Eden Prairie Center

The Eden Prairie Center is a mall located in the heart of Eden Prairie, Minnesota and is owned and operated by General Growth Properties. It is anchored by JCPenney, Kohl's, Sears, Target Greatland, and Von Maur.

History

The 1970s and 1980s

The mall was built in 1976 and originally had wood and glass railings and an overall off-white and brown theme. The pillars in the mall were made of white pebbles. There was no elevator in the mall and originally the mall featured a large ramp for access to the second floor by wheelchair. The mall was designed with a sunken basement-level foodcourt. The mall featured the department stores Powers Dry Goods and Sears. Powers' store became Donaldson's in 1985, then Carson Pirie Scott in 1987. Later, a Target store was constructed adjacent to the mall and connected by an above-ground walkway.

The 1990s

The mall underwent a major renovation and the color scheme was changed to a pink and aqua pastel theme. The white pebble pillars were covered with pastel aqua round casings. The ramp was removed and replaced with a free standing elevator. The glass and wood railings were replaced with aqua painted metal. The food court was decorated with large neon palm trees and given a fountain that changed colors. The Carson Pirie Scott store became a Mervyn's California, and work began on adding a Kohls department store. A second United Artists movie theater was built, called "Eden Prairie East" and the old theater located beneath the Target walkway was renamed "Eden Prairie West". The mall entrances at this time had large white pyramids.

Present day

The mall underwent the most major renovation in 2001. A new wing was added to the mall and the floor plan changed considerably to make the mall more modern and upscale. The food court was moved out of the recessed basement, which has been sealed in and now serves as the mall offices and other offices [ [http://edenprairieweblogs.org/scottneal/post/date/2004/04/ The Blog from City Hall - Scott Neal, Eden Prairie City Manager » 2004 » April ] ] , changing the mall's store layout from a three-story mall to two stories. A large AMC movie theater was added to the mall and the two United Artists theatres have closed. The Target store and above-ground walkway was demolished and replaced with a new Target Greatland store. A Von Maur department store was added to the mall, the mall entrance utilizing space that had been smaller mall stores near the old food court area. The mall has a simplified stylized "EP" logo to replace the older handwritten style logo, and the pastel theme disappeared in favor of wood and stonework. After the Mervyn's California went out of business in 2003, Department Store Discounters had a brief stay in the Mervyn's location in 2005. JCPenney opened a new store in the former Mervyn's location in March of 2007. The current department stores in the mall are JCPenney's, Kohls, Sears, Target Greatland, and Von Maur.

Film Appearances

* The Kevin Smith movie "Mallrats" was filmed inside the Eden Prairie Center Mall in the mid-1990s. Smith decided to film the movie at the mall (which in the movie, is referred to by its actual name, but is supposed to be located in New Jersey) after various malls (including the Monmouth Mall in Eatontown, New Jersey, and the now dilapidated Bannister Mall in Kansas City, Missouri) objected to content in the film, and refused to allow the production to be shot there. Fact|date=August 2007

* The mockumentary "Drop Dead Gorgeous" has a scene filmed in the parking lot of the Eden Prairie Center, when they are allegedly parking in the parking lot of the nearby Mall of America. (The Eden Prairie water tower with clock is clearly visible in the background).

Anchors & Majors

*AMC 18 Screen Theatre (77,500 sq ft.)
*Barnes & Noble (25,000 sq ft.)
*JCPenney (130,126 sq ft.)
*Kohl's (95,382 sq ft.)
*Old Navy (19,720 sq ft.)
*Scheels All Sports (19,648 sq ft.)
*Sears (204,566 sq ft.)
*Target Greatland (152,133 sq ft.)
*Von Maur (165,100 sq ft.)

References

External links

* [http://www.edenprairiecenter.com/ The Eden Prairie Center homepage]
* [http://ci.eden-prairie.mn.us/ The city of Eden Prairie]
* [http://www.generalgrowth.com General Growth Properties]