25 incredible photos revealing the history of America's first modern shopping mall

Life magazine photo archive When the Southdale Center in Edina, Minnesota opened its doors in 1956, its designwas revolutionary. Southdale wasthe first modern indoor mall in the US, and eventually became a national symbol of car-centric, consumerist, postwar suburbia. The shopping mallfeatured a large central atrium with escalators that ledto two upper floors. A pair ofdepartment stores anchored each end of the climate-controlled complex, which was surrounded by thousands of parking spaces. Over...