Southdale Center 1956

[@jimmuehlberg2153]

Wow, who would have thought I found this through the EEVblog channel! I grew up in South Minneapolis (born '66) and South Dale was the best! I am certain all my Christmas presents came from there!

[@drakkar91]

Such great vintage film. Thank you for posting. Certainly an experience online shopping can never replicate.

[@dma124]

If time travel existed, I sure would love to go back there!!

[@jameswalsh6067]

It looks surprisingly modern if you ignore the vintage cars and clothes. The concept and design really holds up.

[@stevebergeson5897]

I have been visiting South Dale since the 70's. I always enjoy going there.

[@kevdel761]

It looks so modern for 1956

[@larryparks1520]

Wow. I didn't go there till the early 1970's, but this place was very special to me! Makes me feel really nice to see this, yet somehow, sad... Thank you for posting!

[@thedrytortuga7421]

I grew up going to Southdale as a kid, mid 1960s. It was great to see that tall birdcage again. I seem to remember fish ponds on the main floor but did not see them in this video.

[@zinniaramirez]

Hello, My name is Zinnia Ramirez and I am a student at the University of California, Irvine. I am a third year journalism major and as one of my big projects we are tasked with writing a narrative reconstruction (recounting the events in a narrative storytelling style to paint an image of what happened in a particular instance in history) about an event in history (big or small), I decided as I was looking through the web that I wanted to reconstruct the Southdale 1956 Richfield Edina Shopping Mall. One of the larger elements is, to have narrative voices from people who experienced the allure of Southdale, possible describe a day there, the atmosphere, stores, etc. I would love to get in contact.

[@cdp2017]

Priceless footage! Southdale had remained pretty much original design wise until around 1990. Dayton’s and Donaldson’s both had excellent restaurants. York Steakhouse was also a favorite. It was a highlight to eat there. Unfortunately these were replaced with gimmicky food courts. Woolworth’s was a two level store (basement and street level).

[@drawforyou]

THis footage is wonderful and precious. So this is the first mall in America... Too bad there is no sound to accompany the quaint visual..

[@mattbluhm]

This is amazing footage!

[@westelaudio943]

Wow, if it wasn't for the cars I would have though late 70s- early 80s... This must have looked like a sci-fi movie set to the people back then.

[@7JANEWAY]

Yes, this would really be better if there was sound. However, people back then only had 8mm or 16mm cameras that shot silent footage. My cousins and my aunt and uncle had a movie camera back then. They were quite expensive, relatively speaking for the time period, so many people didn't have one. This included my family. I remember quite well that I, as a child, couldn't get enough of these home movies (as they were known). So when we visited my aunt's house, I'd insist that at least one night, they would get out the projector and films, and we would have a home movie night. My mother would try to discourage me, but there was nothing she or anyone else could say to dissuade me from almost getting to the point of begging to get to see these films. In today's culture, with the ability to make videos on your phone (boy, I bet Alexander Graham Bell is rolling in his grave now), or to stream videos with different devices, I can see why and how younger people today would scratch their heads, not being able to imagine or picture a time when you not only had to have a camera to film, and the film was silent to boot. So that's another good reason for posting videos like this. Not only for those of us who may not have been around when this was shot, but remember the heyday of the shopping mall, along with those who may never have been in a shopping mall to begin with. So--sound or not, bring it on!!! We're watching!!!

[@PrismApplied]

You do need a camera to film. Film is also necessary. Phones make digital recordings.

[@7JANEWAY]

@@PrismApplied Considering I’ve been taking photos for many years now, I’ve used film and am very familiar with it. How often have you used film? This comment of yours really doesn’t add anything to the conversation.

[@212elisabeth]

The first ever mall in the world to open its doors was The Southdale Center (Edina, Minnesota) in 1956. It was an Austrian architect named Victor Gruen (1904-1980), who immigrated to the U.S. in 1938, that came up with the design of the Southdale Center and the concept of indoor shopping centers itself. When the Southdale mall opened, its atrium (the Garden Court) was the largest indoor public area in the U.S.

[@1L6E6VHF]

First in the Western Hemisphere. There were predecessors in Europe.

[@MegaKegHead]

I lived in Wayzata when this opened. I got my first baseball glove at Daytons.

[@ronnasal5594]

Remember the first enclosed shopping center in the US.

[@24jhs]

This documentary has one fact in error. It says no new malls were built after 2006. A new mall was built after 2006 in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is called City Creek Center and has a roof that covers it in winter and retracts in summer. It opened in 2012. Planning started in 2006 and construction in 2007.

[@DaveSweet1217]

jhs24 which documentary are you talking about? Can you provide a link to that?

[@defromt]

Thanks, brought back old memories. Long for the days when people dressed so nice, no saggy pants.

[@Mussi93]

irene olson Ah yes, the good old days where people had no saggy pants, black people were discriminated against and women had to cook and make coffee for their husband when he got home from work. Those were the times, ey?

[@Rickardio_]

Ooh somebody got triggered!!!

[@baracksays295]

I'm gonna sag my pants down to my ankles you old bitch

[@joebrell]

Those people look miserable to me.

[@selfhelp9685]

@@Mussi93 Quit exaggerating it. That's the cherry picked version. Why the fuck are you watching this video If you don't like the good ol days? Back when people were not ass kissers like they are today.

[@miqiee]

6:04..............guess they had Covid back then, too.

[@melmn2002]

That woman at :39 is me every time I wear shoes higher than 1/2 inch.

[@felix121984]

High school kids look more like thirties.

[@chuckler691]

Nice WHITE crowd!