The Best ShoppingPlace to be seen and see in Houston Galleria Mall
The Galleria is centrally located near the prestigious neighborhhoods of Tanglewood, Highland Village, Briargrove, Afton Oaks, Oak Estates, and St George Place just outside the innerloop on Westheimer Road. The Galleria is the holy grail for the serious shoppers. It is the place to see and be seen as you stroll along the mall.
The Galleria is an upscale mixed-use urban development The development consists of a retail complex, as well as the Galleria Office Towers complex, two Westin hotels, and a private health club. The office towers and hotels are separately owned and managed from the shopping center.
It has emerged from humble beginning, built on a treeless field which used to be the location of a one room school house; to a tourist attraction with 35 million annual visitors. The Galleria has constantly been named the most visited attraction in Greater Houston. Department stores and other tenants earn their highest sales in the Houston area at the Galleria
The Galleria was developed by Gerald D. Hines opening on November 16, 1970. The new shopping center, anchored by Neiman Marcus, was modeled after the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, borrowing, as its most distinctive architectural feature, a glazed barrel vault spanning the central axis of the mall. When it opened the mall had 600,000 ft² (56,000 m²) of retail space. The original skylights — which graced among other things a large, floor-level, ice rink – had three hanging chandeliers along with the incorporation of the Houston Oaks Hotel (now The Westin Oaks Houston).
The Galleria was an instant success in Houston. The most striking feature of this new landmark for Houston was the 20,000 square foot ice skating facility. For a city which sees snow once very 10 years or so, and considers anything below 50 degrees to be freezing weather. Houstonians finally had the ability to ice skate just like the people up north do. The rink, known as “Polar Ice” and originally built in 1970, was the first ever built inside a mall. The rink is positioned below the mall’s central glass atrium which was originally added by Hines to increase the visibility of the stores in the lower level. It is still fun to walk two stories above the rink and see Houstonians struggling to walk on ice skates.
Whatever you want, whatever your style, you’ll find it at Galleria.
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Source: Wikipedia