Harundale Mall

Harundale Mall, the first enclosed shopping mall on the East Coast in the 20th century, was located in Glen Burnie, Maryland, United States at the intersection of Ritchie Highway and Aquahart Road. Harundale Mall has been replaced by Harundale Plaza. The mall was built in Anne Arundel County by James Rouse who later developed Columbia, Maryland, one of the first modern planned communities, in Howard County. Harundale Mall rivaled Southdale Center in Minnesota, the only "other" indoor mall in the United States at the time.

Harundale Mall opened on October 1, 1958; it was considered the first indoor enclosed shopping mall on the east coast of the United States (though Westminster Arcade in Providence, Rhode Island, opened in 1828 and was also given that designation). Harundale Mall was also credited as being the first air conditioned mall in the United States.

A commemorative stone was located in the northeastern end of the mall, listing those who were involved in the mall's construction. The stone's sides contained the following information:

Other features in the mall were as follows: A water fountain was located next to the rock and a set of stairs to the second floor offices allowed mall-goers to watch the water from the fountain "top out" and fall back into the fountain's pool below. Mall-goers could also throw coins into the fountain's pool from the stairs. In addition to the mall offices, a "community room", and restrooms, the second floor had an entrance to the second floor of the Hochschild Kohn's Department Store. Hochschild Kohn's was the only store in the mall with two stories. However, in each store there was usually a store room with an upstairs area that was used as a stock or storage area. The mall was quite known for flooding in heavy rains, due to the original "flat" roof. Many merchants can attest to cleaning water from these storage areas when it rained. At one point in the mall's history, a Horn and Horn Smorgasbord Cafeteria operated on the second floor as well. This had originally opened as "The Severn Room". Horn and Horn stayed opened at this location until 1989. The second floor "community room" could be rented for weddings and provided a place for public meetings. For many years, on the opposite end of the mall from the "rock," large cages featured talking Myna birds.

...
Wikipedia