Irving Mall and the Birth of Climate-Controlled Suburbia
In 1971, Irving Mall opened on a flat piece of land between Airport Freeway and Belt Line Road.
Designed by Gordon Siebek Associates of Dallas, the mall had about 750,000 square feet of space for stores, parking for 4,000 cars, and made people feel that suburban life could now take place inside.
Irving, whose population was tilting toward six figures, now had a climate-controlled main street a few miles from the still-young Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport…