Maul Of America - When Sprawl Runs Amok

[hatrack]

"If you only have $269 for a 15-minute wedding and don’t mind renting a bridal gown on the spot then The Chapel of Love at the Mall of America is the place to tie the knot. After the first kiss, the matrimonial celebration can include strolling through any of 520 stores, dining at 50 restaurants, taking in a movie on 14 screens, or riding the roller coaster at Camp Snoopy.

EDIT

But step back and really look at this enormous building, with its skylights and carpeted halls, and crowds. There is no doubt that the Mall of America is a ready display of American culture’s addiction to consumerism and the myth that personal possessions will boost self-esteem. It’s also an outpost of a half-century of urban design predicated on the notion that America has enough room, energy, wealth, and moxie to continue building drive-up giant market places that sooner, rather than later, get thrown away. The idea has real resonance here. The nation’s first fully-enclosed shopping mall was actually built 50 years ago at the nearby Southdale Mall.

The Mall of America also represents the gradual failure of that idea. Although Southdale is still going strong, dozens of older malls across the nation have closed or are in economic trouble. Not far from the Mall of America, the 43-year-old Apache Plaza in St. Anthony Village closed earlier this year. The reason: its design, like other malls, did not provide for the flexibility to readily adjust to changing retail markets and consumer tastes. The developers of the Mall of America tried to respond to this nagging little flaw by joining three of the top American recreational priorities of the moment — shopping, eating, and access to a well-equipped amusement park. But even amid the din of the thousands of people who visit every day, it’s easy to predict that this distinctive mix has a limited life.

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http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=article&storyid=749

[trotsky]

1. It's actually a pretty fun place.

And with the length and harshness of Minnesota winters, it's awfully nice to go to a huge climate-controlled environment and just walk around. Especially with the real plants that are growing in the amusement park area ("Camp Snoopy").

Yes, there's a lot that's wrong with it, I don't deny that. And both of the Twin Cities offer a lot more nooks & crannies to explore than a mall. But the reality is, naysayers didn't think the "Megamall" (as it was nicknamed here) would last more than a couple of years. It's 12 years old now and still going strong.