24 Stores That Used to be In The Western Mall In Sioux Falls

In 1968 the first of what we know as 'Malls' opened in South Dakota. On what was then the edge of town, The Western Mall opened in Sioux Falls in October of 1968.

The Western Mall is still part of the Sioux Falls community today. But it has gone through many transformations over the years. Now home to Best Buy, Sheels, the West Mall 7 Theaters, and various businesses and offices, The Western Mall started as the premiers shopping destination of South Dakota.

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From Soo Skyways Airport To Shopping Haven: The Western Mall Story

The land that the mall is built on west 41st Street had a previous life as Soo Skyways Airport. From the mid-1920s through the late 1940s the field was where Sioux Falls' favorite son Joe Foss, who was a WW II pilot and was later governor, learned to fly.

The Western Mall was THE MALL in Sioux Falls until The Empire Mall opened in 1975.

During its time The Western Mall has been home to lots of the usual mall stores and several local favorites. See if you remember any of these stores, some of them were original Western Mall tenents.

Stores That Use To be In The Western Mall In Sioux Falls

The Remaining Drive-In Theaters In South Dakota

If you were born last century...you know, in the nineteen hundreds (ugh)...you may have spent a summer evening in the car watching movies. I don't mean on your phone, I mean at the drive-in movie theater!

If you were in Sioux Falls in the 1970s and '80s you may remember seeing Jaws and Indiana Jones at The East Park or the Starlite Drive-In. Both drive-ins opened just after World War 2.

The East Park didn't make it out of the '70s, closing in 1978. The Starlite survived long enough to see the birth of home video, closing in 1985.

FLASHBACK: Remember the East Park and Starlite Drive-in Theaters in Sioux Falls?

Drive-in movies had a bit of a resurgence during the pandemic. They were a way to go out and do something social without getting out of your car.

If you tried one during that time, or you remember the fun of a warm summer evening watching movies on that giant screen there are still places in South Dakota and around Sioux Falls you can do it.

Gallery Credit: Ben Kuhns

Gone But Not Forgotten - Iconic Sioux Falls: Whiffer's Sandwiches

The Merriam-Webster definition of iconic is "widely recognized and well-established." That would definitely describe Whiffer's Sandwiches which used to call North Minnesota Avenue home.

The gone but not forgotten sandwich shop was located in an old house at 1133 North Minnesota Avenue. It served sandwiches to Sioux Falls from November 1978 until the summer of 2020.

Gallery Credit: Karla Brown