Mall Maker: Victor Gruen, Architect of an American Dream [Hardcover]

M. Jeffrey Hardwick (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0812237625 | ISBN-13: 978-0812237627 | Publication Date: September 30, 2003

The shopping mall is both the most visible and the most contentious symbol of American prosperity. Despite their convenience, malls are routinely criticized for representing much that is wrong in America—sprawl, conspicuous consumption, the loss of regional character, and the decline of Mom and Pop stores. So ubiquitous are malls that most people would be suprised to learn that they are the brainchild of a single person, architect Victor Gruen.

An immigrant from Austria who fled the Nazis in 1938, Gruen based his idea for the mall on an idealized America: the dream of concentrated shops that would benefit the businessperson as well as the consumer and that would foster a sense of shared community. Modernist Philip Johnson applauded Gruen for creating a true civic art and architecture that enriched Americans' daily lives, and for decades he received praise from luminaries such as Lewis Mumford, Winthrop Rockefeller, and Lady Bird Johnson. Yet, in the end, Gruen returned to Europe, thoroughly disillusioned with his American dream.

In Mall Maker, the first biography of this visionary spirit, M. Jeffrey Hardwick relates Gruen's successes and failures—his work at the 1939 World's Fair, his makeover of New York's Fifth Avenue boutiques, his rejected plans for reworking entire communities, such as Fort Worth, Texas, and his crowning achievement, the enclosed shopping mall. Throughout Hardwick illuminates the dramatic shifts in American culture during the mid-twentieth century, notably the rise of suburbia and automobiles, the death of downtown, and the effect these changes had on American life. Gruen championed the redesign of suburbs and cities through giant shopping malls, earnestly believing that he was promoting an American ideal, the ability to build a community. Yet, as malls began covering the landscape and downtowns became more depressed, Gruen became painfully aware that his dream of overcoming social problems through architecture and commerce was slipping away. By the tumultuous year of 1968, it had disappeared.

Victor Gruen made America depend upon its shopping malls. While they did not provide an invigorated sense of community as he had hoped, they are enduring monuments to the lure of consumer culture.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Victor Gruen may well have been the most influential architect of the twentieth century."—Malcom Gladwell, New Yorker

"Mall Maker is an important book. . . . The fact that Gruen's buildings are more lived in than the work of nearly any other modern architect makes him a designer worth reading about."—Metropolis Magazine

"An insightful account . . . in lucid prose."—New York Times

"Hardwick's thesis is compelling . . . : instead of saving the city, Gruen inadvertently contributed to its demise."—Washington Times

"A pioneering book on a seriously neglected subject, and everybody interested in the evolution of twentieth-century cities should read it."—Alex Garvin, Archives of American Art Journal

"Hardwick brings fresh insight into the specific role of shopping centers in spawning the twin evils of sprawl and urban decline."—Enterprise & Society

About the Author

M. Jeffrey Hardwick is Senior Program Officer at the National Endowment for the Humanities. He earned his Ph.D. degree in American studies from Yale University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (September 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812237625
• ISBN-13: 978-0812237627
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #756,415 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a character, December 15, 2003

By 

"mmoolson" (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mall Maker: Victor Gruen, Architect of an American Dream (Hardcover)

This book is totally fascinating, although a tad repetitive about retailing theories for my taste. I would never have guessed what an amazing influence Gruen had on American life (and how egotisitical he was). I think the author quotes the architect Philip Johnson saying that Gruen influenced America much more than all the arty modern architects put together. And that is so true. Gruen seemed to anticipate future trends in retailing, city planning, and architecture and then actually build them. The one question that I had was whether or not Gruen was a good guy or only in it for himself.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New view of malls and shopping, December 2, 2003

By 

SOCAL (LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mall Maker: Victor Gruen, Architect of an American Dream (Hardcover)

I heard the author on the radio and thought this sounded interesting, it was definitely worth it. I'm an architect and have worked on a few retail projects, although no malls yet, so I could easily identify with Gruen. He seemed both to be a naive dreamer and a very calculating businessman. He was also caught up in the American cycle of trying to make one more buck. Gruen's story made me rethink the reasons why Americans love shopping so much--all the lights, art, and designs do nothing but make us believe that shopping is enjoyable. Is it really? Gruen's story also made me think about why architects think they can solve the world's problems with better buildings; I guess it goes with the territory.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I shopped in his mall!, December 28, 2003

By 

"adellaharris" (San Mateo, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mall Maker: Victor Gruen, Architect of an American Dream (Hardcover)

My first true mall shopping was done in a Gruen mall, although I was quite unaware at the time of the fascinating story behind this complex man and his vision for America's public spaces.

Thanks to this engaging work by Hardwick, I feel now feel enlightened as I prowl the mall that Gruen built. You don't need to be an architect or a social scientist to enjoy this book because the author makes the subject approachable for the inner shopper in everyone.