This section will serve as a Mid-Mod Mall Almanac, with all sorts of mid-century shopping center info and memorabilia. Included are details on classic mall architecture and interior design, as well as listings of the first malls, largest malls and largest mall anchor stores. In addition, there are timelines, maps and graphics. 

The Evolution of The Shopping Mall:

ULTRA-MODERN & OR INTERNATIONAL 

When the shopping mall -as we came to know it- first appeared in 1950, the prevailing architecture was known as Ultra-modern or International Style. Structures were sleek and often futuristic in appearance, with little ornamentation. There were lots of natural stone surfaces, pastel-colored panels and wide expanses of glass.

Above are two retail-related examples of the Ultra-modern style. The first is the most Ultra-modern store structure ever built, the circa-1951 "Spaceship" Jordan Marsh at Greater Boston's SHOPPERS' WORLD. 10 years later, shopping mall anchor stores were being built along the lines of the circa-1963 Higbee's at Greater Cleveland's SEVERANCE CENTER.