The first shopping mall J.C. Penney:

Sacramento, California's Country Club Centre



The Penney's chain opened several new stores during the intitial
malling of America. The first to be located in a shopping mall-type
complex opened in 1952. Stores of this format were smaller, dry
goods-only operations of 28,000 to 60,000 square feet.
Photo Malls of America Blogspot

See January 2009 archive for the complete article