Business and Industry | Page 129

MN90: America's First Indoor Mall

Southdale Center, Seventieth and France, Edina

Description: Southdale Center, Seventieth and France, Edina, c.1958.

Southdale Center, Seventieth and France, Edina.

Description: Southdale Center, Seventieth and France, Edina, c.1958.

Southdale, view of courtyard restaurant, Edina

Southdale, view of courtyard restaurant, Edina.
Photographer: Minneapolis Star Journal Tribune, 10/4/1956.

Southdale, Edina

Southdale, Edina. Photographer: Minneapolis Star Journal Tribune, 8/14/1956.

Aerial, Southdale under construction, Edina

Aerial, Southdale under construction, Edina. Photographer: Minneapolis Star Journal Tribune, 12/29/1955.

Donald Dayton, head of Minneapolis-based Dayton's department stores, teamed up with designer Victor Gruen to create a comfortable, convenient setting for Minnesota shoppers. In 1952, Dayton and Gruen unveiled their plans for Southdale, the nation's first enclosed, weatherproofed mall.

Timber Worker Strikes, 1937

Spurred by a national labor movement and eight years of economic depression, Minnesota timber workers led several strikes in 1937. Their peaceful strikes were successful, winning union recognition, higher wages, and better living conditions.