Mall of America (commonly known as " MOA ") is a shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States (suburb of Twin Cities). Southeast intersection intersection of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, north of the Minnesota River and across the Interstate from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Opened in 1992, this is the third largest mall in North America in terms of leased space, the largest mall in the United States in terms of total floor area (including Nickelodeon Universe), and the world's twelfth largest.
The mall is managed by the Triple Five Group (which is in turn owned by the Canadian Ghermezian family, along with the West Edmonton Mall). Eighty percent of visitors to Mall of America are from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Dakotas, Illinois, Ohio, and Canada.
Video Mall of America
History
The concept of the mall was designed by the Triple Five Group, owned by the Ghermezian brothers, which also own North America's largest shopping mall, the West Edmonton Mall. Mall of America is located on the site of the former Metropolitan Stadium, where Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Twins play until Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome opened in 1982. A plaque at the amusement park commemorates the former home plate location, and a seat from the Met Stadium is placed at Mall of America at the exact location occupied at the stadium, commemorating the 520-foot (160 m) home run that was hit by hall-of-famer Harmon Killebrew on June 3, 1967.
In 1986, the Port Authority of Bloomington signed an agreement with the Ghermezian organization. Groundbreaking for the mall took place on June 14, 1989. The organizations involved included Melvin Simon and Associates, Teachers Insurance and Annuity (a.k.a. TiaA), Triple Five Group, and the office architect Jon Jerde.
Mall of America opened its doors to the public on August 11, 1992. Even before it opened, the mall has received several nicknames, including "The Megamall", "Sprawl of America", "Hugedale" - referring to the top four "dale" shopping centers in Twin Cities: Rosedale, Southdale, Ridgedale, and (dead in 2010) Brookdale - and simply, "The Mall".
The first episode of WCW's Monday Nitro was broadcast live from Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota on September 4, 1995.
Mall of America became the largest shopping center in the total area and largest in total vendor stores in the United States when it opened. 42 million Mall of America annual visitors are equivalent to approximately eight times the population of the state of Minnesota. The mall employs over 11,000 workers throughout the year and 13,000 during peak seasons.
While running it as an all-encompassing entertainment and retail venue, certain aspects, especially the bar, have come under scrutiny. In early 2000, the Mardi Gras-themed bar Fat Tuesday closed the door due to indecent exposure and alcohol-related offenses.
In 2003, after a protracted six-year legal battle between Simon Property Group, the managing partner of property general, and the Ghermezian brothers/Triple Five Group, for majority ownership of the site, the federal appeals court ruled in favor of Ghermezians, effectively transferring control and planning authorities mall back to the creator of the concept. The dispute stems from the purchase of Master's insurance shares in 1999, a 27.5% share by Simon Properties, giving them majority ownership. The Ghermezians claim they were never informed of the deal and sued Simon, on the grounds of fiduciary responsibility.
On November 3, 2006, Ghermezians took full control of Mall of America by spending US $ 1 billion.
On May 18, 2008, the Minnesota State Legislature passed a law that gave Bloomington City the right to use $ 34 million in financing tax increases to pay for public infrastructure to support MOA expansion. In early 2011, construction began on the southern side of the mall near Killebrew Drive, where the Radisson Blu 506 hotel opened in March 2013. The addition of this hotel is for the purpose of increasing accessibility to the park and making Mall of America a destination location for anyone. The addition of a light rail between the airport and Mall of America also allows people with a stopover in Minneapolis to spend a cozy afternoon at the Mall of America.
On November 29, 2011, Google announced indoor maps for the Mall of America along with several other places like airports, parks, and public spaces.
On January 3, 2012, Macy's Inc. announced it will close the Bloomingdale location at Mall of America.
On March 24, 2012, Triple Five Group announced the start of a $ 200 million expansion to be built north of the mall parking lot. Instead of the planned Phase II expansion, this will be a step in building this expansion. The plan calls for additional hotels and an additional 200,000 square feet (19,000 m 2 ) of retail space. In March 2014, land damaged on the north side of the mall for $ 104 million, the 14-story JW Marriott hotel, owned and funded by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.
In the winter of 2012-2013, the Mall of America runs a 12 meter ice cube made of ice formed from 4 million gallons of water and then fused together. The castle joins 50 large ice towers together to create a series of curves, tunnels, walls and glittering caverns.
In 2016, the King of Prussia Mall in King of Prussia, PA finished building a 140,000 square foot expansion with all the new shops and restaurants connecting the two buildings; the square, and the courts. This expansion means Mall of America loses its position as the largest.
In 2018, it was announced that the MOA proposed to build a large indoor water park costing between $ 150 million and $ 200 million for the project. Planning is still in the early stages because due diligence needs to be done before the plan will be realized.
Maps Mall of America
Architecture
Mall of America has a gross area of ​​4,870,000Ã, sqÃ, ft (452,000Ã, m 2 ) or 96.4 acres (390,000 m 2 ), enough to load seven Yankee Stadiums inside, with 2,500,000 sqÃ, ft (230,000 m 2 ) available as retail space. The mall is almost symmetrical, with a rectangular floor plan. Over 530 stores are arranged along three levels of pedestrian walkways on the sides of the rectangle, with the fourth level on the east side. Four anchor department stores are located in the corners. The mall is organized into four different zones, each zone has its own decorative style until a series of renovations from 2010 to 2015 lead to a more united and more luxurious style, and coincides with the first major expansion of the mall.
Despite the cold winters of Minnesota, only the mall entrance and some heated underground areas. The heat is allowed to enter through the skylights above the central theme park area. Much of the heat is generated by lighting fixtures, other electrical devices, and people in the mall. In fact, even during the winter, air conditioning systems may still be used during peak hours to ensure a comfortable shopping environment. Although the public areas are not heated, each store has a heating system.
Two nearly seven-tiered seven-story parking lanes on the east and west sides of the mall provide 12,287 parking spaces. Excess parking on the north side of the building provides 1,200-1,500 additional rooms, and 1,407 spaces are provided by IKEA.
Renters
First Floor is the location of the Nickelodeon Universe (formerly Camp Snoopy) amusement park, and the first level of general retail that includes Sea Life Minnesota Aquarium, Hard Rock Cafe, Lego Shop, American Girl Place, Apple Store, Barnes & amp; Noble, Fabletics, Sears, Macy's and Microsoft Store, Level Two has the first restaurants, shopping, MOAÃ,® Moments, and Verizon Wireless Destination Store. Floor Three has two food courts with over 20 fast food and full-service restaurants, mini-golf, shopping and Crayola Experience. Level Four is the level of entertainment with Hooters, Cantina # 1, Rick Bronson's House of Comedy, Gameworks, Dick's Last Resort, Sky Deck Sports Grille and Lane, and the first SMAAASH location in the US, a virtual reality sports entertainment center.
The Theaters at Mall of America (originally administered by General Cinemas, purchased later renamed by AMC Theaters, and eventually operated by mall management) occupied the south side of the fourth floor until December 2016, when it was permanently closed. Replaced by Cinemex subsidiary CMX Cinemas in autumn 2017.
Attractions
Nickelodeon Universe is an indoor playground in the center of the mall. The park has a roller coaster, among many rides and other attractions, and is the largest indoor playground in the United States. Unlike many indoor amusement parks, the Nickelodeon Universe has lots of natural foliage in and around the park, and the floor has wide width variations - the highest surface level in the park is 15 feet (4.6 m) above the lowest. The rides include a SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge roller coaster and Airbender Avatar, and a vehicle called BrainSurge. The latter appeal calls itself a "strange" journey. It also has a mini golf section called Moose Mountain. This mini golf course has eighteen holes and a relatively fast astroturf surface.
At Sea Life Minnesota Aquarium, guests travel through a 300-foot (91 m) curved tunnel to 14 feet (4.3 m) of water to view more than 4,500 sea creatures including sharks, turtles, stingrays, and more. Sea Life Minnesota Aquarium offers special events like stay, scuba diving, snorkeling, and birthday parties.
Mall recently added Crayola Experience and FlyOver America to the list of family attractions.
Nostalgic artifacts and warnings
- The stadium seats to commemorate the longest home run at the Metropolitan Stadium, were hit by Minnesota Twins player Harmon Killebrew on 3 June 1967. The seats were painted red and bolted to the wall to mark the height and exact position at which the ball landed on deck chairs on.
- A plaque embedded on the Nickelodeon Universe floor marks the exact place of home plate at the Metropolitan Stadium.
- A plaque embedded on the Nickelodeon Universe floor, marking the 50-yard line point at the Metropolitan Stadium added in 2018.
- United Airlines Flight 93 memorial, for those who died aboard for 11 September 2001, Tom Burnett (born and raised in Bloomington) statues are on the west side of the first floor, next to the fountain in front of Nordstrom.
Transit
At the lower levels of the eastern parking lot is the Mall of America Transit Station , Minnesota's busiest transit center with service to and from many destinations in the Minneapolis-St metropolitan area. Paul.
The Transit Station contains two stops on the Metro Transit network: the southern terminal of the METRO Blue Line (light rail) to Downtown Minneapolis via MSP Airport and Hiawatha Avenue (operated by Metro Transit), and the northern terminal of the METRO Red Line (BRT) to Lakeville (operated by Minnesota Valley Transit Authority). Both agencies also operate many local bus services to Transit Stations, and many hotels in the region along with Mystic Lake Casino offer free shuttles to their premises.
The mall is not a park and ride facility, and overnight parking is prohibited to prevent passengers from boarding the train to the airport. The commuters had to use the nearby 28th Avenue Station parking lot.
Mall of America Transit Station is conducting research to improve efficiency and capacity, and to provide a better experience for its users. Estimates for an increase of about $ 20 million.
Security
Mall of America's security program is unique and in many ways the first of its kind. Michael Rozin, formerly employed as the Special Operations Security Captain of the mall, developed and implemented a behavior detection unit that specifically focuses on the mitigation of terrorism threats and enhances counter-terrorism abilities. Behavior Detection Officers (BDOs) are trained extensively in Israel, each undergoing at least 240 hours of training that includes communication techniques, first aid, defensive tactics, crisis intervention, terrorism awareness, and quick response. As Doug Reynolds, Director of Security at the mall, noted in his congressional testimony in 2008, BDO was taught to "search for intentions, not mean.The aim was to focus on suspicious indicators in three categories: Unattended people, vehicles and goods such as backpacks , shopping bags, luggage. "This methodology has prepared the mall for various threats, both from terrorists and everyday villains.
In 2011, NPR All Things Considered and Morning Edition and PBS's Newshour aired a program documenting security breaches by security mall personnel.
In February 2015, the al-Shabaab militant group also released a propaganda video calling for attacks on Mall of America and other Western shopping centers. Although the group has never launched an attack on North America, security at the mall is tightened in response and Homeland Security issued a one-day warning to buyers to remain vigilant.
In 2016 nine people were stabbed by a Muslim religious fanatic, and, in 2018, two were stabbed by another Muslim fanatic.
Criticism
During the first decade of the existence of the MOA, the demonstrators protested against the cruelty and conditions of animal sweatshops. In 1994, protesters confronted actor Charlton Heston in a mall restaurant for his campaign effort on behalf of a US Senator candidate. In 1996, two men were arrested after they locked themselves into Macy's door in the spirit of the annual Frost-Free demonstration. The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in 1999 that since the mall is privately owned, the protection of constitutional freedom of speech does not apply.
People inside the mall have been questioned or detained for operating a video camera, using a notebook, or any other suspicious behavior that is felt. In 2010, Michael Rozin, former Special Operations Security Captain and founder of the mall's behavior detection unit instructed his members that "suspicious behavior" was "photographing things like air-conditioning channels or signs that buyers might have something hidden." Commander Jim Ryan from the Bloomington Police Department commented that the mall's security method might "break some freedoms, unfortunately."
On December 31, 2013, members of the First Nations protest movement, Idle No More attempted to repeat the original American native dance that was successfully held at the mall in 2012, but failed after being stopped by mall security, who refused to allow Idle No More to hold their dance. The dance organizer, Patricia Shepard and Reyna Crow from Duluth were arrested on site for unauthorized entry.
On December 21, 2014, thousands of protesters attended an illegal demonstration organized by Black Lives Matter at the rotunda mall. The demonstration was in response to Michael Brown's fatal shooting at Ferguson, Missouri, and a recent jury decision not to prosecute white officers in the case, as well as the death of Eric Garner of New York. In response to the demonstration, Mall of America closed the mall area around the rotunda. Police arrested 25 demonstrators. Bloomington City lawyer Sandra Johnson is pursuing accusations against organizers, beginning "from irregular behavior and unauthorized entry to instigate riots". The city is seeking thousands of dollars in damage compensation from some organizers for the over-the-pocket expenses incurred by the city while paying overtime for additional security. In response to these allegations, demonstrators have called for a boycott of the mall.
Plans for the Black Lives Matter Demonstration at Mall of America on December 23, 2015 prompted Mall officials to file a restraining order against movement activists. Eight individual activists were sued at the Hennepin County District Court. The mall suit will ban the defendant from the demonstration and require them to remove all their posts to social media related to the demonstration. The lawsuit also requested that the prison punish activists for Black Lives Matter unless they publicly announce that the demonstration was canceled on their social media accounts. The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota called the mall suit as "undue restraint in speaking" and went beyond the unconstitutional bounds. The demonstration leader indicated that the demonstration would be on schedule.
Amusement park and other features
Usage in media
Mall of America is used as a filming location for various movies and television shows, including:
- D2: The Mighty Ducks (1994)
- The first episode of WCW Monday Night Nitro
- Jingle All The Way (1996)
- You Are Invited to Mary-Kate & amp; Ashley's Mall Party (1997)
- Masters Mall (2001)
- Mall Cops: Mall of America (2010)
- End of Tour (2015)
See also
- List of the world's largest shopping mall
- List of the largest shopping malls in the United States
References
External links
- Official website
- Labelscar summary
- Metro Transit: Mall of America Station
- City Page's staff writer Matt Snyders spent a week at Mall of America
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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