History
After the success of Southdale Center in nearby Edina, Minnesota in 1956, Dayton's set their eyes to the immediate northwest Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center, which had also experienced immense growth in the immediate post-war years. The mall was seen as best suited to the area as to not compete with Knollwood Mall, constructed in 1955 in St. Louis Park, or Apache Plaza, constructed in 1961 in the northeast Minneapolis suburb of St. Anthony.
As they had done at Southdale Center, Donaldson's, Dayton's chief downtown competitor, bought land conjoined to the mall complex so they would own the land underneath their store while still being part of the mall. A site was chosen at the intersection of Minnesota State Highway 100 and Minnesota State Highway 152, both busy roads prior to the construction of the Interstate Highways in the Twin Cities area.
Aside from Dayton's and Donaldson's, the mall's original anchors were Sears, J.C. Penney (originally a dry goods only format) and Woolworth. New Dayton's and Donaldson's stores were added when the mall was expanded in 1966–1967. J.C. Penney was enlarged to a full-line store at this time.
The most recent renovation at Brookdale involved the demolition of the northwest corner of the structure. It was rebuilt with a Barnes and Noble, AJ Lomax Famous Labels and Food Court. This expansion was completed in 2004.
Read more about this topic: Brookdale Center
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