Mall of America (MOA) is a large
shopping mall
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...
located in
Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, on the north bank of the Minnesota River, above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 89,987, ma ...
, United States. Located within the
Minneapolis–Saint Paul
Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is commonly known as the Twin Cities ...
metropolitan area, the mall lies southeast of the junction of
Interstate 494
Interstate 494 (I-494) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway making up part of a beltway of I-94, circling through the southern and western portions of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area in Minnesota. The road is coupled with I- ...
and
Minnesota State Highway 77
Minnesota State Highway 77 (MN 77) is a highway in Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with 138th Street (north of Dakota County Road 42) in Apple Valley and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange with Stat ...
, north of the
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa.
It ris ...
, and across the Interstate from the
Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport
Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport , also less commonly known as Wold-Chamberlain Field, is a joint civil-military public-use international airport located in Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory, Minnesota, United States. Although s ...
. It opened in 1992, and is the largest mall in the United States, the largest in the Western Hemisphere, and the
eleventh largest shopping mall in the world.
The mall is managed by the
Triple Five Group
Triple Five Group is a conglomerate based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, which specializes in shopping centres, entertainment complexes, hotels, and banks, along with 3 indoor amusement parks. The company owns and operates two of North America's ...
(which in turn is owned by the
Ghermezian family, along with the
West Edmonton Mall
West Edmonton Mall (WEM) is a shopping mall in Edmonton, Alberta, that is owned, managed, and operated by Triple Five Group. It is the second most visited mall in Canada, after the Toronto Eaton Centre in Toronto, followed by Metrotown Mall in B ...
and the
American Dream). Approximately 40 million people visit the mall annually, 80% of whom are from Minnesota,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
,
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
,
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
,
the Dakotas
The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econom ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
and
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
.
In addition to the Mall, outside of the mall are additional hotels, restaurants, and stores. The Mall of America and the additional businesses meet at the South Loop District in Bloomington.
History
The mall's concept was designed by the
Triple Five Group
Triple Five Group is a conglomerate based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, which specializes in shopping centres, entertainment complexes, hotels, and banks, along with 3 indoor amusement parks. The company owns and operates two of North America's ...
in conjunction with global design firm DLR Group, owned by the
Ghermezian brothers, who also own the second largest shopping mall in North America, the
West Edmonton Mall
West Edmonton Mall (WEM) is a shopping mall in Edmonton, Alberta, that is owned, managed, and operated by Triple Five Group. It is the second most visited mall in Canada, after the Toronto Eaton Centre in Toronto, followed by Metrotown Mall in B ...
. The Mall of America is located on the site of the former
Metropolitan Stadium
Metropolitan Stadium (often referred to as "the Met", "Met Stadium", or now "the Old Met" to distinguish from the Metrodome) was an outdoor sports stadium in the north central United States, located in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneap ...
, where the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
and
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
played until the
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League ...
opened in 1982. A plaque in the mall's amusement park commemorates the former location of home plate and one seat from
Met Stadium was placed in Mall of America at the exact location it occupied in the stadium, commemorating a home run hit by
hall-of-famer Harmon Killebrew
Harmon Clayton Killebrew Jr. (; June 29, 1936May 17, 2011), nicknamed "The Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. He was a prolific power hitter who spent most of hi ...
on June 3, 1967.
In 1986, the Bloomington Port Authority signed an agreement with the Ghermezian organization. Groundbreaking for the mall took place on June 14, 1989. Organizations involved include
Melvin Simon and Associates
Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, outlet centers, and community/lifestyle centers. It is the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States and is headquartered in Indian ...
,
Teachers Insurance and Annuity,
and the office of architect
Jon Jerde
Jonathan Adams Jerde, (January 22, 1940 – February 9, 2015) was an American architect based in Venice, Los Angeles, California, founder and chairman of The Jerde Partnership, a design architecture and urban planning firm specializing in the des ...
.
Mall of America opened its doors to the public on August 11, 1992. Its anchors were
Nordstrom
Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and ...
,
Macy's
Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
,
Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. Bloomingdale, Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the bus ...
and
Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
. Even before opening, the mall had earned several nicknames, including "The Megamall", "Sprawl of America", "Hugedale" in reference to the four major "dale" shopping malls within the Twin Cities:
Rosedale,
Southdale,
Ridgedale and the now-defunct
Brookdale Brookdale is the name of many settlements, institutions, and businesses in English-speaking countries.
Cities and towns
* Brookdale, California, an unincorporated town in Santa Cruz County
* Brookdale, Kansas
* Brookdale, Manitoba, an unincorporat ...
.
Mall of America became the largest shopping mall in total area and largest in total store vendors in the United States when it opened. The Mall of America's 42 million annual visitors equal roughly eight times the population of the state of Minnesota. , the mall employed over 11,000 workers year-round and 13,000 during peak seasons.
On September 4, 1995, the mall hosted the first episode of ''
WCW Monday Nitro
''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the Unite ...
''.
In spring 2020, Mall of America closed for a period of twelve weeks in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, closing on March 17, and reopening on June 10 with only 150 tenants open for business. The mall was originally scheduled to reopen on June 1, but
civil unrest
Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, or social unrest is a situation arising from a mass act of civil disobedience (such as a demonstration, riot, strike, or unlawful assembly) in which law enforcement has difficulty m ...
in the Twin Cities around this time caused the mall to postpone the reopening.
Legal battle
In 2003, after a protracted six-year legal battle between
Simon Property Group
Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, outlet centers, and community/lifestyle centers. It is the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States and is headquartered in Indian ...
, the managing general partner of the property, and the Ghermezian brothers/Triple Five Group, over majority ownership of the site, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the Ghermezians, effectively transferring control and planning authority of the mall back to the creator of the concept. The dispute stemmed from a 1999 purchase of Teacher's Insurance's 27.5% equity stake by Simon Properties, giving them majority ownership. The Ghermezians claimed they were never told of the deal and sued Simon, citing fiduciary responsibility.
On November 3, 2006, the Ghermezians gained full control of Mall of America by spending US$1 billion.
Expansions
![Mall of America Floors & Escalators](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Mall_of_America_Floors_%26_Escalators.jpg)
On May 18, 2008, the Mall of America received a tax break for a proposed $2 billion expansion. The bill gave the city of Bloomington the ability to increase taxes on sales, lodging and food and beverages to finance a parking ramp at the mall. On March 24, 2012, the Triple Five Group, partnered with architectural firm
DLR Group
DLR Group is an employee-owned integrated design firm providing architecture, engineering, planning, and interior design. Their brand promise is to elevate the human experience through design. A self-described advocate for sustainable design, the ...
, announced the start of a $200 million expansion that would build into the north parking lot of the mall. The plans called for an additional hotel and an additional of retail space. The project broke ground in the fall of 2013 and began opening in stages in the summer of 2015. In March 2014, ground was broken on the mall's north side for the $104 million, 14-story
JW Marriott
JW Marriott is a luxury hotel brand owned by Marriott International.
History
The JW Marriott brand was established in 1984, with the opening of the first hotel in Washington, D.C. It was named as a tribute to J.W. Marriott, the founder of Marri ...
hotel, owned and financed by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. In 2018, it was announced that MOA had proposed to build an indoor water park, with a cost between $150 to $200 million for the project. In March 2022, the plan was approved by the Bloomington city council.
Architecture
![Mall of America interior three-level corridor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Mall_of_America_interior_three-level_corridor.jpg)
The Mall of America has a gross area of or , enough to fit 7
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer.
Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...
s inside.
[ The mall is nearly ]symmetric
Symmetry (from grc, συμμετρία "agreement in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement") in everyday language refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, "symmetry" has a more precise definiti ...
, with a roughly rectangular floor plan
In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a technical drawing to scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces, traffic patterns, and other physical features at one level of a structure.
Dimensio ...
. More than 500 stores are arranged along 3 levels of pedestrian walkways on the sides of the rectangle, with a 4th level on the east side. 4 anchor department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
s are located at the corners. The mall is organized into 4 different zones. Each of those zones had its own decorative style until a series of renovations from 2010 to 2015 led to a unified and more luxurious style, as well as to coincide with the mall's first major expansion. The mall's food court is on the 3rd floor.
Despite Minnesota's cold winters, only the mall's entrances and some below ground areas are heated. Heat is allowed in through skylights
A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes.
History
Open ...
above the central amusement park area. The majority of the heat is produced by lighting fixtures, other electric devices and people in the mall. In fact, even during the winter, air conditioning
Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
systems may still be in use during peak hours to ensure a comfortable shopping environment. Although the common areas are unheated, the individual stores do have heating systems.
Two nearly identical seven-story parking ramp
A multistorey car park (British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a build ...
s on the east and west sides of the mall provide 12,287 parking spaces. Overflow parking north of the building provides an additional 1,200–1,500 spaces and 1,407 spaces are provided by IKEA
IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...
, which opened in July 2004.
Tenants
During its run as an all-encompassing entertainment and retail venue, certain aspects, particularly its bars, have come under scrutiny. In early 2000, a Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...
-themed bar, Fat Tuesday, shut its doors due to indecent exposure and alcohol-related offenses. On November 29, 2011, Google announced indoor maps for Mall of America along with several other places like airports, parks, and public spaces. On January 3, 2012, Macy's Inc. announced it would close its Bloomingdale's location at the Mall of America after nearly two decades.
The Theatres at Mall of America opened three days after the grand opening of the mall. Initially, the cinema was run by General Cinemas
General Cinema Corporation, also known as General Cinema, GCC, or General Cinema Theatres, was a chain of movie theaters in the United States. At its peak, the company operated about 1,500 screens, some of which were among the first cinemas certi ...
, but it was bought out then rebranded by AMC Theatres
AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC and known in some countries as AMC Cinemas or AMC Multi-Cinemas) is an American movie theater chain fou ...
, and eventually operated by mall management. The cinema occupied the south side of the fourth floor through December 2016, when it closed permanently. It was replaced by Cinemex
Cinemex is a Mexican chain of cinemas. It operates multiplexes in cities such as Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Toluca, Cd. Juarez, Leon, Tijuana, Mexicali, Puebla and other Mexican cities.
In 2015, Cinemex began to expand into the United ...
subsidiary CMX Cinemas in late 2017. Due to CMX Cinema's bankruptcy proceedings, CMX Mall of America closed down and replaced with B&B Theatres
B&B Theatres is a family-owned and operated American movie theater chain based in Liberty, Missouri. Founded in 1924, B&B is the fifth-largest theater chain in the United States, operating 500+
screens at 54 locations in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, K ...
in 2021.
On December 28, 2018, it was announced that Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
(which had been at the Mall of America since its opening in 1992) would be closing as part of a plan to close 80 stores nationwide.
There are also junior anchors, including L.L. Bean
L.L.Bean is an American privately-held retail company that was founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean. The company, headquartered in the place in which it was founded, in Freeport, Maine, specializes in clothing and outdoor recreation equipment. ...
, Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...
, DSW, and Marshalls
Marshalls is an American chain of off-price department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 1,000 American stores, including larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store, covering 42 states and Puerto Rico, and 61 stores in Canada. Mar ...
. Former stores included Best Buy
Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...
and American Girl
American Girl is an American line of dolls released on May 5, 1986, by Pleasant Company. The dolls portray eight- to fourteen-year-old boys and girls of a variety of ethnicities, faiths, and social classes from different time periods throughou ...
, with the latter being replaced with a 24,000-square-foot M&M's
M&M's (stylized as m&m's) are multi-colored button-shaped chocolates, each of which has the letter "m" printed in lower case in white on one side, consisting of a candy shell surrounding a filling which varies depending upon the variety of M&M ...
retail store, which opened in late 2020.
Other
* JW Marriott Minneapolis Mall of America
* Mystic Lake Casino Hotel
* Raddison Blu Hotel
Attractions
Nickelodeon Universe
Nickelodeon Universe is the name of two indoor amusement parks located at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota and American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with a third location under construction at the Mall of China in Chongqing ...
, formerly Camp Snoopy
Camp Snoopy is a ''Peanuts''-themed area for children at several Cedar Fair amusement parks.
History
Camp Snoopy was first introduced at Knott's Berry Farm in 1983. This was the first amusement park with a section dedicated to children under 1 ...
, is an indoor theme park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
in the center of the mall. The park features roller coaster
A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...
s, among numerous other rides and attractions, including many not related to Nickelodeon, and is the largest indoor theme park in the United States. Unlike many indoor amusement parks, Nickelodeon Universe has a great deal of natural foliage in and about the park, and its floor has a wide variance in height – the highest ground level in the park is above the lowest. The rides include the roller coasters SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge
''SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge'' is a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster located at Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota. Standing 74.5 feet tall, it is the tallest roller coaster in the park. It a ...
, Fairly Odd Coaster, Back at the Barnyard Hayride and Avatar Airbender
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or Spirit (vital essence), spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, ...
, and a thrill ride called BrainSurge
''BrainSurge'' is an American children's game show that aired on Nickelodeon and was hosted by Jeff Sutphen. The show taped its first season in February 2009, and debuted on September 28, 2009. The show's format was adapted from the Japanese gam ...
. It also has a miniature golfing section called Moose Mountain. This miniature golf course features eighteen holes and a relatively fast astroturf
AstroTurf is an American subsidiary of SportGroup that produces artificial turf for playing surfaces in sports. The original AstroTurf product was a short-pile synthetic turf invented in 1965 by Monsanto. Since the early 2000s, AstroTurf has m ...
surface.
At the Sea Life Minnesota Aquarium, guests travel through a curved tunnel through of water to view over 4,500 sea creatures including sharks, turtles, stingrays and many more. Sea Life Minnesota Aquarium offers special events such as sleepovers, scuba diving, snorkeling and birthday parties.
File:MOA1.jpg, The amusement park, during its "Camp Snoopy" days
File:Metstadium-homeplate.jpg, The Metropolitan Stadium home plate marker
File:MOA Killebrew chair1.JPG, The Harmon Killebrew
Harmon Clayton Killebrew Jr. (; June 29, 1936May 17, 2011), nicknamed "The Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. He was a prolific power hitter who spent most of hi ...
chair
File:MOA Carousel 040531b.JPG, The carousel at the amusement park
File:MOA Carousel 040531a.JPG, The band organ
A fairground organ (french: limonaire) is a French pneumatic musical organ covering the wind and percussive sections of an orchestra. Originated in Paris, France, it was designed for use in commercial fairground settings to provide loud musi ...
, formerly at the carousel entrance
File:BubbaGumpMOA4.JPG, The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant
File:MOA2.jpg, Another shot of the amusement park during the Camp Snoopy era
File:MOA3.jpg, Another shot of Camp Snoopy from a different angle. The Kite-Eating Tree ride is shown in this picture.
File:MOA kite tree swing-along 080920.JPG, When Camp Snoopy became Nickelodeon Universe in 2008, the Kite-Eating Tree was restyled and renamed ''Swing-Along''.
File:MOA Rotunda Flag 080704.JPG, The three-story U.S. flag, which was used on July 4, 2008
File:MOA Hours 080704.JPG, The mall's information sign, which shows the use of "MOA"
File:MOA lake wobegon 080920.JPG, The MPR store, emphasizing ''A Prairie Home Companion
''A Prairie Home Companion'' is a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...
''. This has since closed.
File:MOA Al's Farm Toys 080920.JPG, Al's Farm Toys, a farm-themed toy store that closed in 2016
File:MOA sports stores 080920.JPG, A few of the unique sports-themed stores throughout the mall. Team Choice, Rybicki Cheese, and Lids Locker Room (formerly Locker Room) closed, but Goldy's remains and has since become ''Goldy's Locker Room''.
File:Minnesota Picnic Seurat takeoff 020402.JPG, The mural painted in the style of Seurat
Georges Pierre Seurat ( , , ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as Divisionism, chromoluminarism and pointillism and used Conté, conté crayon for drawings on pa ...
; formerly near the food court
File:Lego at MoA.JPG, The Lego "Imagination Center", the longest-standing mall attraction
File:Lego at MOA 2010.jpg, The Lego Store after 2010 remodeling
File:Nickelodeon Universe at MOA.jpg, Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America
File:Mall of America Exterior.jpg, Mall of America front entrance
File:Mall of America TCF Rotunda.jpg, The Huntington Bank Rotunda (formerly TCF Rotunda) at the Mall of America is a common event location
Nostalgic artifacts and memorials
*A stadium seat commemorating the longest home run at Metropolitan Stadium
Metropolitan Stadium (often referred to as "the Met", "Met Stadium", or now "the Old Met" to distinguish from the Metrodome) was an outdoor sports stadium in the north central United States, located in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneap ...
, hit by Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
player Harmon Killebrew
Harmon Clayton Killebrew Jr. (; June 29, 1936May 17, 2011), nicknamed "The Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. He was a prolific power hitter who spent most of hi ...
on June 3, 1967. The seat is painted red and bolted to a wall to mark the exact height and position at which the ball landed in the upper-deck seats.
*A plaque embedded in the floor of Nickelodeon Universe, marking the exact spot of home plate at Metropolitan Stadium.
*A second plaque was added to the floor of Nickelodeon Universe in 2018, marking the spot on the 50-yard line at Metropolitan Stadium that was used for the coin toss before every Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
home game played there.
*The United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight that was hijacked by four al-Qaeda attackers aboard the plane on the morning of September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. The plane eventually crashed in Som ...
memorial, for those who died aboard during the September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
. The bust of Tom Burnett
Thomas Edward Burnett Jr. (May 29, 1963 – September 11, 2001) was an American who was the vice-president and chief operating officer of Thoratec Corporation, a medical devices company based in Pleasanton, California; he resided in nearby San ...
(who was born and raised in Bloomington) is on the west side of the first floor, next to the fountain in front of Nordstrom.
Transit
In the lower level of the eastern parking ramp is the Mall of America station, the busiest transit hub
A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips ...
in Minnesota with services to and from many destinations in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The Transit Station contains two stops on the Metro Transit network: the southern terminus
Terminus may refer to:
* Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination
* Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination
Geography
*Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...
of the METRO Blue Line ( light rail) to Downtown Minneapolis
The Central Minneapolis community is located in the central part of the city, consisting of 6 smaller official neighborhoods, and includes Downtown Minneapolis and the central business district. It also includes the many old flour mills, the ...
via MSP Airport and Hiawatha Avenue
Minnesota State Highway 55 (MN 55) is a highway in west-central, central, and east-central Minnesota, which runs from the North Dakota state line near Tenney and continues east and southeast to its eastern terminus at its intersection with U.S. Hi ...
(operated by Metro Transit), and the northern terminus of the METRO Red Line
The Metro Red Line is a bus rapid transit line between the Twin Cities suburbs of Bloomington, Minnesota and Apple Valley, Minnesota. The Red Line travels primarily on Minnesota State Highway 77 and Cedar Avenue from the Apple Valley station i ...
(BRT
BRT may refer to:
Transportation
* Block register territory, a method for dispatching trains
* British Rail Telecommunications
* Brookhaven Rail Terminal
* Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, a former transit holding company in New York City
* Bro ...
) to Apple Valley (operated by the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority
The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, also known by the acronym MVTA, is a public transportation agency that serves seven communities in the southern portion of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The agency provides fixed-route an ...
). Both agencies also operate many local bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
services to the Transit Station and many area hotels along with the Mystic Lake Casino
A mystic is a person who practices mysticism, or a reference to a mystery, mystic craft, first hand-experience or the occult.
Mystic may also refer to:
Places United States
* Mistick, an old name for parts of Malden and Medford, Massachusetts
...
offer free shuttles to their establishments.
The mall is not a park and ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...
facility, and overnight parking is banned to prevent passengers taking the train to the airport. Commuters are required to use the nearby 28th Avenue station's parking ramp. The station underwent a $25 million upgrade which was completed in October 2019.
Safety and security
Security personnel
Behavior Detection Officers (BDOs) are trained extensively in Israel, each one going through at least 240 hours of training that includes communication techniques, first aid, defensive tactics, crisis intervention, terrorism awareness and rapid response. As Doug Reynolds, the former Security Director at the mall noted in a congressional testimony in 2008, BDOs are taught to "look for intent, rather than means. The objective is to focus on suspicious indicators in three categories: People, vehicles, and unattended items like backpacks, shopping bags, and suitcases." This methodology has prepared the mall for a variety of threats, both from terrorists and everyday criminals.
In 2010, it was noted that mall security officials were instructed to question or detain individuals exhibiting what they deemed "suspicious behavior". Signs of suspicious behavior included photographing air-conditioning ducts, or signs that a shopper was hiding something. At the time, some officials within the Bloomington Police Department worried that the mall's security methods may infringe on citizens' rights.
In 2011, NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
's ''All Things Considered
''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...
'' and ''Morning Edition
''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 AM ...
'' and PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
's ''NewsHour'' both aired programs documenting security abuses by the mall's security personnel. On December 31, 2013, members from the First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
protest movement Idle No More
Idle No More is an ongoing protest Social movement, movement, founded in December 2012 by four women: three First Nations in Canada, First Nations women and one non-Native ally. It is a grassroots movement among the Indigenous peoples in Canad ...
attempted to repeat a successful Native-American round dance held at the mall in 2012, but failed after being stopped by mall security. Organizers of the dance, Patricia Shepard and Reyna Crow from Duluth
, settlement_type = City
, nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City
, motto =
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...
were arrested on site for trespassing.
Militant threat
In February 2015, the al-Shabaab militant group also released a propaganda video calling for attacks on the Mall of America and other Western shopping centers. Although the group had never launched attacks in North America, security at the mall was tightened in response and the Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...
issued a one-day alert to shoppers to remain vigilant.
Protests
On December 21, 2014, thousands of protesters attended an unauthorized demonstration organized by Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
in the mall's rotunda. The demonstration was in response to the shooting of Michael Brown
On August 9, 2014, 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.
Brown was accompanied by his 22-year-old male friend Dorian Johnson, who later stated that Brow ...
in Ferguson, Missouri and the then recent jury decision not to prosecute the white officer in that case, as well as the death of Eric Garner
On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner was killed in the New York City borough of Staten Island after Daniel Pantaleo, a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer, put him in a prohibited chokehold while arresting him. Video footage of the incide ...
of New York. In response to the demonstration, the Mall of America closed the areas of the mall around the rotunda. Police arrested 25 demonstrators. The Bloomington City Attorney, Sandra Johnson, pursued charges against the organizers, and the city is sought compensatory damages from some of the organizers for out-of-pocket costs the city incurred while paying overtime for additional security. In response to these charges, demonstrators have called for a boycott of the mall.
Plans for another Black Lives Matter demonstration at the Mall of America on December 23, 2015, prompted mall officials to file a restraining order
A restraining order or protective order, is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault.
Restraining and personal protection or ...
against the movement's activists. Eight individual activists were sued in Hennepin County District Court. The mall's lawsuit would prohibit the defendants from demonstrating and require them to delete all of their posts to social media pertaining to the demonstration. The lawsuit additionally asked that the court jail Black Lives Matter activists unless they publicly announce that the demonstration is cancelled on their social media accounts. The American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
of Minnesota called the mall's lawsuit an "improper prior restraint on speech" and an unconstitutional overreach.
Notable criminal incidents
On April 12, 2019, a five-year-old was thrown from a third-story balcony by 24-year-old Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda of Minneapolis. The boy was in the hospital for over five months and eventually recovered. Aranda was sentenced to 19 years in prison in June of that year with the possibility for parole after 12 years served.
On December 31, 2021, a single gunshot was fired on the north side of the third floor of the mall. A patrolling Bloomington Police Department officer who heard the shot immediately notified mall security, who activated the mall's lockdown alarm. Responding officers found a man who had been shot in the leg when they arrived at the scene and later another injured person was found who appeared to have been grazed by the bullet. The first victim was transported to the hospital while the second was treated on the scene by paramedics and released. According to a statement by Deputy Chief Kim Clausen, she recommended that there was an "altercation" between two men that resulted in one shooting the other. After a thorough search of the mall by police and security officers, the lockdown was lifted approximately 40 minutes after it started and the mall closed for the rest of the day shortly thereafter. On January 3, 2022, an 18-year-old Roseville man was identified as they left the scene of the shooting with the shooter was arrested for aiding and abetting first-degree assault, and on January 4, police arrested the suspect on assault charges and in a subsequent search of the house found a gun.
On August 4, 2022, the mall was put under lockdown after two men fired gunshots during an altercation at the Nike
Nike often refers to:
* Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory
* Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment
Nike may also refer to:
People
* Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
store, then fled. Two-time NASCAR Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
champion Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...
was in the mall with his family at the time; they were unharmed. The two alleged shooters were apprehended a week later in Chicago. They were detained shortly after stepping out of a barbershop. Three people were also arrested for allegedly aiding the shooters as they fled the scene and hid from authorities at a nearby Best Western
Best Western International, Inc. owns the Best Western Hotels & Resorts brand, which it licenses to over 4,700 hotels worldwide. The franchise, with its corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, includes more than 2,000 hotels in North America. ...
hotel. Two of the suspects originated from Minneapolis, while the other three originated from Burnsville, all between the ages of 21 and 23.
On December 23, 2022, the mall was placed under lockdown after a "long-standing feud" led to the fatal shooting of a 19-year old Black male inside the Nordstrom
Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and ...
department store. A bullet grazed a bystander's clothing resulting in only minor injuries.
In media
The Mall of America was used as a filming location for various movies and television shows, including:
*'' D2: The Mighty Ducks'' (1994)
*'' D3: The Mighty Ducks'' (1996)
*The first episode of ''WCW Monday Nitro
''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the Unite ...
''
*''Jingle All the Way
''Jingle All the Way'' is a 1996 American Christmas family comedy film directed by Brian Levant. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad as two rival fathers, mattress salesman Howard Langston (Schwarzenegger) and postal worker Myron Larabe ...
'' (1996)
*'' You're Invited to Mary-Kate & Ashley's Mall Party'' (1997)
*'' Drop Dead Gorgeous'' (1999)
*'' Mall Masters'' (2001)
*''Viva la Bam
''Viva La Bam'' is an American reality television series that stars Bam Margera and his friends and family. The show is a spin-off from MTV's '' Jackass'', in which Margera and most of the main cast appeared. Each episode had a specific theme, ...
'' (2003–2006)
*'' Mall Cops: Mall of America'' (2010)
*''The End of the Tour
''The End of the Tour'' is a 2015 American drama film about writer David Foster Wallace. The film stars Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg, was written by Donald Margulies, and was directed by James Ponsoldt. Based on David Lipsky's best-selling ...
'' (2015)
The mall was also referenced in the series ''How I Met Your Mother
''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and his ...
'' during the episode "Slap Bet
"Slap Bet" is the ninth episode of the second season of the American sitcom '' How I Met Your Mother''. The episode, originally titled "Robin Sparkles", first aired on November 20, 2006; the title was changed in order to keep the episode's ending ...
" as the reason why native Minnesotan Marshall Eriksen
Marshall Eriksen is a fictional character on the CBS sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'', portrayed by Jason Segel. Series co-creator Craig Thomas explained that he based Marshall and Lily on himself and his wife Rebecca.
Character overview
The se ...
believed that Robin Scherbatsky
Robin Charles Scherbatsky Jr. is a fictional character created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series ''How I Met Your Mother'', portrayed by Cobie Smulders.
Robin is the on and off love interest of Barney Stinson (Neil ...
would have been married in a mall; this is a reference to the Chapel of Love in the mall. The mall was the location of the premiere of '' Digimon: The Movie'' (2000).
See also
* American Dream Meadowlands
American Dream is a retail and entertainment complex in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The first and second of four opening stages occurred on October 25, 2019, and on December 5, 2019. The remainin ...
, a similarly large shopping mall in New Jersey
* List of the world's largest shopping malls
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to ref ...
* List of largest shopping malls in the United States
This is a list of shopping malls in the United States and its territories that have at least 2,000,000 total square feet of retail space (gross leasable area). The list is based in part on information provided by the International Council of Shopp ...
References
External links
*
Labelscar summary
Metro Transit: Mall of America Station
City Pages staff writer Matt Snyders spends one week in the Mall of America
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures in Bloomington, Minnesota
Shopping malls established in 1992
Shopping malls in Hennepin County, Minnesota
Tourist attractions in Hennepin County, Minnesota
1992 establishments in Minnesota