BETA
Chapter 1
The socialist dream of the mall
Chapter 2
The golden age of suburban culture
Chapter 3
The great retail apocalypse
Chapter 4
The strange modern rebirth
YOUR GOAL
Master of The American mall story
Ch 1 · The socialist dream of the mall
marcus Place new stores in your plaza to discover how American malls rise, fall, and adapt.
marcus American Mall's Utopian Roots
Victor Gruen, from old Vienna, saw the suburbs sprawl. He built a mall, a public heart, for gathering us all.
marcus Malls used deliberate architectural tricks, like the Gruen transfer, to disorient shoppers and encourage impulse buying.
marcus Opened in Minnesota in 1956, Southdale Center was the world's first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping mall.
Fun Fact
The Gruen transfer: The disoriented feeling shoppers get when entering a mall, causing them to forget their original destination, is named after the mall's inventor, Victor Gruen.
Glossary
mall (noun)
A large, typically enclosed shopping complex containing a variety of retail stores, restaurants, and public walkways. Austrian architect Victor Gruen designed Minnesota's Southdale Center in 1956 as a communal, pedestrian-friendly hub.
A large, typically enclosed shopping complex containing a variety of retail stores, restaurants, and public walkways. Austrian architect Victor Gruen designed Minnesota's Southdale Center in 1956 as a communal, pedestrian-friendly hub.
Quiz
In which US state did the first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping mall open in 1956?
Quiz
Who is considered the pioneer architect of the modern enclosed American shopping mall?
Quiz
What original purpose did architect Victor Gruen intend for shopping malls besides retail?