According to this list of the biggest malls in the U.S., I grew up with 3 of the top 10 - Del Amo (#3), South Coast Plaza (#1), and Lakewood Center (#8) each within a 30 minute drive from my parents' home. It makes me realize just why I think most Bay Area malls are small or don't quite have the selection that L.A. malls do. Nothing, however, tops the Great Mall of Edmonton, the largest mall in the world. (According to the report, it has 3.8 million feet of retail space)
Of the three, Lakewood Center is the closest, about a 10 minute drive via surface streets, and when I was in high school, my friends and I practically lived there on the weekends. This is in part due to having 1) 2 excellent video game arcades (one of them having a huge number of head to head racing games), 2) 2 movie theaters, showing a total of 10 different movies, 3) a round table pizza with free refills on soda 4) 3 different bookstores (4 if you count the newstand which sold magazines and comic books) 5) 2 different music stores, 6) 3 different computer/video game stores , 7) more clothing stores than I could count, and 8) a bus route straight from the high school to the mall which was 50 cents. Basically, everything a high school student would want.
I would go to South Coast and Del Amo occassionally with my parents, and I always thought they made Lakewood look miniscule by comparisson. For the most part, Lakewood is a single story mall (They've since added a partial second floor, but it's not very much), while both South Coast and Del Amo are multiple level malls. I'm surprised that some of the other larger malls I grew up around like Los Cerritos (in my hometown) and Westminister Mall didn't make the list at all.
Actually, Mike. It's not called the Great Mall of Edmonton. It's called the West Edmonton Mall (West Ed). The Lams just like to call it Dai Mall (Big/Great Mall) in Cantonese. =D
Or rather, Chinglish. =)
i'm flattered that anyone reads my random wanderings about the largest malls in america, especially when i post 'em on a friday night :-) it is weird to grow up in southern california and expect all the malls in the world to be like ours, huh?
Cat: I don't know why I thought it was called Great Mall. I think you're right, I think it was because I heard it translated in Chinglish as 'Dai Mall'. Yes, I definitely want to visit Metrotown next time, and I do look forward to it! :D
Theresa: Yes, living in SoCal has definitely spoiled us when it comes to malls.