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Lileks: Southdale Mall at age 51
Its the 51st anniversary of the opening of Southdale, the Mother of all Malls. Other cities had shopping strips, but Minnesota was home to the nations first fully enclosed mall. It was designed by Victor Gruen, and Ill let wikipedia tell the rest: Gruen was a European style socialist; he hated the suburban lifestyle of 1950s America, and wanted to design a building that would bring people together into a community, by providing a meeting place that American towns lacked. They would come together to shop, drink coffee, and socialize. For someone who hated the suburban lifestyle, he might have done more than anyone to encourage it. Thanks, Vic! As for the original plan, it didnt happen all at once. Again, from wikipedia: The mall was commercially successful, but the original design was never fully-realized, as the intended apartment buildings, schools, medical facilities, park and lake were not built. Except, of course, for the apartment buildings, medical facilities, park and lake, all of which were eventually added in the Centennial Lakes Project down the street. Most telling note from that biography: Southdale, in Gruen's opinion, was not a suburban alternative to downtown Minneapolis It was the Minneapolis downtown you would get if you started over and corrected all the mistakes that were made the first time around. Always the urge to start over and correct the mistakes. This time, we will get it right! Posted by: Mike 2007-10-08 |
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