Today Is The Anniversary Of Minnesota’s Most Polarizing Tourist Attraction

On this day in 1992 Mall of America opened its doors to the public for the very first time. Featuring anchor stores Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Sears and Nordstrom, the "Mega Mall" was the biggest in the country at the time of its opening.

Minnesotans seem to have a love/hate relationship with the mall. Some consider the mall a fun place to spend a cold winter day eating at the various restaurants and maybe hopping on some rides at Nickelodeon Universe.

Others seem to think the mall is 'overrated,' with one informal Instagram poll calling it Minnesota's "Worst tourist trap." From Quora:

Yes, it’s overrated. Especially if you live here. It is kind of like asking a native New Yorker if they think Times Square is overrated.

The MOA is just a giant mall (5.6 million square feet; has its own ZIP code).  There are bigger malls in Asia and the Middle East. If you’re not from around here, it’s fun to see once or twice just because of the sheer size of the thing. But once that “wow factor” wears off, it’s just a big mall. And everything is overpriced.

I also have a love/hate relationship with the Mall Of America. I spent a large chunk of my childhood there waiting for my mom to get off of work as a server at an owl themed, fourth-floor restaurant. I also worked at Mr. Rags, Dakota Watch Company, Field of Dreams and Bubba Gump Shrimp at the mall during various stages of my life.

I was definitely ready to never go back after my decade-plus of working at the mall, but seeing how much my five-year-old loves going there has kind of changed my mind a little bit.