When completed, the first phase of The Galleria stirred news and spawned copies in the U.S. and abroad. The glass barrel vault arching over the enclosed three-level shopping mall with an ice skating rink was combined with a hotel, movie theater and office tower. It created a totally controlled, air-conditioned urban environment for Houston, the unfulfilled dream of entrepreneur Glenn McCarthy and other visionaries. In the years following, Galleria I was joined by additional shops and a second hotel. Along with the original phase, Gallerias II, III and IV would total three million square feet, and involve several contractors. Although now surpassed in size by other mega-malls, Houston’s Galleria remains an icon of construction history.