The new luxury wing at Southdale Center welcomes shoppers with an elevated mix of high-end retailers and refined design. Photo: Chris Emeott
Southdale Center’s history comes alive through community memories and a modern lens.
For almost seven decades, Edina’s Southdale Center has defined the suburban shopping experience. Opened in 1956, Southdale was the first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping center in the country, designed to cater to an emerging suburban “car culture” as families moved out of urban centers after World War II. And for several generations of Edina residents, Southdale has been a go-to place for retail milestones: hanging out at the food court, setting up wedding gift registries, shopping for prom dresses and more.
But as online shopping upended the retail landscape over the past 20 years, Southdale has had to adapt too. In its latest rebirth, the center underwent a renovation and opened a new luxury wing this summer. To mark the occasion, we spoke with Southdale leadership and community members about what the mall has meant to them and what its continued evolution says about Edina.
From Farmland to Fashion
Bob Crabb was just a kid when he helped create one of Southdale’s most memorable features: He and his brothers Earl and John came up with the list of animals that would mark the mall’s original parking lots. “There was the giraffe lot, the alligator lot, the turtle lot, the camel lot,” Robin Wenzel, Crabb’s daughter, remembers of the long list of animals. “The parking area was so big, they had to help people remember where they parked,” she says.
Wenzel’s grandfather, Robert Crabb Sr., was a real estate expert enlisted by the Dayton family to help plan their newfangled shopping center in the farmland west of Minneapolis. “He studied the highway and housing expansion patterns and chose the location,” Bob remembers. “He also recommended they hire Victor Gruen to be the architect on the project.” Robert Crabb Sr. had grown up in Minneapolis and moved his family—including young Bob—to Edina from Seattle when the Southdale project got underway. “I remember there was still farmland in all directions,” Bob says. “In the middle was this enormous hole in the ground where they started digging. It was like a meteor had blown it out.”
Robert Crabb Sr. and Bruce Dayton. Photo: Robin Wenzel
Among other innovations, the original Southdale planners decided on multiple anchor department stores (instead of the typical one), which included Dayton’s and Donaldson’s. A beautifully designed atrium would let in natural light and provide space for plants and art pieces.
As soon as the center opened, it became Edina’s hub, Bob says, “It’s where we went to shop and do pretty much everything.”
Illustration of Southdale Center (1956). Photo: Edina Historical Society
Wenzel is a third-generation Southdale devotee. “When I was a kid, my dad would take us to the B. Dalton bookstore, and then we’d get frozen yogurt,” Wenzel remembers. “And I loved the chocolate truffles from the second floor of Dayton’s.” Wenzel was a teen during the peak “mall culture” years in the ’80s and early ’90s. “My friends and I would hang out at Southdale,” she says. “It’s always been special to my family, and I’m thrilled that they’re reinvesting in it. It’s neat to see how many generations continue to experience a sense of community there.”
Milestones and Memories
Another lifelong Edina resident with close ties to Southdale is Alissa Collins, whose parents, Rod and Teri Hjermstad, owned a tableware store at the mall for many years. Their store, T.R. Christian, sold high-end china and crystal brands and had been a success at Minnetonka’s Ridgedale Center. “The property company asked my parents to open a second store at Southdale in 1978,” Collins says. “My mom recalls bringing me to the store days after my birth to do paperwork; she had an office with a crib for me. I was essentially raised at Southdale.”
In 1982, Alissa Collins’ parents created a whimsical display for their tableware store, T.R. Christian: a Rolls-Royce balanced atop four Wedgwood teacups. Photo: Alissa Collins
One of Collins’ favorite memories is from 1982, when her parents displayed a real Rolls-Royce, weighing 5,000 pounds, on top of four Wedgwood teacups. “It was a marketing event with Wedgwood to show how strong fine china actually is,” Collins says. She also loved to wander around the mall as a kid, exploring the back hallways, loading docks and freight elevator. “It was our playground,” she says. “My parents allowed it because they were in the mall working, and the security guards knew us.”
As for Southdale’s newest incarnation, Collins notes that retail centers have always been somewhat in flux. “The big chains and brands go where they can get free or reduced rent,” she says. Her parents’ store relocated to the Galleria in the early 1990s and then closed in 2006. “New renovations are what malls have to do in order to survive,” she says.
The original mall directory for Southdale Center (1956). Photo: Edina Historical Society
Southdale’s New Era
Judy Tullius, general manager of Southdale Center, says flexibility and adaptability are key to the mall’s next chapter. The renovations, completed this spring, include a luxury wing with high-end retailers like Burberry, David Yurman, Louis Vuitton, Max Mara, Moncler, Tiffany & Co. and Watches of Switzerland/Rolex. There are also new mid-range stores and experiences, such as CAMP, an adventure-focused store for families and kids that also includes interactive media; several new restaurants; a Puttshack mini golf venue; and Kowalski’s Markets.
Southdale’s campus has gone beyond shopping and dining, with Life Time’s athletic complex as one anchor and several hotel options. By combining all of these elements into a true mixed-use place, Tullius says, “The project is set to enhance Edina’s urban landscape, making it a more vibrant and attractive destination for residents and visitors alike.” She wants community members and guests to not only shop and eat at the mall but also to work and play there. “It’s a welcoming environment where people of all ages feel safe and comfortable—whether they’re grabbing coffee, browsing or just enjoying the ambiance,” she says.
Photo: Chris Emeott
Tullius says an important factor in the renovations has been community pride and buy-in. “Southdale means much more to the Edina community than just being a shopping destination—it represents a piece of local history and a symbol of progress and connection,” she says. “That historical significance gives the community a sense of pride. It’s a local icon that put Edina on the map.”
Joan McCoy’s family moved to Edina in 1969 when she was 13, and she immediately fell in love with Southdale. McCoy says, “We felt we had hit the big city when we saw the escalators!” As for most longtime Southdale fans, the tiny details make McCoy’s most beloved memories. “I felt so grown up, ending our shopping day at The Brothers restaurant without an adult present and ordering a Coke and a banana cream pie with a friend,” she says.
Liz Oie has been shopping at Southdale since 1968, when she was 5. “I look forward to taking my grandchildren shopping at the new Southdale,” Oie says. “We’ll be able to catch a movie, shop, have dinner and even fit in some mini golf.”
Southdale Center
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