The
Mall of America, also called
MOA and
the Megamall, is a
shopping mallA shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
located in
Bloomington, MinnesotaBloomington is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County. Located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bloomington lies at the heart of the southern...
, a suburb of the Twin Cities, in the United States. It is located southeast of the junction of
Interstate 494Interstate 494 is a loop route making up part of a beltway of Interstate 94, circling through the southern and western portions of the Minneapolis – Saint Paul metropolitan area in Minnesota...
and
Minnesota State Highway 77Minnesota State Highway 77 is a highway in Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with 138th Street in Apple Valley and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange with State Highway 62 in Minneapolis. The route is in length...
, north of the
Minnesota RiverThe Minnesota River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of nearly , in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa....
and is across the interstate from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Opened in 1992, the mall receives 40 million visitors annually. The
Triple Five GroupTriple Five Group is a shopping mall owner and operator, hotel operator and real estate company based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are well known for their ownership of the Mall of America and West Edmonton Mall...
, owned by Canada's
Ghermezian familyThe Ghermezian family is a Canadian family of Iranian Jewish origin who have developed several of the world's largest shopping malls. The family's holdings include the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota and the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Canada. In 2011, the family's Triple Five Group...
, owns and manages the Mall of America, as well as the
West Edmonton MallWest Edmonton Mall , located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is the largest shopping mall in North America and the fifth largest in the world. The mall was founded by the Ghermezian brothers, who emigrated from Iran in 1959. It was the world's largest mall until 2004.West Edmonton Mall covers a gross...
.
In the United States, it is the second largest mall
in terms of retail space, but is the largest in terms of total enclosed floor area. The Mall of America is the second largest mall in
North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, after
West Edmonton MallWest Edmonton Mall , located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is the largest shopping mall in North America and the fifth largest in the world. The mall was founded by the Ghermezian brothers, who emigrated from Iran in 1959. It was the world's largest mall until 2004.West Edmonton Mall covers a gross...
, in
EdmontonEdmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
,
AlbertaAlberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
,
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Design
The Mall of America has a gross area of 4200000 sq ft (390,192.8 m²) or 96.4 acres, enough to fit seven
Yankee StadiumYankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
s inside, with 2500000 sq ft (232,257.6 m²) available as retail space. The mall is nearly
symmetricSymmetry generally conveys two primary meanings. The first is an imprecise sense of harmonious or aesthetically pleasing proportionality and balance; such that it reflects beauty or perfection...
, with a roughly rectangular
floor planIn architecture and building engineering, a floor plan, or floorplan, is a diagram, usually to scale, showing a view from above of the relationships between rooms, spaces and other physical features at one level of a structure....
. Over 520 stores are arranged along three levels of pedestrian walkways on the sides of the rectangle, with a fourth level on the east side. Four anchor
department storeA department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
s are located at the corners. The mall is organized into four different zones, each with its own decorative style.
Despite Minnesota's cold winters, only the mall's entrances and some below ground areas are heated. Heat is allowed in through skylights above Nickelodeon Universe. 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 conditioningAn air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
systems are still 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 ramps 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 in addition to parking provided by
IKEAIKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
(1,407 spaces) that is part of the currently under construction Phase II expansion of the mall.
History
The mall's concept was designed by
Triple Five Group, owned by the Ghermezian brothers of
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, who also own the biggest shopping mall in North America, the
West Edmonton MallWest Edmonton Mall , located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is the largest shopping mall in North America and the fifth largest in the world. The mall was founded by the Ghermezian brothers, who emigrated from Iran in 1959. It was the world's largest mall until 2004.West Edmonton Mall covers a gross...
. The Mall of America is located on the former site of
Metropolitan StadiumMetropolitan Stadium was a sports stadium that once stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis. The area where the stadium once stood is now the site of the Mall of America...
, where the
Minnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
and
Minnesota TwinsThe Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
played until the
Hubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeThe Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, commonly called the Metrodome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1982, it replaced Metropolitan Stadium, which was on the current site of the Mall of America in Bloomington and Memorial Stadium on the University...
opened. The teams left Met Stadium in 1982. A plaque in the amusement park commemorates the former location of home plate. One seat from Met Stadium was placed in the Mall of America at the exact location (including elevation) it occupied in the stadium, to commemorate a 520 feet (158.5 m) home run hit by hall-of-famer
Harmon KillebrewHarmon Clayton Killebrew , nicknamed "Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. During his 22-year career in Major League Baseball , he played for the Washington Senators, a team which later became the Minnesota Twins, and...
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,
Teachers Insurance and Annuity (a.k.a. TIAA)Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund is a Fortune 100 financial services organization that is the leading retirement provider for people who work in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields...
, the Triple Five Group, and the office of architect
Jon JerdeJon Jerde is an American architect based in Venice, California, Founder & Chairman of , a design architecture and urban planning firm that pioneered the concept of placemaking and "experience architecture;" and has created multiple award-winning commercial developments around the globe...
.
The mall opened its doors to the public August 11, 1992. Even before opening, the Mall of America had earned several nicknames, including "The Megamall" (or "The Megamess" during construction), "Sprawl of America", "Hugedale" (in reference to the four major "Dale" shopping malls within the Twin Cities,
RosedaleRosedale Center, commonly known just as Rosedale, is a shopping center in Roseville, Minnesota. The mall is considered a regional powerhouse as a shopping destination; surrounded by suburbs and close to major highways, it serves a trade area population almost 2 million people, and boasts 12...
,
SouthdaleSouthdale Center, commonly known as just Southdale, is a shopping mall in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, which opened in 1956. It is the United States' oldest fully enclosed, climate-controlled mall...
,
RidgedaleRidgedale Center is a large regional shopping mall in Minnetonka, Minnesota a western suburb of the Twin Cities. Built in 1974, it is owned and operated by General Growth Properties and anchored by JCPenney, Macy's Women's and Childrens, Macy's Men's and Home, and Sears. Ridgedale Center was...
and now-defunct (as of 2010)
BrookdaleBrookdale Center was a regional shopping mall in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, which opened in 1962. It became the third mall in the Twin Cities, after Southdale Center and Apache Plaza...
) and, simply, "The Mall".
It became the second largest shopping mall in total area and largest in total store vendors in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
when it opened, however, the mall has never been the largest in the world (at the time it opened, it was #2 globally to the
West Edmonton MallWest Edmonton Mall , located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is the largest shopping mall in North America and the fifth largest in the world. The mall was founded by the Ghermezian brothers, who emigrated from Iran in 1959. It was the world's largest mall until 2004.West Edmonton Mall covers a gross...
). The Mall of America is the most visited shopping mall in the world with more than 40 million visitors annually (or roughly eight times the population of the state of Minnesota). The mall employs over 12,000 workers.
During its run as an all-encompassing entertainment and retail venue, certain aspects - most notably bars - have come under scrutiny. A Mardi Gras themed bar, Fat Tuesdays, shut its doors in early 2000 due to indecent exposure and alcohol related offenses, for ignoring warnings from the mall and Bloomington police to not repeat incidents caught on tape the year before. Following that verdict there were other problems, such as foot traffic within the Mall after the bars (all located on the fourth floor) had closed for the evening. The
HootersHooters is the trade name of two privately held American restaurant chains: Hooters of America, Incorporated, based in Atlanta, Georgia, and Hooters, Incorporated, based in Clearwater, Florida...
restaurant, Cantina #1 restaurant, Rick Bronson's House of Comedy and the Theatres at Mall of America movie theater are the only establishments remaining on the fourth floor. Planet Hollywood, at the height of its success, was once a very popular restaurant on the fourth floor, but vacated the mall some years ago.
In 2003, after a protracted six year legal battle between
Simon Property GroupSimon Property Group, Inc. is an American commercial real estate company, ranked #1 in the United States as the largest real estate investment trust. Simon is a fully integrated real estate company which operates from five retail real estate platforms: regional malls, Premium Outlet Centers, The...
, 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 its original conceptualizer. 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, spending US$1 billion to do so.
Level One
Level One is Nickelodeon Universe, The Theme Park Food Court, the LEGO Store, shopping, and other stores.
Level Three
Level Three has two food courts with more than 20 eateries, Marshall's, mini-golf, and other stores.
Level Four
Level Four is the entertainment level with Hooter's, a Mexican restaurant owned by Corona Beer, a mini-bowling alley, a comedy club, a movie theater, and other restaurants. Level Four is also highly vacant, some might say a
ghost townA ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
. The original Level Four had a comedy club, bowling alley, mini-golf, and
Planet HollywoodPlanet Hollywood, a restaurant inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood, was launched in New York on October 22, 1991, with the backing of Hollywood stars Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.-History:...
.
Phase II expansion
Phase II is the planned expansion for MOA, developing a large, empty parcel of land north of the mall which was the former home of the Met Center indoor arena and integrating an
IKEAIKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
store built on a portion of the property in 2004. Phase II, includes a dinner theatre, ice rink, three hotels, and a waterpark; similar in design to the
West Edmonton MallWest Edmonton Mall , located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is the largest shopping mall in North America and the fifth largest in the world. The mall was founded by the Ghermezian brothers, who emigrated from Iran in 1959. It was the world's largest mall until 2004.West Edmonton Mall covers a gross...
.
The cost of expansion is $2.1 billion, doubling the mall's size with a 5200000 square feet (483,095.8 m²) extension.
MOA has signed contracts to bring in Great Wolf Resorts as the waterpark operator, as well as
Bass Pro ShopsBass Pro Shops is a privately held retailer of hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor recreation merchandise. Bass Pro Shops is known for a large selection of hunting, fishing, and other outdoor gear.-History:The owner, John L...
and a Kimpton Hotel. The expansion section would connect to the mall on all four levels, and an adjacent IKEA store via a second level bridge. There would be an NHL-sized ice rink for public & private skating. There would also be an additional parking ramp, adding 8,000 parking spaces. There would also be fine art exhibits planned in the expansion, and two upscale department stores. Another plan that was in the works would have seen fashions, architecture, and restaurants based after Europe.
On May 18, 2008, the Minnesota State Legislature passed a bill granting the city of Bloomington the right to raise property and sales taxes to pay for the MOA expansion. There is however an expansion that will occur on the south side of the mall near Killebrew Drive, where a 500 room hotel had already begun construction in early 2011. Construction of the main expansion has begun in mid 2011. It will be finished and opened in 2015.
Radisson Blu Hotel
Started construction in early 2011, there will be a 500 room hotel off of Killebrew Drive named the Radisson Blu Hotel at Mall of America. It will be open by early 2014.
Nickelodeon Universe
Nickelodeon Universe is an indoor theme park in the center of the mall, formerly known as Knott's Camp Snoopy, Camp Snoopy, and The Park at MOA. The park features
roller coasterThe roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...
s, among numerous other rides and attractions, and is the largest indoor theme park in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. 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 15 feet (4.6 m) above the lowest. This allows for a far more naturalistic experience than would normally occur in an indoor amusement park.
The park features two new roller coasters,
SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom PlungeSpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge is a loop and corkscrew Eurofighter roller coaster located at Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota. It is the shortest Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster to date, standing only 67 feet tall; yet it has a 97 degree drop...
and
Avatar AirbenderAvatar Airbender is an Intamin roller coaster themed after the TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender located at Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America. Avatar is a halfpipe roller coaster that goes up to 70 ft to the top and back tower while spinning the riders. It reaches the top of both...
, and a new thrill ride called
BrainSurgeBrainSurge is a flat ride located in Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America. It is a first park model of Chance Morgan's "unicoaster" attraction that is located near the center of the park.- Description :...
. The latter roller coaster bills itself as a "rather peculiar" ride. It also has a miniature golfing section called Moose Mountain. This miniature golf course features eighteen holes and a relatively fast
astroturfAstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Although the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf. The original AstroTurf product was a short pile synthetic turf while the current products incorporate modern features such as...
surface.
SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium
Guests travel through a 300 feet (91.4 m) curved tunnel through 14 feet (4.3 m) 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.
Other notable attractions
- 14-screen movie theater (formerly operated by General Cinema and AMC Theaters, now operated by MOA itself as the "Theatres at Mall of America")
- LEGO
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
Store-remodeled in 2010
- American Girl
American Girl is a line of dolls, books, and accessories.American Girl may also refer to:* American Girl , a magazine published by the American Girl company* American Girl , a 2002 American film...
Store-opened in 2009
Nostalgic artifacts or memorials
- The exact seat to which Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
player Harmon KillebrewHarmon Clayton Killebrew , nicknamed "Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. During his 22-year career in Major League Baseball , he played for the Washington Senators, a team which later became the Minnesota Twins, and...
hit his longest home run at Metropolitan StadiumMetropolitan Stadium was a sports stadium that once stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis. The area where the stadium once stood is now the site of the Mall of America...
on June 3, 1967. The seat is painted red and bolted to a wall at its original height and position within the stadium.
- The home plate plaque in Nickelodeon Universe denoting the exact spot of home plate at Metropolitan Stadium
- United Airlines Flight 93
United Airlines Flight 93 was United Airlines' scheduled morning transcontinental flight across the United States from Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport in California. On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the Boeing 757–222 aircraft operating the...
memorial, for those who died aboard during the September 11, 2001 attacksThe September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
-- the bust of Tom BurnettThomas Edward Burnett, Jr. was the vice-president and chief operating officer of Thoratec Corporation, a medical devices company based in Pleasanton, California. He resided in San Ramon, California....
is on the west side of the first floor, next to the fountain in front of Nordstrom.
Twin Cities public events:
- Race for the Cure, held at Mall of America on Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, yet most commonly in March, April, or May...
.
Junior anchors
- Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...
- Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
- DSW Shoe Warehouse
- Old Navy
Old Navy is an American clothing brand as well as a chain of stores owned by Gap, Inc., with corporate operations in San Francisco and San Bruno, California. It is one of the first major corporations to house headquarters in the new Mission Bay district of San Francisco.Gap, Inc. was run by...
- American Girl
American Girl is a line of dolls, books, and accessories.American Girl may also refer to:* American Girl , a magazine published by the American Girl company* American Girl , a 2002 American film...
store
- LEGO
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
Store
- dELiA*s
- Pandora Jewelry
Pandora A/S is a global jewelry company founded in Denmark. It sells customizable charm bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces in more than 50 countries....
Measurements
- Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's is an American department store owned by Macy's, Inc. .Bloomingdale's started in 1861 when brothers Joseph and Lyman G. Bloomingdale started selling hoop-skirts in their Ladies Notions' Shop on Manhattan's Lower East Side...
210000 sq ft (19,509.6 m²)
- Nickelodeon Universe 292000 sq ft (27,127.7 m²)
- Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
280000 sq ft (26,012.9 m²)
- Nordstrom
Nordstrom, Inc. is an upscale department store chain in the United States, founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin. Initially a shoe retailer, the company today also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishings...
220000 sq ft (20,438.7 m²)
- Sears 177904 sq ft (16,527.8 m²)
- Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
45000 sq ft (4,180.6 m²)
- SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium 43886 sq ft (4,077.1 m²)
- Abercrombie & Fitch Flagship (25,909 m)
Transit
The mall is used as a major transportation hub in the region, with
busA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
and
light railLight rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
service linking the mall to other destinations. Regular public transit service is provided by
Metro TransitMetro Transit is the transit division of the Metropolitan Council, a regional governmental agency in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Metro Transit is the largest operator of bus services in the seven-county region surrounding Minneapolis and St...
and other area bus lines, and nearby Mystic Lake Casino offers free shuttles to their establishment. The primary bus/rail station for scheduled local service is in the lower level of the eastern parking ramp. There, the
Blue LineThe Hiawatha Line is a light rail corridor in Hennepin County, Minnesota that extends from downtown Minneapolis to the southern suburb of Bloomington. It was formerly known as the Hiawatha Line named after Hiawatha Avenue. Major connections on the line include the Minneapolis-St...
light rail line connects the mall to the
Minneapolis-Saint Paul International AirportMinneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in the five-state upper Midwest region of Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.-Overview:...
and from there to downtown Minneapolis (another major shopping destination in the region, particularly during weekdays) and terminates at
Target FieldTarget Field is a baseball park located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the home ballpark of the Minnesota Twins, the city's Major League Baseball franchise. It is the franchise's sixth ballpark and third in Minnesota. The Twins moved to Target Field for the 2010 Major League Baseball...
home of the
Minnesota TwinsThe Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
(MLB baseball team). The mall is being discouraged as a
park and ridePark and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...
facility, and overnight parking is banned to prevent passengers taking the train to the airport. Commuters are encouraged to use the nearby 28th Avenue Station's parking lot. The mall is the first stop on the Red Line and the nineteenth, final stop on the Blue Line.
Security abuses
On September 7, 2011,
NPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's
All Things ConsideredAll Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
aired a program and posted hyperlinks documenting security abuses by private security personnel at the Mall of America. PBS's Newshour aired its version of the story the same day.
Morning EditionMorning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
has since followed up with its own reportage.
At the mall people have been questioned or detained for operating video cameras, using notebooks, or other suspicious behavior. Mike Rozin, the leader of the malls special security unit instructs its members that suspicious behavior constitutes “photographing such things as air-conditioning ducts or signs that a shopper might have something to hide” .
Commander Jim Ryan of the Bloomington Police Department commented that the malls security methods may “infringe on some freedoms, unfortunately.”. .
Slogans
- Where Something Special Happens Every Day (1992)
- The Ultimate One-Stop Shop (1993)
- Your Life. Your Style. Your Place. (1994)
- America's Shining Bright on You! (1995)
- America, You're the One! (1996)
- The Spirit of America (1997)
- Be There or Be Square! (1998)
- America's Lovin' It! (1999)
- Mall of America 2000: Celebrate the New Millenium! (2000)
- The Mall That Remembers America (2001; used after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001)
- Where You're Looking Good! (2002)
- Red, White and You (2003)
- More Ways to Be You (2007) (still embedded on mall's gift cards)
- The New Home of Nickelodeon Universe (2008; used to celebrate the opening of Nickelodeon Universe)
- The Place for Fun (2009)
- More Stores. More Value. (2010)
- America Loves MOA (2010–present)
See also
External links