Shopping Mall History

Shopping Mall History: "Shopping Center HistoryShopping Center History" This page is intended as a starting point for research into shopping mall history, primarily in the United States. Many shopping centers maintain their own web sites and some include brief historical sketches. The selected links on this page are primarily to general web sites that provide historical overviews. The separate Bibliography provides leads to additional information about shopping centers and mall history. Any comments or suggestions for this web site are welcome. Some Historically Important Shopping Centers in the United States Year Status Name / Metropolitan Area Comments 1916 Open Market Square Chicago, Illinois Arthur Aldis designed an integrated shopping complex of 28 stores, offices, and apartments, with parking accommodations, for the wealthy Chicago suburb of Lake Forest. It shares a claim as the first planned automobile-centered shopping center. 1924 Open Country Club Plaza Kansas City, Missouri Jesse Clyde Nichols created Country Club Plaza adjacent to a planned suburban residential district. It claims distinction as the first automobile-centered shopping center built on a unified plan and operated by a single developer. 1928 ? Grandview Avenue Shopping Center Columbus, Ohio Don M. Casto designed a strip of 30 stores (including four super-markets) and off-street parking for 400 cars, not associated with an exclusive residential area. This general plan became the prototype of shopping centers for several decades. 1931 Open Highland Park Village Dallas, Texas Hugh Prather designed this innovative center, adjacent to a planned residential community, with stores facing toward an inner parking lot. It was not completed until after World War II. 1932 Torn down in the 1960s Park and Shop Washington, D.C. The first important neighborhood shopping center in the Washington D.C. area was conceived by Herbert Shannon and Morton Luchs, and designed by Arthur Heaton. It served as the model for similar centers through the D.C. metropolitan area. 1937 Open River Oaks Shopping Center Houston, Texas Probably the first shopping center in Texas, River Oaks was designed by Hugh Prather as a disconnected cluster of stores along West Gray street. 1938 Open Silver Spring Shopping Center Silver Spring, Maryland This example of an early super-market anchored shopping center with 19 stores and off-street parking was designed by John Eberson. 1943 ? Willow Run Shopping Center Detroit, Michigan One of several shopping centers built during World War II to serve housing projects built adjacent to war-time industries, in this case the Ford-operated B-24 plant. 1947 Open Broadway-Crenshaw Center Los Angeles, California This early regional shopping center was originally anchored by a supermarket, but has been enlarged and modernized several times. 1950 Open Northgate Shopping Center Seattle, Washington John Graham Jr. designed a modern shopping center with two rows of stores either side of an open-air pedestrian mall and anchored by department stores at each end. 1951 Open Valley Plaza North Hollywood, California Built in the San Fernando Valley suburbs of Los Angeles, it was probably the first shopping center built adjacent to a major freeway. 1951 Open Shoppers World Framingham, Massachusetts First two-level shopping center, with department store anchors and a dumbbell floor plan. 1954 Open Northland Shopping Center Southfield, Michigan World's largest when built. Designed by Victor Gruen, with 110 stores on two levels in a cluster layout, with a department store anchor at the center. 1954 Open Town and Country Shopping Center Cedar Rapids, Iowa This standard one-level linear center was the first built by Martin and Mathew Bucksbaum, who later organized General Growth Properties. 1956 Open Mondawmin Mall Baltimore, Maryland First major shopping center by James Rouse, who later became a major mall and festival marketplace developer in the East. 1956 Open Southdale Center Edina, Minnesota The first fully enclosed shopping center was designed by Victor Gruen and developed by the Dayton department store, which was one of the two anchors. 1966 Open The Galleria Houston One of the largest malls in the US features a vaulted glass ceiling, inspired by Italian arcades. 1970 Open Woodfield Mall Shaumberg, Ill. First super-regional mall. 1992 Open Mall of America Bloomington, Minnesota This four-story mall, with amusement park, aquarium, and several full-service restaurants, in addition to a food court, is the largest (as of 2005) in total area.