Welcome to the largest mall and retail history site on the internet. The MALL HALL OF FAME is a vintage shopping mall scrapbook. Its focus is on shopping complexes built -in the USA- between 1946 and 1979. Don't forget to visit our four Shopping Mall Memory Lanes, which transport you through time to a mall in 1956, 1963, 1970 and 1977!

Autumn 1954 and America's first regional-class, fully-enclosed shopping mall is in the early stages of construction.
Photo from http://www.mnhs.org  / Minnesota Historical Society / Southdale Mall

By the autumn of 1956, finishing touches are being added to the indoor Garden Court.
Photo from http://www.mnhs.org  / Minnesota Historical Society / Southdale Mall


October 8, 1956. SOUTHDALE CENTER opens for business. The complex encompasses over 800,000 leasable square feet and will eventually house seventy-five stores and services.
Photo from http://www.mnhs.org  / Minnesota Historical Society / Southdale Mall


Tomorrow's Main Street Today! Click on the arrow to watch a short film about Greater Minneapolis' revolutionary SOUTHDALE CENTER.
Video from University of Wyoming American Heritage Center / Victor Gruen Papers