Southdale Center Makes List of Architectural Wonders

Edina's own is officially one of the "10 Buildings That Changed America," according to a list compiled by the Public Broadcasting Service.

PBS put together the list—including the likes of Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles—ahead of a brand new television and web production set to air in 2013.

The buildings were selected in consultation with a panel of historians and architects from across the country, according to a release.

The 10 influential buildings are as follows:

1. Virginia State Capitol, Richmond, VA
2. Trinity Church, Boston, MA
3. Wainwright Building, St. Louis, MO
4. Robie House, Chicago, IL
5. Highland Park Ford Plant, Highland Park, MI
6. Southdale Center Mall, Edina, MN
7. Seagram Building, New York, NY
8. Dulles International Airport, Chantilly, VA
9. Vanna Venturi House, Chestnut Hill, PA
10. Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, CA

Southdale Center, which opened its doors in October 1956, served as the blueprint for similar structures throughout the country. Camera crews will be visiting the mall later this year to film, though an exact date has not been released.

And while there has been some debate over whether or not Southdale was technically the first fully enclosed shopping mall in America—the much smaller Valley Fair Shopping Center in Appleton, WI opened a year earlier—Austian-born architect Victor Gruen is credited with pioneering the concept of a mall so large it would draw traffic from throughout a region. 

Southdale is currently in the midst of a massive renovation, aimed at bringing the mall up to date through . The renovation will include a new dining pavilion and play area, redesigned common areas with upgraded ceilings, new tile flooring, soft seating areas, a redesigned guest services area, new indoor signage and cosmetic upgrades to the facility's texture and color palate. It's expected to be completed by November 2012.

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