On the Legacy and Unfulfilled Potential of Shopping Malls

Anne Quito sets the stage for a critical re-evaluation of the value and role of the shopping mall in the history of the American landscape:

"As sociologists and urban planners debate the relevance of these classic American brick-and-mortar shopping spaces in the era of e-commerce and Amazon Prime Day, a group of architecture enthusiasts will gather this weekend to celebrate the birthday of Victor Gruen, the man known as 'father of the modern shopping mall,' and the first annual Gruen Day."

The organizers of the event credit Gruen with a novel and popular form of third space—outside of the home and office. In recent years, however, shopping malls are threatened from an economic standpoint by online shopping and recession, while the narrative about car culture, with the shopping mall as one of its iconic symbols, has shifted in tone.

Quito notes, however, that Gruen hated cars, and designed his first malls to encourage walking—a great idea that "backfired." Gruen is on record saying that the "bastard" versions of his vision "destroyed our cities."

Quito concludes by examining the possibility that the rebirth of shopping malls, following their recent and current struggles, might bring their reality closer in line with Gruen's original vision.