The last in a five-part series which tells the story of shopping. 5: The Mall. Austrian architect Victor Gruen was the Godfather of the shopping mall. A refugee from Nazi Europe, he went on to design the world’s first shopping mall, which opened in Minneapolis in 1956. Since then, more than 35,000 malls have opened in America. Each new mall attempts to offer shoppers a greater range of attractions. Atthe Forum Mall in Las Vegas, for instance, the roof is a painted sky which changes from day to night every three hours. But there’s more than just shopping on offer. At the Mall of America there is a mall-walkers club, and even a chapel of love where you can experience a fuss-free bridal boutique and wedding ceremony rolled into one.