The first shopping mall was technically an outdoor shopping plaza that opened in 1922 in Kansas City. However, the first indoor shopping mall that mirrored how we think of malls today was opened in 1956 in Edina, Minnesota. Malls were often anchored by a large department store with a cluster of other stores around it.
The mall was envisioned as a cultural and social center where people could come together and not only do their shopping but also make an activity of it. By 1960, there were more than 4,500 malls accounting for 14% of all retail sales.
Here below is a set of vintage postcards that shows what shopping malls of the U.S. looked like in the 1950s and 1960s.
Alabama. Eastwood Mall, Birmingham
Arizona. Chris-Town Shopping Centre, Phoenix
Arizona. Court Of Birds, Chris-Town Shopping Center, Phoenix
Arizona. Thomas Mall, Phoenix
Arizona. West Mall, Chris-Twown Shopping Center, Phoenix
Leave a Reply