Every member of the Taylor family found something of interest and entertainment. Dad Bob tried his hand at the miniature golf course and checked his accuracy throwing an ax at a target. His wife, Evelyn, searched for the bald eagles that like to hang out along the nearby lake, then took in a show at the comedy club.
Their son, Roger, preferred to speed around the go-kart track and do his best to avoid getting hit on the bumper-car ride.
The fact that the Taylors found all of these activities in one place was unusual. What made it even more different was that they were spending time at a shopping mall.
For decades, malls were primarily for shopping and perhaps enjoying a snack at a restaurant. Today, they have become destinations of their own where customers can spend time having fun as well as spend their money.
The growth of suburbs and the rise of the automobile culture in the mid-20th century launched an explosion of shopping malls away from inner cities and into the residential neighborhoods that sprang up around them. In the 1990s, close to 150 malls were built each year.
