The meaning of whipped through the mall

Question

I'll cite a quote from the Godfather book by Mario Puzo:

He pondered for a moment. "A couple of our people will come to stay here". He saw her look of fright and said impatiently, "You don't have to be scared, I just want them here. Do whatever they tell you to do. If you wanna talk to me, get me on Pop's special phone but don't call me unless it's really important. And don't worry." He went out of the house.

Darkness had fallen and the December wind whipped through the mall

I confused by the whipped through the mall phrase. What could it mean mean there? I guess whip means to move air flow quckly there. But about mall? What's that got to do with Sonny go through the street?

Answer 1

Your take on whip is correct. For mall:

mall n. a usually public area often set with shade trees and designed as a promenade or as a pedestrian walk

The area pictured below, located in Washington, D.C., is referred to as the national mall.