<P> Mall of America ( commonly , locally known as `` MOA '' or `` the mall '' ) is a shopping mall located in Bloomington , Minnesota , United States ( a suburb of the Twin Cities ) . Southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77 , north of the Minnesota River and across the Interstate from the Minneapolis -- St. Paul International Airport . Opened in 1992 , it is the second largest mall in terms of leaseable space , the largest mall in the United States in terms of total floor area ( including Nickelodeon Universe ) , and the twelfth largest in the world . </P>
what was the purpose of the mall of america
shopping