edge of Minnetonka, so both Ridgedale and the much smaller Knollwood Plaza were a lot closer, and the latter was an open mall for much of its existence anyway).

[Trimac20]

I went on the Southdale website and didn't see much mention of its history.

[uptown_urbanist]

I have no idea what the management's ideas on the subject are, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's because they're worried that dwelling on Southdale's past will make it seem "old" (in a bad way). Minneapolis (and its suburbs) in general have tended towards the new-is-best, forget-about-history route, so it's not surprising that Southdale's past has been too-often overlooked as an asset.

There's been some fairly recent new additions and remodeling done to Southdale to try to "update" it to compete with the new stuff, but in my opinion all it's done is make Southdale less interesting. I have some sentimental attachment to the place, but I'd be inclined to go there a lot more if it were to bring back some of its earlier elements. Of course I'm not a mall developer, and am not really a mall person (Southdale is about the only mall I go to, and that's because of those sentimental reasons) and don't know what works best for sales. On the other hand, a walk through Southdale is pretty depressing at the moment, so maybe a radical new shift in approach is exactly what's needed.

[duluthian2008]

I thought they were planning to add another anchor and a major lifestyle component to Southdale? That is Simon Malls who acquired Southdale announced this about two years ago.

[uptown_urbanist]

Looks like it's on hold for now, at least as of late February.

http://www.startribune.com/local/west/39236337.html?elr=KArksLckDiULckDiU_3ckkDy3PE7_yDE 7_DiaEaDUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

[chilaili]

'sfunny, but I always assumed I really liked Southdale mall, but thinking about it, I realise now the only reason I ever went there was for the movies and the restaurants. I think most of my actual shopping got done at Rosedale or the MoA.