One could call Minneapolis the Mother City of the American Mall. The nation's very first regional-class, fully-enclosed shopping center opened in suburban Edina ["Uh-diy-nuh"] in October 1956. SOUTHDALE CENTER, built by the Minneapolis-based Dayton Company, was the first of four DALE-designated shopping malls.

The second, BROOKDALE CENTER {in Brooklyn Center}, was dedicated in 1962. ROSEDALE CENTER {in Roseville} began business in 1969.  The final "Dale" mall developed by the company -by then known as the Dayton Hudson Corporation- was Minnetonka's RIDGEDALE CENTER, which was completed in 1974.

The harsh Minnesota winters surely had a lot to do with the proliferation of climate-controlled shopping centers in and around the Twin Cities. By 1962, with interior malls still seen as a new-fangled novelty, there were five such centers in the metro area. 

As a for-instance, in 1962 there were no enclosed shopping malls in the metropolitan areas of Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Los Angeles, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco-Oakland, Denver, St. Louis or even Milwaukee. Inclement weather or not, the Minnesota metropolis was quite trend-setting, shopping mall-wise.