Docomomo US MN
  • WHO WE ARE
    • Board Members
    • Contact Us
  • NEWS & EVENTS
    • News
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events >
      • 2022 Tour Day
      • Joseph Michels in Saint Anthony Park: Going Going Gone!
      • Gustafson Residence, 1956; Going Going Gone!
      • Going Going Gone! John Howe in Rochester
      • 2022 Film Screening: GOFF
      • Tapping History: Midcentury Modernism in the South Lake Minnetonka Area
      • 2021 Events >
        • Cabin Culture Tour 2021
        • Going, Going, Gone! Broadbent Residence
        • Going, Going, Gone! Boynton Cutright House
        • Going, Going, Gone! Arthur Dickey in Minnesota
        • Mount Telemark Virtual Visit
        • Mini Film Fest: MN Modern Masters
      • 2020 Events >
        • 2020 Tour Day
        • Grabow House Going, Going, Gone!
        • 2020 Film Screening
        • Lisl Close and the Legacy of Modern Design
      • 2019 Events >
        • 2019 Tour Day
      • 2018 Events
      • 2017 Events
      • 2016 Events
      • 2015 Events >
        • 2015 National Symposium
  • EXPLORE
    • Resources
    • Buildings, Sites and Designers
    • Shopping Malls
    • Travel & Leisure
    • 70s Turn 50
    • 2015 Symposium Archive
  • MN MODERN REGISTRY
  • JOIN

EXPLORE


Resources

Buildings, Sites, and Designers

2022 Theme: SHOPPING MALLS

2021 Theme: TRAVEL & LEISURE

2020 Theme: 70s TURN 50

2015 National Symposium Archive

Docomomo US Advocacy Theme 2022: Shopping Malls

As the population shift stretched out into the suburbs, it transformed the idea of commerce. Shopping malls became a staple of American society after the Second World War, providing convenient access to domestic needs while offering social and cultural components. Early malls were small, open-air groupings of commercial enterprises with a small parking lot out front.  But the idea rapidly expanded with the creation of the fully enclosed malls in Edina, Minnesota: Southdale Center (1956), and in Southfield, Michigan: Northland Center (open air mall opened in 1954 and enclosed in 1975), among many others. This new take on suburban commercial structures began the trend for these sprawling structures that became ubiquitous within our built fabric and only continued to morph and change over the course of the 20th century.

Today, shopping malls are at a critical point of flux.
Younger generations are choosing cities over suburbs, consumers purchase goods online in the comfort of their homes, and the COVID-19 pandemic challenges our health and comfort of being around large groups of people. As part of this pivot away from these massive structures, it is critical that we begin to analyze what is left, what is historic and what we should save, who malls were built for, and their role in promoting both segregation and assimilation in American society.

For our thematic year on shopping malls, Docomomo US will partner with leading scholars, our twenty regional chapters, and other organizations to create a conversation around the depth and breadth of this typology, Docomomo US will incorporate this research throughout our 2022 programming including:
  • A partnership with Alexandra Lange, whose new book, Meet Me by the Fountain, will be released later this year
  • Development of a crowdsourced resource documenting the state of malls across the country
  • National Symposium to take place in Philadelphia in June
  • Mission for Modernism webinar series
  • Tour Day in October
  • Themed newsletter in the Summer
  • Scholarly articles to be published on our publicly accessible website
  • Creation of a unique hashtag, #Mallitecture for the theme as a way for individuals to share their stories and photos of local malls
To get you started, check out this presentation by Alexandra Lange on how shopping shaped postwar America for Indiana Modern, an affinity group of Indiana Landmarks and a Docomomo US Friend Organization. 
​
​
- Docomomo US

Shopping Malls in Minnesota

Docomomo US/MN Board member Bobak Ha'Eri has pulled together notable shopping malls from across the state. How many have you been to? Are we missing your favorite childhood mall? Send us a note docomomo.us.mn@gmail.com 

How can you participate?

Docomomo US is launching “Mallitecture & Memories” a crowdsourcing campaign to gather data and collect stories of midcentury shopping malls across the country. Although current trends are pivoting away from the traditional use of shopping malls, these massive structures and the landscapes they occupy deserve a closer look. “It is critical that we begin to analyze what is left, what is historic, what we should save, for whom malls were built, and their role in promoting both segregation and assimilation in American society,” explained Docomomo US Executive Director Liz Waytkus.

Docomomo US is asking individuals to participate in this crowdsourcing campaign by submitting basic historical information as well as personal memories of malls they are familiar with. This data will populate on the map below.
Mallitecture & Memories submission form

Useful Links

2015 Symposium Archive
Upcoming Events
Resources
Contact Us

Sign Up for Updates

Contact Us

Docomomo US MN
850 Decatur Ave N
Golden Valley MN 55427
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Proudly powered by Weebly

Unless otherwise noted, site photographs courtesy of  Peter J. Sieger Architectural Photography 


share

© 2019 DOCOMOMO US MN | SITE BY WHIP-SMART

Docomomo US MN