Edina, Minnesota - 1956
Welcome to the Kiddie Korral children's center, at Southdale Mall! Yes, while you're off shopping, Mom & Dad, why not leave the little ones right here, at the all new and exciting Southdale Kiddie Korral!There are plenty of fun toys and games to enjoy in the spacious and colorful play areas, as well as fascinating live animals your youngsters can view and study, including birds and monkeys, housed in our unique and safe animal viewing cages! It's a fun-filled adventure your kids are always sure to love (while you finish your shopping), when they visit the happy land that is, the Southdale Kiddie Korral!
Mall history: 1956 - present
Architect: Victor Gruen
Current website: here
Current aerial view
Resource articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Info from Wikipedia
Previous entries: 1, 2, 3, 4
(Images courtesy of Southdale Center)
All I can say is; YIKES!
ReplyDeletescary! Can you imagine people leaving there kids in one of these things now? I bet they had a Crusty the Clown type show up on occasion.
ReplyDeleteYou could smell this place as you came down the steps -- it was located in the "basement' of the mall.
ReplyDeleteFor a minute, I thought you'd lock the kids in the cages... I didn't occur to me that people once thought animals were just for our pleasure. Glad to see things have changed. Nonetheless, must have been great for parents at the time.
ReplyDeleteScott
Can you imagine actually leaving your kids here while you shopped? Did anyone ever experience that when they were children?
ReplyDeleteYes, I can imagine being left there, it was so much fun and everyone LOVED it!
ReplyDeleteAnimals for our entertainment...well, aren't monkeys still in cages at zoos and such now?
We spent many an hour down there playing arcade games. The older kids would give the monkey lit cigarettes to smoke. I can't remember what type of large cat they had in the zoo but it had worn large chunks of its fur off by pacing in the cage and brushing up against the bars.
ReplyDeleteI got bit by the big chimpanzee ,I had skipped out of school that day and tried to give that damn chimpanzee a piece of popcorn and he bit my middle finger, he actually tried biting it off!
ReplyDelete