Looking for a place where you can buy nearly everything? Well, you can off course go to Amazon.com, or go to one of the following ten largest shopping malls in the USA.
10 Woodfield Mall: Illinois: 206,600m²
Just 27 miles from the famous Chicago Loop, the Woodfield Mall, which opened in September 1971, attracts over 27 million visitors per year. It is the largest mall in the state of Illinois and boasts an impressive 300 stores selling everything from clothing to food to electronic goods. The mall is touted as being Illinois’ one number tourist attraction and there is certainly plenty to see, try and do at Woodfield Mall – as long as retail therapy in your favourite pastime!
9 Roosevelt Field: New York: 208,528m²
While most malls feature discount outlets, selling goods at a lower price than their city-centre counterparts there are a very few malls that sell their goods at the full recommended retail price. Roosevelt Field is one such full-price mall. The site of the mall is historically important and it lies close to the airfield (bearing the same name for which the mall was named) from which the famous aviator Charles Lindberg and long-lost pilot Amelia Earhart are known to have flown, the latter on his epic voyage over the Atlantic. The mall is currently home to 294 stores, including a luxurious branch of Neiman Marcus, which is currently under construction.
8 The Galleria: Texas: 213,530m²
Despite Texas’ claim that everything is bigger in Texas, the Lone Star State can only reach number 8 on the list of the biggest shopping malls in America! Built in 1970 and home to 375 stores, which include two separate full-line Macy’s stores, the first Tesla Store and the only Prada store in the United States, the Galleria was the first mall to incorporate a hotel. There is also a large skating rink and over fifty food outlets and restaurants within the complex.
7 Sawgrass Mills: Florida: 221,472m²
Sawgrass Mills is the second largest mall in the state of Florida and the largest mall that is all on one level in the entire United States. The mall is relatively young, being opened in 1990, and is home to over three hundred stores, many of which are discount outlets including Off 5th and Neiman Marcus Last Call Clearance Center. The mall spreads so extensively over the area that it has become almost ‘sub-divided’ forming the three basic areas: the main mall, a fashion venue named Fashion Avenue and an outdoor area known as Oasis, the latter of which features surf shops and cinemas amongst other establishments.
6 Destiny USA: New York: 228,000m²
Conveniently situated at the crossroads of two Interstates (I81 and I690) the Destiny USA mall was previously known as the Carousel Center. It is believed that the mall will develop and expand until it is the second most visited mall in America, only being topped, unsurprisingly, by the States’ largest mall. Much of the footfall of the mall comes from the many university and college students who flock to the area to study. This part of the country is only beaten by Boston and Stanford for students and some 215,000 students live in the trade area of Destiny USA – an area estimated to be the distance covered in two and a half hours of travel (approximately 250 miles) encompassing some 5.5 million people. Even ‘foreigners’ travel to the mall to shop, relax and enjoy themselves, with some 15 per cent of receipts coming from Canadian nationals. You can take in a choice of movies, play laser tag and even admire yourself in a mirror maze, as well as packing your vehicle to maximum capacity with clothing, sporting goods and just about anything else that you like!
5 Del Amo Fashion Centre: California: 230,000m²
If you fancy a work-out, a visit to the cinema or even just a choice of not one, not two, but three separate Macy’s stores, then Del Amo Fashion Center in California is the mall for you! Fans of film director Quentin Tarantino will recognise the surroundings as being the backdrop to the movie Jackie Brown, and slightly younger, less gore-enthused fans will enjoy spotting the parts of the mall that were featured in the movie Bad Santa. Del Amo Fashion Center is currently undergoing a lengthy renovation process which is expected to be completed by mid-2014.
4 South Coast Plaza: California: 250,000m²
Built in March 1967, the South Coast Plaza grew rapidly until it reached its present size. It now contains around 280 stores, most of them high-end luxury shops, not commonly found in malls and shopping complexes. The mall, having been firmly established as known and trusted venue thanks to its inclusion in television shows like Beverley Hills 90210, the OC, Laguna Beach and The Real Orange County, is reputed to have the highest turnover of any American mall and achieves the second highest turnover per square foot of any American mall, achieving a staggering US$800 per square foot, compared to the national average of around US$411. (The highest earning mall is the considerably smaller Westfield Valley Fair, which achieves US$811 per square foot.)
3 Aventura Mall: Florida: 250,000m²
Over three hundred stores, spread over three floors, the Aventura Mall pulls no punches when declaring itself to be a luxurious and hedonistic monument to the joys of commercialism! The mall opened in April 1983, but only grew to its present sumptuous size and grandeur after extensive expansion in 1996 which saw many top-class restaurants and a cinema complex being installed. The mall lies on the conjunction of several major transit routes, making it a great place to pass through on your travels.
2 King of Prussia Mall: Pennsylvania: 259,500m²
Simply to consider the dining options offered at this magnificent mall is enough to boggle the mind! You can choose from the most expensive, high-quality eatery all the way down to the cheapest burger joint, and the rest of the mall offers similar choices to the millions of shoppers who flock here every year. The mall has more anchor stores than any other mall, with seven major stores featured. An anchor store is a large department store (or similar retail establishment) that is more or less guaranteed to attract customers from far and wide. These tenants are usually invited to pick up leases before the mall is ever built, to ensure that public interest in the new build will remain high. Region centers (smaller malls offering between 400,000 and 800,000 square feet) usually have one or two anchors, while superregional centres (those offering 800,000 square feet and above) can have three or more.
1 Mall of America: Minnesota: 351,103m²
The biggest mall in America impresses from the moment you hear its name! Featuring more than 522 stores, it would take a person nearly two days to check out each store, assuming he or she spent just five minutes in each store (and allowing absolutely no travel time between shops)! The mall is built on the site of an old sports stadium and there are plaques dotted throughout the mall to commemorate great games, scores and results from the heyday of baseball. More than shopping you can have a fun day out at the Mall of America, enjoying the rides on Nickelodeon Universe’s indoor amusement park or marvelling over the wonderful array of sea life in the aquarium. Now in its 21st year the mall has commemorated each birthday with a new catchy slogan ranging from ‘Where Something Special Happens Every Day’ in 1992 to ‘The Mall That Remembers America’ used in 2001 after the Twin Towers terrorist attack to 2013’s simple but succinct ‘Always New.’
