In 1956, rock was king, cool cars cruised the streets and retail shopping history was about to be made. On October 8th, Southdale, the first totally enclosed shopping mall, opened for business. A truly American phenomenon was born.Anchored by retail giants Dayton's, JC Penney, Mervyn's and Marshalls on its four corners, the malls boasts 150 stores on three levels. Remodeling projects have doubled the mall's floor space to 1.6 million square feet. Other stores of note include J Crew, Disney Store, The Gap, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Suncoast Pictures, Casual Corner and Victoria's Secret along with a variety of specialty gift shops, toy, jewelry, music and shoe stores. The mall has an appealing food court featuring fast food along with restaurants like Applebee's, Dayton's Boundary Waters and Ruby Tuesday.Parking is more than adequate, baby stroller and locker rental is available. Most stores accept credit cards or personal checks.