It was not until 1962 that a fully-realized, "Gruenized", downtown was dedicated....under the auspices of Rochester, New York's MIDTOWN PLAZA.

Several American cities jumped on the Gruen-influenced, downtown shopping mall / urban renewal bandwagon. However, by the 1980s, the newness had worn off. The fact had to be faced; no redevelopment scenario, even though grandly-conceived and expensive, could reverse the exodus of retail trade from the blighted central city. Most downtown malls were eventually torn down, with the pedestrian-only streets being reopened to automobile traffic.

Gruen's idea of a suburban shopping mall as a European-style town center of culture and entertainment was plausible for a while. The enclosed, mega-mall of the 1960s was often promoted as a venue for concerts, pageants and other public events. However, mall management entities eventually came to the conclusion that hosting such large-scale events was a cost-prohibitive endeavor, involving a great deal of problems and liability issues. Such spectacles became less and less frequent.

So, Victor's vision of the American retail center as a new-style, public gathering space was eventually undermined by the corporate directive for mere profit. He became disillusioned and returned to Vienna in 1967. Shortly before his death in 1980, Gruen dismissed the shopping mall -which he had been instrumental in creating- as a "bastard development".

Forthcoming is a selection of Victor Gruen's most noteworthy shopping mall projects. Some never made it past the drawing board stage; others came to full fruition and remain viable retail centers to this day. Others, such as San Jose's VALLEY FAIR, So-Cal's RIVERSIDE PLAZA, Indy's GLENDALE, Pittsburgh's GREENGATE and Chicago's RANDHURST and LAKEHURST have been demolished or substantially redeveloped.

Albuquerque's WINROCK and So-Cal's CENTRAL CITY / CAROUSEL MALL are teetering toward tearing down status.