Southdale Center is a shopping mall located in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities. It opened in 1956 and is both the first and the oldest fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping mall in the United States. Southdale Center has of leasable retail space, and contains 106 retail tenants. The mall is owned by Simon Property Group and the anchor stores are Macy's, Dave & Buster's, AMC Theatres, Hennepin Service Center, and Life Time Athletic. Victor Gruen, the center's architect, designed the mall to challenge the "car-centric" America that was rising in the 1950s. Since its opening in 1956, Southdale has suffered through high vacancy rates and several store closures, but has been able to recover in recent years. Several additions have been performed on the building, including a 2011 renovation which involved the construction of a brand new food court. Southdale Center continues to use much of its original structure despite these renovations, and has been the host of several charity and community events throughout the years. History Background In 1943, architects Victor Gruen and Elsie Krummeck were asked to submit a proposal to envision a prototype of what a shopping center would ideally look like after World War II for "Architecture 194X", a competition in the Architectural Forum magazine. Prototypes by the pair emphasized the communal aspects of their proposed shopping center where services like the public library and the post office could be incorporated with the functions of retail. They also strived to make the centers visually appealing and inviting to encourage shoppers to stay longer. While stranded in Detroit during a snowstorm in 1948, Gruen approached Oscar Webber, head of Hudson's, the second largest department store in the nation at the time (behind Macy's in Manhattan). Gruen asked Webber to help fund a shopping center in the suburbs of Detroit with Hudson's as the main draw. Webber initially declined, but a year later Hudson's agreed to finance a set of malls including Northland Center as customers moved out of the city and into the suburbs. 1952–57: Construction and grand opening Through Oscar Webber, Gruen was introduced to the Dayton family, who owned an eponymous chain of stores after their father's death and were looking to expand and build a shopping center to accompany one of their stores in Edina, Minnesota. Webber insisted that the Dayton family work with Gruen to assist in their efforts. On June