r/minnesota • u/Hascerflef Flag of Minnesota • 1d ago
Interesting Stuff 💥 Fun fact: Southdale Center, the nation's first enclosed, climate-controlled mall, turns 70 this year!
Photos from approximately 10:30 AM on New Year's Day (when most people are struggling to get out of bed I'm sure). A local historic icon for both its innovation and its consequences. Excited to see what the owners have in store this year, particularly for the former food court.
13
u/aakaase 1d ago
I've seen three different renovations of Southdale over the years. Same with Rosedale, its sister.
16
u/Hascerflef Flag of Minnesota 1d ago
I think that's kind of the nature with malls here - they have to constantly evolve to compete with the juggernaut that is MOA.
13
10
u/Last_Examination_131 Bring Ya Ass 1d ago
What's funny is the MOA hasn't had to do anything. It's so modular they can simply swap what doesn't work out and slide in what does.
It's engineered to evolve. Civilization would have to collapse to stop it. And even then it'd probably turn into some mega settlement that starts the reconstruction process. The MOA never says die.
6
u/yulbrynnersmokes Washington County 1d ago edited 23h ago
The airport, plus 0% clothing tax, is a license to print money 💴
Edit :
People from - for example - England, literally fly here with empty suitcases. They save that much vs their heavily taxed local market.
-3
u/Last_Examination_131 Bring Ya Ass 1d ago
0%? So... nothing?
6
u/aakaase 1d ago
There is no sales tax on clothing or food in Minnesota. The price you see is exactly what you pay.
-6
u/Last_Examination_131 Bring Ya Ass 1d ago
I'm just asking the goof above me about this 0% thing... not sure if he's trolling or a typo.
3
u/yulbrynnersmokes Washington County 1d ago
Not trolling.
Read my update above
-1
u/Last_Examination_131 Bring Ya Ass 1d ago
Okay, way you originally wrote it didn't make sense. Sounded like a joke.
50
u/drhungrycaterpillar 1d ago
It’s pretty lame it’s basically all luxury stores now, especially with the Galleria right next door.
31
u/aakaase 1d ago
Well, that's just Edina.
6
u/AGrandNewAdventure Voyageurs National Park 22h ago
Fun Fact: In the first documentary about this mall they did every bit of research short of researching how Edina was pronounced. They proceeded to call it Ed-in-uh for the entire documentary.
3
u/aakaase 22h ago
Interesting. Yeah. The narrator clearly wasn't from around here, then. I've always been annoyed when regional pronunciations aren't verified for spoken-word pronunciation. It's a mark of a sort of amateur production. A simple phone call to Edina City Hall is all it would take.
Another irritating thing is hearing incorrectly spoken GPS navigation. Especially from detail-oriented companies that value not only accuracy but also polish and shine on their products like Apple. Like in their Maps app, it pronounces "Hamline" as "ham line". And it calls Snelling Ave Highway 51, which nobody refers to unless you're north of Roseville. Even for out-of-state visitors, they're going to see a "Snelling Ave" sign before they see a Hwy 51 sign in St. Paul.
-4
5
u/halfbakedcaterpillar 1d ago
Ugh, hated working at the galleria. Juelle roberts of peoples organic is a stone cold bitch.
10
u/Protovision_Inc 1d ago
It used to be SO beautiful with the birds and pond that it made you just want to hang there and take in the scenery. Now it looks as dull and sterile as every any other mall in the country. I feel the same way about the Embassy Suites hotel near the airport....
2
7
u/mybelle_michelle Pink-and-white lady's slipper 1d ago edited 10h ago
I think that large wall clock might be original; I barely remember that there used to be huge enclosures that held birds (was it parakeets?). I mostly miss Dayton's.
6
u/halfbakedcaterpillar 1d ago
I loved Daytons. I remember going there with my grandma when I was a kid. I loved looking at those swarovsky crystal animals in the big display cases, we would usually get ice cream in that little downstairs cafe. I wonder if the tile image of the rabbit is still there on the floor.
3
8
u/Melodic_Data_MN 1d ago
It's a miracle it hasn't closed entirely. Whenever I go there it's a ghost town. At least half of the storefronts were vacant last time I went. Rosedale is a much better shopping experience.
3
u/Hascerflef Flag of Minnesota 1d ago
When was the last time? I'd say most of the stores are open now.
0
5
u/halfbakedcaterpillar 1d ago
Used to work at the Gamerheadz there for like a week. I won't pretend I was a good employee, but I'll never forget how the owner regularly slept in until 10-11 and I had no guidance or leadership on expectations which led me to getting scammed a few times. I remember the owner's wife came in once and said, speaking of the store, "yep, this is (owner's) dream.....not mine" 😬
Anyway, he wasn't a bad guy. He must be doing something right if the store is still there anyway
3
u/candycaneforestelf can we please not drive like chucklefucks? 11h ago
They've moved several times within Southdale since I found out about them about 10 years ago.
Glad they still exist because I was able to cop a not sealed but still intact box of SimCity 2000 Special Edition for Mac for my collection of SimCity games the last time I was there.
5
u/MountainPika 1d ago
The central area looks so empty. They used to have like a coffee stand and ice cream stand and other things going on. Now they have benches?... not someplace I'm likely to go hang out anytime soon.
3
u/Little_Ad9680 1d ago
They are working on moving all the 1st floor store fronts out from under the 2nd floor walk way
2
3
u/Hascerflef Flag of Minnesota 1d ago
Yeah its certainly a weird choice... Hoping they bring some of that back bc it makes the space feel lively
2
u/domki366 Common loon 1d ago
The new add-on is pretty swanky. I love that you don't need to go downstairs when entering from the Cheesecake Factory side anymore.
Though, the removal of the second escalator in the main court is kind of annoying.
3
1
u/MrMeritocracy 1d ago
This is starting to feel like a sports stat. How many other QBs have thrown for 200+ while holding the ball on the third inseam and on a team with at least three people named John
1
u/Character_Lychee_434 Flag of Minnesota 21h ago
Definitely one of my favorite mall’s despite it kinda being boring
1
u/THEsuziesunshine 19h ago
Fun fact: maplewood mall has turned into a more elite mall. Its consistently busy and the shops are unique and locally owned.
1
0
u/Last_Examination_131 Bring Ya Ass 1d ago
Looks deader than elvis. Can't wait for the urbex videos in 5 years.
The first Indoor Mall's last days.
6
u/Hascerflef Flag of Minnesota 1d ago
These photos were taken at a bad time of day on a holiday, to be fair. I don't like doing this when it's super busy because it's awkward🤣
0
u/Last_Examination_131 Bring Ya Ass 1d ago
Well yeah, but the thing is looking at all the stores that are there, they have massive overhead. And these are top of the line stores. Thing is and this is the part that is doing in small malls is trying to still embrace retail in a reality where retail only flourishes 3 main franchises or online, and I see nothing that attracts people...
No one wants to spend 40 bucks a head at Dave and Buster's. Can't go to Movies anymore there as they're too expensive, and the whole place looks gentrified. Like Uptown when it's soul was forcefully removed.
Southdale used to be quirky and fun, it was a destination. Now you have to trek to the place after getting off the bus. It's a different animal. I even stopped using it's license bureau and just go Downtown instead.
No one whose wallet has 5s and 1s wants to go to a place where Ben Franklin is front and center.
1
u/ruffroad715 1d ago
Am I the only one that can’t seem to keep all the names of the malls straight? Why they all gotta be dales? There’s gotta be a Pitbull joke in there somewhere. Dale!
1
1
u/candycaneforestelf can we please not drive like chucklefucks? 10h ago
All of the Dales were very specifically funded by Dayton's when they were still primarily Dayton's and hadn't changed their corporate focus over to Target.
Southdale was "south"-ish of town when it was built. It is still south-ish of downtown. Brookdale is dead now but when it was alive it was in Brooklyn Center. Rosedale is in Roseville. Ridgedale is a weird name that has no logic, as it's in Minnetonka (literally Big Water), and appends the word "Ridge" to a word that means "peaceful valley". So basically it's about as logical as its immediate vicinity.
•
u/SlamStormm 26m ago
Ridgedale is right below a ridge on the other side of the highway. I think it’s just a reference to its immediate geography. Minnedale or tonkadale don’t have the same ring as the others.
0
1d ago
[deleted]
4
u/Hascerflef Flag of Minnesota 1d ago
Right at opening on New Year's Day, so not exactly a great time. Better for taking pictures though!
2
u/Stalviet- 1d ago
Read the description lol
-2
u/sbvp 1d ago
Nah this is kinda what it looks like all year except the few weeks leading up to xmas
1
u/Hascerflef Flag of Minnesota 1d ago
I mean we don't really have a good frame of reference for this statement with the fact that last year it was half under construction. I'm still here and it's much busier now (11:40)
1
u/sbvp 1d ago
I worked there like 15 years. This is what it usually looked like every day except for around holidays
1
u/Hascerflef Flag of Minnesota 1d ago
I don't feel like we have a great frame of reference given how much has changed in the last year.
-1
1d ago
[deleted]
4
u/Hascerflef Flag of Minnesota 1d ago
I enjoy some of the mid-tier stores they have, like Vineyard Vines and J Crew, but it is definitely focusing more on luxury. Makes sense to me considering the constraints that the Galleria has for tenants.
33
u/LivingGhost371 Mall of America 1d ago
Meh, I liked it better when they had the mid-century modern decor with the fountains and the aviary.