Calhoun Square is an indoor shopping mall

Shopping mall

A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...

 located in the Uptown

Uptown, Minneapolis

Uptown is a popular commercial district in southwestern Minneapolis, Minnesota, centered at the Uptown Theater at the intersection of Hennepin Avenue and Lagoon Avenue. It has traditionally spanned the corners of four neighborhoods, Lowry Hill East, ECCO, CARAG and East Isles neighborhoods, within...

 district of Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

.

History

The mall was built at the southeast corner of Hennepin Avenue

Hennepin Avenue

Hennepin Avenue is a major street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It runs from Lakewood Cemetery , north through the Uptown District of Southwest Minneapolis, through the former "Bottleneck" area west of Loring Park, through the North Loop in the city center, to Northeast Minneapolis and...

 and West Lake Street

Lake Street (Minneapolis)

Lake Street is a major east-west thoroughfare in Minneapolis, Minnesota which is located between 29th and 31st Streets in south Minneapolis. It was named such because it runs through the Chain of Lakes area on the west side of town and passes over a small channel linking Lake Calhoun and Lake of...

 in the early 1980s. Neighborhood activists opposed to the project started the "Dump Updale" campaign. "Up" referred to Uptown; "dale" was a reference to suburban shopping malls in the Twin Cities whose names end in "dale" (e.g. Southdale Center

Southdale Center

Southdale Center, commonly known as just Southdale, is a shopping mall in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, which opened in 1956. It is the United States' oldest fully enclosed, climate-controlled mall...

, Ridgedale Center

Ridgedale Center

Ridgedale Center is a large regional shopping mall in Minnetonka, Minnesota a western suburb of the Twin Cities. Built in 1974, it is owned and operated by General Growth Properties and anchored by JCPenney, Macy's Women's and Childrens, Macy's Men's and Home, and Sears. Ridgedale Center was...

). The atrium-style indoor mall was built from a group of older buildings in an early 1980s style of redevelopment. The building was finished in 1983, although parts of the building are older, including the Geanakoplos Building (1917).

The musician Prince

Prince (musician)

Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...

 wrote a song titled "Calhoun Square", released on disc two of his "Crystal Ball" CD.

Restaurants

Famous Dave's

Famous Dave's

Famous Dave's Legendary Pit Bar-B-Que, formerly Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que Shack, is a chain of southern-style barbecue restaurants serving pork ribs, chicken, and beef brisket. Dave Anderson, an Ojibwe who served as the head of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs from 2004 to 2005, started the...

, Il Gatto, Uptown Cafeteria and Support Group, The Independent, Jimmy John's

Jimmy John's

Jimmy John's is a franchised sandwich restaurant founded by Jimmy John Liautaud in 1983 and headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. The franchise has over 1000 locations in 39 states and has opened approximately 200 units per year for the last three years...

, Chiang Mai Tai, Sushi Tango, and Aura.

Future

The site where Calhoun Square is in the process of being redeveloped, although portions of the plans have been postponed. The mall's stores still operate. A new two story addition is under construction on the northeast side of the mall (southwest corner of Lake Street and Girard Avenue) that will house LA Fitness on the second floor and a new restaurant on the ground floor. A two-story addition on the southwest corner of Calhoun Square is under construction, which will house new two-level space for Kitchen Window and a new building entry. Two additional levels were added in 2009 to the parking garage.

Future phases of Calhoun Square were approved to include a seven story residential/retail building on the south side of Lake Street between Fremont Avenue and Girard Avenue just north of the parking garage. A new five story residential/retail building on the southwest corner of Calhoun Square (northeast corner of 31st Street and Hennepin Avenue) was also approved. Those phases are not currently under construction and their timelines have not been set.

External links

• Calhoun Square official website