Time for another peek at past shopping experiences. This time we are leaving Scandinavia to have a look at some photos from an American shopping center. Since most of the mid-century Swedish malls and shopping centers took their inspiration from their American counterpart, I thought it would be a good idea to compare the design and architecture of them.

This is Southdale Center Mall in Edina, Minnesota. It was built in 1956 and still stands today (although heavily modified of course). Southdale Center was also the first climate-controlled enclosed mall in America. Much like “Shopping” in northern Sweden was when it was built a year before. So the Swedes beat the Americans for once, which is kind of odd. For more past-time shopping experiences, be sure to visit my friend Keith’s Malls of America website.

Update 2016: A video takes us back the late 1950s and the history of Southdale Center.