“[Houston’s] Galleria, built in 1970, was different from earlier malls in that it incorporated non-retail usages, such as its ice rink, directly into the design of the mall itself. Thus, malls began to take on more of the character of public spaces rather than just collections of stores...The adding of food courts to malls in the 1970s further broadened the usage of malls as public places.” (196)

(Palen, J. John. The Suburbs. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995. Print.)