Nicollet Mall - Today

Today

The much-celebrated Dayton's department store at 7th & Nicollet was renamed Marshall Field's in 2001, and then Macy's in 2006, much to the dismay of locals. Still, the corporate descendant of Dayton's -- Target Corporation -- has a large presence on the Mall, with both their corporate headquarters at 10th Street and a two-level retail store at 9th.

Along with Macy's, there are two other department stores, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th Outlet which was converted from the only Saks Fifth Avenue store in the Twin Cities upon its closing in 2004. National retailers and local boutiques cluster around several locations, namely the Crystal Court, City Center and Gaviidae Common located on the Mall. City Center has a handful of shops like GNC and Hallmark. Recently Brooks Brothers reopened on the second floor of City Center after closing its store in Mall of America. Over the years, Nicollet Mall has seen the closing of several national clothing brands, including Polo Ralph Lauren and Cole Haan, which was also its only store in the Twin Cities. Fewer than ten stores of that kind still remain, including Gap, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Talbots and aforementioned Brooks Brothers. Other shops are either local boutiques or specialty stores. Though the mall is generally considered upscale by locals, designer stores like Gucci or Prada are not present. Upscale shopping in the area relies on department stores such as Macy's, Neiman Marcus (which is closing in 2013), and Saks Fifth Avenue Outlet. The Macy's downtown, the headquarter of Macy's North from 2006 to 2008 before it was integrated into Macy's East headquartered in New York City, is arguably the most upscale Macy's in the Twin Cities, carrying brands comparable to Bloomingdales in Mall of America with some distinctions, and an in-store Louis Vuitton boutique, selling full lines of Louis Vuitton handbags and luggage. Some not-so-common designer brands like Jean Paul Gautier are also represented inside Macy's with limited choices. Designer brands including Gucci, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Miu Miu, etc. can be found in Neiman Marcus on the Mall. There is a local boutique Hubert White inside the IDS Center, selling upscale men's clothing, mainly by Ermenegildo Zegna.

In addition to Target Corporation, Fortune 500 companies U.S. Bancorp and Xcel Energy also have their headquarters on Nicollet, while WCCO-TV (Channel 4) broadcasts from studios on the south end of the Mall, including a 'window to the world' news studio on the first floor of their facility.

As a transit mall, Nicollet Mall has been served by many Metro Transit buses, including several high frequency routes. Aside from buses, only taxis and emergency vehicles are allowed on the two-lane road. Bikes have access during non-weekday rush hours, although this is expected to change in March 2010 when several express bus routes are moved to Marquette and 2nd Avenues in the second phase of the "Marq2" project. Metro Transit has also introduced a free circulator bus along Nicollet Mall that runs from the Minneapolis Convention Center to the Hiawatha Line Nicollet Mall station.

The Hiawatha Line light rail system, opened in 2004, has a Nicollet Mall station, and connects downtown Minneapolis to the airport and the Mall of America in Bloomington. The future Green Line to downtown St. Paul will also stop at Nicollet Mall.

The Loring Greenway links the south end of the Mall to nearby Loring Park.