The historic J. L. Hudson Company, a major upscale Detroit based department store chain, built Northland Center. Hudson's—at its Downtown Detroit location on Woodward Avenue—grew to become the second largest department store (next to Macy's of New York City) in the United States. In 1948, architect Victor Gruen convinced Hudson's, then reluctant to build branch stores, to take advantage of suburban growth by constructing a ring of four shopping centers surrounding the city of Detroit. Of the four – Eastland Center, Southland Center, and Westland Center were the others – Northland was the first to be built. These malls encircle Detroit's inner-ring of suburbs. At the time, Northland Center was the world's largest shopping center.