Step 1 : Introduction to the question "The first indoor shopping mall opened in 1956 in which city?"
...Southdale Center, which opened in 1956 in Edina, Minnesota, is widely considered the first modern, fully enclosed shopping mall. Designed by Austrian-born architect Victor Gruen, the mall was envisioned as more than a retail hub — it was intended to function as a vibrant community gathering place, complete with lush indoor gardens and welcoming social spaces. Southdale revolutionized retail design and paved the way for the rapid rise of the suburban shopping mall across the United States in the decades that followed.

