and in 1980, the newly founded geffen records signed its first artist, disco queen, donna summer. it took a big idea that went even bigger. in the late '80's the timing was perfect for the mall of america. "carts rolling down the malls at southdale" southdale, the first indoor mall in the country opened its doors in 1956 in edina, minnesota. it was a foreign concept at the time from the mind a foreign- born architect austrian victor gruen. minnesota was the perfect place to test his indoor mall idea. a way to keep people shopping in the middle of the state's brutal winters. on top of the indoor shopping, he also made room for thousands of parking spots at a time when nearly every household had a car to get there for the first time in history. by the late '80s and early '90s, the shopping mall was hitting its peak. in 1990 alone, 19 of them opened nationwide, the most up to that point. that meant when workers broke ground on the mall of america the week of june 15, 1989 just seven miles from where the first indoor mall was built the timing was perfect. when the mall of america fina