In the New Jersey Meadowlands, the marsh just 9 miles west of Manhattan, the largest and most expensive mall ever built in the United States is under construction. When it’s finished in summer 2009, "Xanadu" will be a Vegas-meets-Disneyland pleasure dome featuring the country's tallest Ferris wheel, its first indoor artificial ski slope and some 200 shops. (At right, an artist's rendition of the bar inside a 26-theater cineplex being built at Xanadu.) More astounding than its scale, however, is its timing. It comes amid clear signs that the age of the American mall—that most quintessential of national institutions—may finally be over. Last year was the first in half a century that a new indoor mall didn’t open somewhere in the country. Here's a global look at some of the biggest, brightest, gaudiest malls ever built. They may be our last.
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