I'm so glad you covered this mall. I used to go here all the time when I lived in Enid for a summer 10 years ago and even back then, this mall was dying. I hoped it would make a comeback one day but, boy was I wrong. Last year, my sister and I made a trip down to Oklahoma to visit some family and she remarked that this mall is one of the saddest that she's ever been in. At least we found some fun things to do with my niece while we were there. She got to ride the train, the giant animals, and those rides just outside the arcade near Claire's. I'm so bummed to see JC Penny leaving and seeing this mall do even worse thanks to the pandemic.
@@cB-my5db At least that's a positive about this place. It seems like it's being well taken care of and that makes me smile. Since it's in such wonderful shape, why doesn't the city just buy it and repurpose it for something like a college or trade school or what the mall of my teenage years in Quincy, Illinois, the Quincy Mall is kind of doing, let the hospital or the local medical group buy it and turn it into a medical plaza? A gem like that doesn't deserve to sit there all empty and eventually rot like Jamestown and Rolling Acres did.
I got my first job at the Kinney ShoeStore in 1985. Michael Jackson’s Thriller was the buzz and people wanted slick bottom shoes so they could practice their moonwalking. This place was “hopping.” Was introduced to Sbarros Pizza, which was the beginning of a 30-year happy obsession. I remember Denise and her twin sister Diane worked at the Cookie store. The only real excitement I remember was a T-38 airplane crashed across the street from the mall the same year the mall opened. No one was hurt. In fact, both pilots ejected safely and one of them landed on nearby Waller Jr. High School.
Teens only hang out in their virtual worlds. they don't want to leave their rooms and have face to face interactions with other human beings. Also, malls aren't that much more than most on-line retailers, and wages weren't stagnant before the cough-cough hit.
@@richardm3023 What an ignorant boomer you are. You do realise that online social interaction has allowed people from entirely separate nations, who would never have otherwise met, interact and become friends? That people with crippling social anxiety or introversion can more easily make friends? Did you know that people who meet online almost always end up meeting in real life as well? Get with the times you archaic fossil.
I actually worked in this mall for quite some time at the RadioShack, very close to the food court and the Bath and Body Works that’s still standing. The thing is, the rent of this mall when it was open was VERY expensive, so it doomed stores from the very beginning when it was “booming”. However, I reminisce times of it being packed inside of this mall when I was in my early 20’s (less than 10 years ago). It very quickly declined; mostly, from my understanding, because of how expensive it was to keep the storefronts open because of the cost to buy out a space within the mall. It saddens me, as this was THE place to go when I was a kid-Enid is a small enough place that this mall was the centerpiece for a lot of us teens/young kids.
Was at their Grand opening. We thought this would be a great mall for Enid and the surrounding towns. It every really took off. The big stores started closing, whether itt be cooperate downsizing or poor economy. Enid would rather go to Oklahoma City to eat and shop. Enid had very few places for shopping or great places to eat. Sad for us.
I spent HOURS at the mall as a kid in the 80s and 90s. Even as young as 10-11, our parents would drop us off and be like “ok meet us in the food court at ___.”
Thank you for covering this mall it really means a lot to see someone talk about this mall. I am an Enid native and I grew up in the area. In my time being raised and going to school in Enid. I have seen quite a lot of changes. I actually still live in the area to this day. Occasionally I will drive by the mall and it still surprises me how it's still around. It feels so surreal to see it sometimes. There is some memory I have of walking with my father through the mall at a young age and there was quite a bit of traffic. I used to visit it a lot when shops like Sears, Radio Shack and a few others were still around. But when I got older it really struck me how empty it started to become. There was this decent laser tag/reball place I visited a few times with friends but when that place shut down. I rarely visited. Only when I needed to buy new clothes or some accessory for a phone. When I visited a much larger mall like those in Oklahoma City. I was taken aback just how much bigger everything was. And how much smaller Oakwood was compared to places like Quail Springs or Penn Square. I still recall vividly the state of the mall in my senior year which was 4-5 years ago. I remember being there with a friend and being taken aback at how empty it was. I think the last time I actually set foot in Oakwood Mall was last year when I was at the JC Pennys during Black Friday. One of the last anchor stores still around after Sears and the other ones left. Though I was shocked to learn that they are planning to close the JC Pennys soon later this year. I will always have memories of the trips with my parents to buy new clothes or some home appliance. The current owners/management really failed to make good on the promises they made to bring new life into this place. It is sad to see how this place has ended up. Yet it does surprises me that there are actually still some businesses there. I would like to think that there is hope for Oakwood to continue. However with the pandemic going on currently. I do wonder about it's future.
This mall had a store in every space when I was a kid. When I was about 10 the story was that the rent was too high for the stores to stay, and stores slowly started leaving. It used to be a really awesome mall but has sadly died away.
Man when I was a kid in the 90s-2000s this place was popping chik fil a in the food court sabarros pizza, every spot was full. They closed dillards last Christmas and are closing penny's now, and it was sold years ago and its gone down hill since. The knife shop at 4:28 is awesome, and chen garden is about thw only Chinese buffet left in enid
Used to have great food in food court, had Sears, JCPenney and Dillard’s as anchor stores. The buckle, gadzooks, foot action, foot locker, coach house, Claire’s, pet store, vanity, and movie theater among many other stores. So sad to see a mall I grew up going to die like this
@@AcesAdventures1 mall has always been bad though, some stores still have dirt floors. Enid is supposedly getting a new theater which will likely put the mall completely out of business
I remember when the mall first opened. I LOVED Coach House Gifts! It was my favorite store there while it lasted. I moved out of Enid in the 90s. This video has virtually none of the stores from when I grew up (other than some anchors).
Enid Native here (living in japan now) but I keep up with Enid very closely and thought I'd give a rundown of the mall. Oakwood mall: once bustling, now dead. When I was small this was a vibrant bustling mall full of unique stores of all kinds, the arcades were full of life, as a teen, the mall was the place to be especially on the weekends. Teens running around, movies to see, and the air of excitement. Not to mention the variety of stuff you could buy but also holidays such as Halloween where there'd be unique animations, candy from every store, so on and so forth. Now looking forward 20 years later, the mall has spiraled downward. Stores slowly began to die out or move, which in thus probably caused higher rent rates, with stores moving out and very little coming in made for the perfect disaster storm of how the mall came to be dead. I believe the company before the one who bought the mall in 2016 envisioned to make a more "open aired shopping experience". With that vision I believe their plan was to have less stores, but also add a uniqueness that they wanted to revitalize it to draw customers back throughout that period of time up until 2016 to where the current owning company bought it. When being bought by this company, they said for their vision for the mall we to revitalize and revamp by making it more of a traditional mall/like the mall it once way by bringing in unique stores, More entertainment, and a new vibrant environment, now fast forward from 2016 to 2020 the once exciting possibility to see the mall alive again has gone dark with no changes nor any signs of it. Perhaps the company that now owns it ended up forgetting about it within their roster of businesses owned, or they just fell behind with their plans to push the mall back to it's once better days. All the anchor stores are gone, the AMC movie theater in the mall is about to get some major competition from Apex cinema since it's currently being built, and when opened will be very new and updated. Chen Garden is still a Enid Favorite since their opening however. The vendors in the food courts come but never stay long due to the low amounts of customers that now come through, and the same can be said with the other little stores that come and go throughout the mall itself. Perhaps one day it'll be like it once was, or perhaps it'll fall to ruin just like many other places in Enid. Enid definitely has a habit of being catered for a community for individuals that don't really care for the expansion of entertainment for younger individuals. Enid brings in entertainment venues once in awhile but it's generally not what I see a lot of people routing for. Most people I know from Enid now goes to Oklahoma City for major entertainment.
ARCADES? PLURAL? Damn, that must have been incredible. Really sucks that the business is pretty much dead, other than locally owned passion projects like 1984 Arcade in Branson Missouri. Even in your Japan, SEGA dropped out of the business of owning arcades and now just makes machines, with their iconic Akihabara location with the cool tubes on the side straight up closing for months last year. This mall still has it's arcade I'm pretty sure, and it is, for the most part, a real arcade, actual games instead of claw catchers and 10 second money-wasting games of luck. It's great to see people still care about this kind of stuff, malls and arcades, relics of the past with no monetary reason to exist what with scummy online retailers and the ability to stream or download games to modern systems without even having to leave the house, but it's the unique feel of it, man. Browsing Steam or eBay will never give me the social experience and atmosphere of going to a locally owned game store or a bustling mall.
The store slowly started moving out of the mall starting in the late 90’s due to pitiful management! About a year ago or so some corporation purchased the mall and we were told they were going to “revamp” it but now it sits virtually empty! There are many discussions about this sad space on social media and in our local newspaper... Enid buzz has some articles about it!
But you know what’s funny? My parents’ and grandparents’ generations would say the same thing about downtown and how it used to be THE center of shopping until the mall was built. Then the stores started closing and moving out west. I’m glad they’re getting more stores back on the square but it’s hard to get a lot of business downtown when all the stores are Cleveland and west.
My hometown mall!! I’m not sure if its ever been at capacity that I can remember, but I went all the time with my mom when I was younger to “window shop.” I remember it being pretty busy and at least mostly full, but by the time I was in middle school it was on its way out.
32 and I’ve lived in Enid my whole life I remember as a child the mall had every store open. the change really starting to begin with stores like KB toys an FYE closing down. The rent was based mostly off of parking lot traffic they used car counters to monitor that.The problem with that is that people use the parking lot to pass through to other businesses in vicinity or neighborhoods eventually when the new company took over a 2016 they change that policy but it was too late and the mall resembled more of the flea market With many of the businesses being craftsman or someone selling cheap items. I also remember another staple to this mall was the orange Julius and Sbarro’s Without those there wasn’t much of a reason to go to the food court and the businesses that came in after just could not keep up with the high rent.
I’m a local. This mall has been slowly dying for over a decade. The last year has sealed the deal, since we lost Dillard’s and JCPenney. It’s really sad to see.
This is my hometown. I’m 25 years old, and this place has been here since before I was born. When I was a little kid, this place was the place to hang out. But over the years everything just sort of fell apart, mostly in part to poor management is what I suspect. The only thing that’s somewhat worthwhile to do in the mall is go to the movies, but even that isn’t much to say. It’s sad to see this place the way it is now. I was born in Enid, grew up here all my life, there’s not much in my town anymore. Big sad.
I just stumbled upon this video. Thank you so much for posting this! I used to live close to this mall and would hang out a lot in the early 2000s. I can still see the stores that were there at the time. Oh the memories you've unlocked with this video! Thank you
I was born and raised in Enid. I remember riding the train inside at Christmas time. That used to only come out at Christmas with the decorations. This place might be dead now but lives on in people memory. This place used to be very busy with a ton of traffic. Still a beautiful mall and Im so glad they have not renovated this property. Thank you for the video.
God, i used to go to the candy store in that mall a lot because you could buy so many kinds of candy in bulk; I'd also get funnel cakes and play at the arcade. The most recent trip I had there was to see the sonic movie in February with my cousin. Thanks for uploading this, it's nice to see everything again before it (most likely) dies for good
I visited this mall with my mom a ton of times when I was a kid. I am originally from Perry and this was a 45 min drive for us. We had so many fun times here shopping, going to movies, eating, etc. It's very sad that this mall has crumbled. I remember most of the stores that used to be here. I remember the movie theater vividly as well. Enid was my second home as my Dad lived here many years as well. Just a shame this is basically gone. Looks to be still in great condition. City of Enid needs to get this going again.
I am a local and from what I understand, the rent here is outrageous and they refuse to lower it or fix what is broken so stores are just leaving. This use to be a great place to shop and hang out. This mall, or lack thereof opens at 12pm on Sunday's. Bath and Body Works told me one day that they will be staying until the very end. 🤷
Almost doesn't make me feel bad, the idiots in charge killing their own mall with nothing but their greed. It's a fine area, very little crime and right near a lot of restaurants, if rent was lowered drastically and they made a big deal of it, place could totally turn around. Especially with the beloved arcade, theater, and kiddy train. Though the satisfaction of greedy stupid people getting what they deserve is far outweighed by my sorrow for the tenants themselves and other people like me who loved this place.
@@aortaplatinum People say very little crime but there's really plenty and it's on the rise. Always hearing about murders, break ins of houses or cars, meth heads overrun Enid too, the people are rude... It's really not a great area.
@@nathangray3443 I joke around about how quiet my neighborhood is-in the nearly 4 years I’ve lived here, only 2 people have been murdered on my street 😂😂😂
I wish you could have seen it in the 80s and 90s man! I was born in 85 here in Enid and grew up with a beautiful functional mall! We had the best childhood there thanks to all the awesome stores and the arcade. The movies were also the place to be there at the time. In the 90s it started dying. It later sold off to one company who was to revamp it but did nothing. They then sold it to the current company which is notorious for running malls into the ground and turning them into trashy flea markets (exactly what they've done to it now.) Now it sits as a stupid craft show mall where people sell awful crafts and overpriced things they got online from China. One booth a guy sells flags and tons of rings that you can buy on Wish for $2, he sells those rings for $20 in store- it's ridiculous. Our mall has sadly lost Bath & Body Works, Sears, Dillards, JcPenny, Zales, Great American Cookie Co- all of the original staple stores that held it in place. Stores it featured in the past/present are KB Toys, Pet A Rama (small pet store run by a local couple), Disk Jockey (cd and cassette tape store), Orange Julius (sugary frozen smoothie store), Katy's Pantry (sold cookies and other baked goods), Sbarro Pizza, Steve and Barrys, Gadzooks, Halloween store at Halloween (I THINK Spencers ran this), Waldenbooks, Heilig Meyer Furniture, The Gap, Coach House Gift shop, Athlete's Footh shoe store, Candyopolis, Vanity (women's clothing), Chen Garden (Chinese food buffet), Big Lots, On Deck (overpriced sports memorabilia), and there was some kind of catalog store that had fun toys- I THINK it was where Chen Garden is... I know there were more- I just can't think of anymore. Our mall used to be amazing, now it just sucks! They overcharged for rent so much that all of our new stores and even a lot of the current stores- all broke out into strip malls. We COULD have a working mall if someone built one fresh and put stores into it. But the current one sadly is a lost cause- they're not upkeeping it at all, we saw wires hanging all over the bathroom and ceiling tiles down- the place is just falling apart. The air conditioning doesn't work in many places like the old Big Lots spot where Spirit halloween always goes, those poor people always have to pay to rent portable air conditioners as the crappy malls isn't working.
It also had the last real toy store this town had. KB toys closed YEARS ago. It had a radio shack as well. Its sad to see it in this shape. It was a regular hangout when I was a teen.
Lived here my whole life. It died down when the new ownership took over. From my understanding they’re charging waaay too much in rent so most stores either moved to new locations or just closed down in general. We only have maybe 10 store still in operation In the mall. On Deck actually takes up a majority of the mall, having I think 5 stores that they keep extra stuff in.
To understand the slow-motion failure of Oakwood mall, you must understand the economic history of Enid Oklahoma. The mall was planned and financed in the late stage of an oil boom. Housing and retail space were in short supply, speculation and building were rife. S&L reforms in '80 and '81 were setting the stage for a major economic crisis, but that would come later. It seemed like a good idea because money was pouring in. It was a crazy, unsustainable time, right up until the bottom dropped out. The oil boom began to bust in 1982, well before the mall opened. Milestones of the bust in Enid included the surprise closure of the Champlin Refinery in 1984 and the collapse of the 1st National Bank in 1986. The economy and real estate in Enid didn't really fully recover until the new boom kicked in the last decade. As you can see, the Oakwood Mall was doomed before the doors first opened. The only surprise is that it lasted as long as it did. Idle speculations that there must be some kind of tax advantage to the past quarter-century of apparent mismanagement aside, that is the story of Oakwood Mall.
I was a UPT student at Vance in 89-90. The mall was a good place to go on the weekends to escape the atmosphere of the base and decompress. I bought untold numbers of cassette tapes from the music store and saw a lot of movies in the theater there. It is so sad to see it in this shape today.
Wow. So sad. I hosted the opening of this mall back in the mid '80s. It was so exciting at the time. Moved away in '88, and it's been more than 5 years since I've been back. Still a lot of good people there.
Thank you for the video. I moved to enid in 95 in grade school. This place, like the others have said, was very popular. I'm not sure whether the mall actually started to show it's age around 2000, or if I was just getting older and able to see it. Its funny, my favorite store as a kid (though it's moved within the mall a few times) is still there and open as of July 2023. I'm hoping to make it back there before long. Will post an update when I do.
The 3 main anchor stores were Dillard's, Sears and J. C. Penney. The food court and theater were also anchors. The theater closed the end of 2021. There are just a couple three places in the food court open now too. Claire's has moved out and Bath and Body Works has moved. I haven't been in the mall for anything for several years. As far as I know, the last two main stores open are a mattress store and On Deck, a sports memorabilia store. A few years ago, there were plans to "demall" it and make it an open air mall. Those plans met with a lot of resistance and they were eventually abandoned. I am 62 and an Enid native. It breaks my heart to see property in this condition. The mall property has so much potential. It could be revamped for anything from homeless housing and resources center to a senior housing facility to a medical clinic with Dr's offices, radiology facilities, lab, rehab facilities, physical therapy......the only limitations would be someone's imagination. I pray something happens soon and it just doesn't set there and deteriorate more than it already has.
Actually, when the mall first opened, Sears was still downtown. Sears added on to the back of the mall when they closed the downtown store. I actually used to deliver mail there when it first opened
I remember when I was a kid, we'd go here quite often. IIRC, the store on the left at 4:45 was once a bridal store, and the only thing I remember about it was that it had a "liquidation sale" for many years. So long, that it was a shock when it really did close for good (that was prior to 2014) Very sad to see that its on its last leg. I dont live in Enid anymore but I hope it can be brought back to life in some way.
I love the skylights here with the mirrors. I wonder why the interior is normally closed on Sundays. Usually retailers will tough it out 7 days a week unless there is a law requiring certain businesses to close on Sundays.
Super cool, I've been waiting for someone to check this place out. Used to be awesome, that fencing you saw used to lead to what was once a very small event center, I remember they had a few local things there like a kid's talent show and even an official Veggietales event to promote the then upcoming Larryboy and the Bad Apple DVD. Also near that fencing, in the area still open and right next to the kiddie rides, is/was[?] this really sick little arcade, and I mean like a real arcade not like most modern "arcades" where it's just claw catchers, games of luck, scaled-up mobile games and a photo booth. Naw man they had Crazy Taxi and Hydro Thunder and Super Off-Road. Granted CT's shifter lock mechanism was broken so you had to hold it in the gear you wanted it, making some more tricky maneuvers nearly impossible, but it was still rad. Another funny story is that one of the times I visited was in 2015 and the theater had their poster for Star Wars The Force Awakens, RIGHT NEXT to the poster for Alvin and the Chipmunks The Road Chip which released only a week earlier lol. I doubt it's still there but one of the spaces across from the food court used to be a display center for a local model train club, and they had the coolest setup I'd ever seen, it was like the entire span of the rather large retail space and decorated so intricately and detailed. I never visited as a young kid, but I remember clearly seeing the larger, actually rideable kid's train, and they would decorate it for different holidays, some fake snow for Christmas, an Easter Bunny cutout and big eggs for Easter, it was really nice and you could tell that the people in charge of the display and maintenance of the train were still passionate about it. Of course that's obviously changed now, since there's just nothing at all, leaving it barren and boring at 3:41 My dad actually used to work here in maintenance during the 90s [I think, might have been the late 80s] and brought home with him an Oakwood Mall branded wooden yardstick, which is a super cool and very obscure little collectable I hold dear. I actually attempted to do a walkthrough of this place at one point on my other channel I used when I was a teenager, but I got told off by a security guard saying I can't film there... on a Saturday when the mall is open to the public... so that was weird. Maybe it's a rule to protect the privacy of other customers? Which I totally get, I was only about 16 at the time and I've always looked young so I'm sure our security guard was like "yeah there's no way a 13 year old lookin kid has access to a proper editing program on his phone which he can use to blur faces." Now if only a channel like yours or Dan Bell would do a walkthrough of Promenade Mall in Tulsa before it's entirely destroyed by shootings. It's also dying slowly and even closed it's theater a couple years back. It's still hanging on, just barely by Christmas shoppers as well as students from the college across the street.
There was a plan a few years back to have the property de-malled. Don't remember the details completely, but it all fell through ultimately. There was a rumor of a Dick's Sporting Goods going in, but when Academy was built here before that can happen, it feels like it put a stop to that idea. The theatre has gone from Carmike back in the day, two other smaller companies bought it after Carmike was done (Douglas in the late 90's to early 2000s and Showplace (till 2018 ish or something like that), and now finally AMC. Before the ultimate decline, the Showplace Theatre( or whoever their name maybe) was going to buy the old Sears and put in a much larger/updated theatre in there to help possibly shore up the idea of the de-malling, but again that obviously didn't happen. Dillard closed last year, and as you said JC Penny's is in its death throws currently. The Food Court stays empty. Most people that visit are walking the mall for exercise, but there is very little commerce going on in the place anymore. I am sure a lot of people have posted that in the late '80s and '90s this was the place to be on Friday and Saturday night. Where you met your friends, relationships began and where they also ended. I am sure if you had some questions I could like try to drum my memory further to remember what was all happening. Also, the Enid News and Eagle may have some more information in detail, but they like to charge you to look anything up so be prepared to run into that blockade to information.
I grew up coming to this mall with my friends 10-12 years ago. It was dying then too. Mostly kids just hang out there. Rarely do people actually shop there. At least in my times there. So cool to see videos of the mall I grew up in. Sure do miss this place
I've been around this mall for all of my life. My grandmother even helped open up Dillard's and J.C. Penny's. Even about 7 years ago, the mall was still thriving (somewhat), the 2 arcades, candy store, Chinese restaurant, the goth clothing store, the Factory Connection, Claire's, and the Christian bookstore were some of the stores I remember being there around that time. Now the only new edition (that I know of) is a weapons store. The food court was pretty nice a while back with a Chinese takeout restaurant, a little snack shack, and a Chick fil a. There's also the movie theater which I assume was the mall's greatest source of income (of course, due to COVID-19, it's most likely closed, I haven't checked though). This mall's obviously days away from death, and it kind of makes me sad.
In the mid 1990's, I was going to college in a small town about an hour away from this mall. If you wanted to get some decent clothes and have access to thing that you couldn't find in a rural Wally-World, Oakwood Mall was the closest place to go. At the time, it had all the anchor stores that you mention and other good 'secondary' stores. Also, the food court was good, by 1990's standards. Sad to see it failing, but totally not surprised.
@@KittenSoto He surely meant Stillwater. Back around 1983 in Stillwater, a proposal to build an enclosed mall was presented but city council voted it down, so it was never built. For the long run, it was a wise decision. The corner where it was to be built is still just woods.
I have relatives in Enid and have been here a few times in the 90s and early 2000s. It died about 15 years ago. In roughly one year, about a third of the stores closed. Couldn't tell you why. My Grandpa worked at an art gallery in the wing of the mall that died. I haven't seen it since it died.
If I remember right it went to new owners who promptly raised rent to combat lost sales from closed stores which in turn caused more stores to close because they couldn’t afford rent. Basically just bad business management
I am so glad you were able to get into this mall, its still very unique looking. Loved those ceilings! I had a good chuckle of the sign on the door with “GNC STILL OPEN” - of course it is! So glad you took this trip Anthony! Well done. -Bree
I live in Enid and as far as what I know, a large part of the problem was the amount they charged for rent. Many of the stores have moved out and gone to strip malls throughout the area. Some of those stores are Radio Shack, the Buckle, Famous Footwear, and Zales. Others have closed their local location completely: Sears, Dillard's, Foot Locker, and now JC Penney. There is also a movie theater here, but I understand a new one is being built in a new shopping center that is under construction so I imagine this one will close shortly after.
Depressing to watch this. Enid is my hometown. I used to meet friends, and girls there back in the early 90's. If you and your friends weren't driving yet, the mall and Overland Trail Arcade were the spots. Sadly, both are dead now
I lived in a neighboring community to Enid for 4 years. I liked coming to this mall even though it was probably only half full back then (almost 10 years ago). I always saw it as untapped potential and probably bad management. This could be a really cool smaller community mall if someone knew how to properly manage it. With Penny’s closing they may be toast.
Hi Ace! I’m sorry I missed this when you uploaded it! I’m in OKC, and remember when the Enid mall was a big new fun place to go when we went up there. I hope you got a chance to check out the huge Crossroads Mall in OKC at I-35 and I-240. That was the biggest thing going for decades in the city. Opened in 1974. Dead for several years now. I did several videos on that mall if you have time to check them out on my channel. ;) As always, love your adventures! :)
The Oakwood Mall was built in the early 80's it was a popular hangout when I was in High school. (84 - 86 ) It's a shame it's dying in fact since the Oil Bust Enid has not been the same
Hi, Anthony, I enjoy the video of this mall. I like aesthetics of this mall. I reside here in Weirton,WV. I bet this mall was a thriving mall at one time. It's sad to see any mall close, for people lose their jobs.
It was honestly the best mall when I was growing up. It’s so sad to see how it’s turned out. My best memories of my grandma and I are in that building. My heart breaks that I won’t get to relive those memories again once they tear it down.
I've lived in Enid all 21 years of my life and I can tell you the three reasons this mall failed: When they were building the mall back in the oil boom the City Council then refused to let it build for 5 years straight because they were to concerned about downtown. They finally let it build after the Oil Boom crashed and it never was truly full. Second was the City would not let the original owner of the mall revamp his mall and make it into a two story mall once again to focused on downtown (which by the early 2000's was stagnating) so he sold the mall to the third reason it failed to a business owner in California who ran the mall into the ground over a period of 13-50 years. About 5 years ago it started to go down hill as if it drove off a cliff to the situation now.
I actually happened to visit this mall in March of 2020, and then there were a lot more stores open. The actual feeling the mall had during buisness hours was very mysterious. We went in to take pictures, and overall just experiece the place, but the staff working there were sort of suspicious. they somewhat followed us, and would stare at us when we walked by. They constantly asked where we were from and why we were there, but not just in a nice tourist-y way. It's like they expected us to be there with wrong intent. We peacefully walked around the mall taking photos and such, not really disturbing anything, and then a nearby employee told us we weren't allowed to document the closed stores, only the open ones, which was a slightly strange thing to say. we didn't stay too long because the staff wasn't very friendly, but it was definetly a strange experience.
So I currently love in Enid and have lived here almost my whole life. The mall use to be full when I was a teenager. We would walk the mall on Friday and Saturday nights. Then walk across the parking lot when the mall closed to go to McDonald’s, or go to the movie theatre. A few years back the mall got bought out by an investment company and said they were going to bring in all different stores and the mall would be back up and running. The problem is the old owner and current owners charge to much store rent. So actually the majority of the stores in the mall have stores else where in town now. It is definitely a depressing thing to see. But soon our movie theatre will be in a newly built strip mall. That mall will eventually be empty. We currently have 3 restaurants, bath and body works(rumor they are moving to a strip mall as well), Claire’s, on deck, and a furniture store is all that’s left.
Local here- back in the 80s & early 90s this was the spot. I worked there at Chick-fil-A in the late 90s and the stores were slowly disappearing. Even the operator of our store said the rent is becoming so outrageous. Early 00s very few stores left, half of that in 10s. COVID hit and I suppose that was the last straw. Dilliard’s left and then JCPenney’s, next Chick-fil-A moved to a stand alone location and that was a wrap. All the other name brand stores- Foot Locker, Bath & Body Works, T-Mobile, & maybe a couple more left to stand alone locations or strip malls in the old Wal-Mart area. It’s sad that the town won’t step in and make this a rec building with go-carts, paintball, arcade etc. it’s an eyesore and the only useful space is the parking lot for OG&E trucks during ice season and for the carnival during Tri-State. There is still the Chen Garden located in the store and Spirit Halloween during the spooky season. That’s it. That’s the use of this building.
So from what I’ve heard, the past owner of Oakwood mall owned another larger location and if a business wanted to lease a store in the larger location they were required to lease a spot at this location as well, once the lease was up here business started to trickle out. Then seems the few that were able to keep up business started dying out with online shopping.
Lots of memories of this mall. I am in a small town near Enid and that used to be the place to go. Sears left. Then Dillard's. And now Penney's. Those were kinda the anchor stores for me.
I lived in Enid for 21 years before I moved to Edmond. Growing up, my mom was busy at work, so she'd drop me off at daycare at Kids R Great, whose owner we were good friends with. We'd spend countless hours after it closed just walking around, going to Pocket Change or GameStop. I even remember EB Games existed near the Dillards up until 2004. My entire childhood was spent here, and then around 2013, everything changed. It's depressing to see what happened to Oakwood Mall. Pocket Change stood there for 25 years, probably more, and now it's empty. It's painful to see what happened to it. I remember when mom and I would go to the mall on Sundays for haircuts, school supplies and clothes, and of course. a few games of XMen vs Street Fighter. Watching this was like watching my life flash before my eyes.
I am a local and there's a mural paint on the old JC Penny wing entrance. Maybe I can email you a picture of that mural. I had to get an employee to take me to that part of the mall.
I grew up in Enid and going to this mall in the 80’s. It had a Dillards, JCPenny and Sears and a movie theater. My family still lives in the area and the area. The GNC, Claire’s, Bath and Body works have moved out to other strip malls in the city. The arcade and some local places like a furniture store and sports products. I have no idea how they keep the lights on still. This place used to be very cool. Many development projects have fallen through over the years. My first job was managing a popcorn store in the middle of the mall in the mid 90’s. I left Enid the day I graduated High school for better opportunities. The issues I heard over an over was the rent was too high. I never understood that.
I Used to Work in This Mall When I Was Younger. Lots Of Good Memories. I no Longer Live in Enid . Currently live Massachusetts which is a far cry from Enid but I Miss The Small Town. Dillard's was My Favorite Store!!! 😍
I live in Enid and the mall about 20 years ago was booming. It was the best place in town and people loved it. But the owners started to ask lots of money for the smallest stores in the mall. My parents know someone that used to have a shop in there and he said the owners were asking 1k a month for a tiny shop. I have always been fascinated by the mall and what can I do to keep it in business. I was just in there yesterday to eat lunch with my class and me and my friends walked around. As we were walking around it made me sad to see all the shops I went to with my Grandparents. I think every day that I am going to start a business and if it takes off I am going to buy the mall. But as a 14 year old, people say I will go broke and it is a stupid idea. But I think it will work and hopefully some day I can buy the mall. When the Oakwood Mall was sold in 2016 it was sold for 6.9 million and the buyers said they had great plans to restore it to how it used to be but the mall has gotten worse since then and it is almost out of business. So that was a little history I know about the mall and I hope it helped
Lived here for 28 years, no Jc pennys, no bath and body works. Honestly the Chinese restaurant and on deck are the biggest things there. Oh and the movie theater I guess. I remember when this mall was alive in its time! Good memories!
I don’t know how this mall is still open! I used to live in Enid from 2011-2014 and even then the mall was doing terrible! All the anchor stores were still there when I left Enid though (JCPenney, Sears, and Dillard’s), but now there will be no anchor tenants left
The only stores left in “The Mall” now are Chen Garden, On Deck (also a store in Quail Springs Mall in Edmond), arcade. People use it to walk in inclement weather. I was 8 yo when it opened in ‘84. It used to be the place to get dropped off when you were a kid/teenager. Stores just kept dwindling down due to rent being so high. Pandemic hit and big names companies, i.e. JC Pennys and Dillards closed many nationwide stores. At one point there was talk of creating an open format outlet mall similar to the one located on I-40 in OKC. Owners can’t afford to do such a large adventure or rather they just won’t. As it stood most shoppers went to OKC for the much larger selection of stores.
Man I remember going there as a small kid. Halloween days. Bustling with hundreds of hundreds of people walking having fun laughing... now it's halls wail with dead silence as no people no longer inhabit its walls.
That yes we are open sign on the door was so ‘clerks’ for a second I loved it. Inmate called in a bomb threat to ex-girlfriend?! What is this junior high?!
Born and raised in Enid am I'm 26. The mall used to be a hot spot like any other mall, I have fond memories of it as a kid but now it's a ghost town. I know a lot of people are saying this but it really is sad to see this mall dying. I'd do a lot to see it bought by someone else that cares and wants another place in town where the community can come together.
Also Enid resident, multiple stories of owner raising rent prices to high for viable business. Some stores like katys pantray, made it out and are still successful.
This is sad. In the food court there was a carousel, a $1 a ride. Down by JC Penny's was a florist. Waldon's books was on the other side of JC Penny's. Ruth's Christian Book store was across from Dillards. There was a pet store in that area as well. I loved spending $$$ there.
Does anyone happen to have some old interior pics of the mall from the 80s and 90s?? I've been trying for years to find someone who has some but no one seems to sadly.
Hello ace adventures I notice this video in recommendations and noticed that u said if anyone knows more about this mall to give u some insight I have lived in enid for 16 years and counting for the first thing the Chinese restraunt is very safety crazy about anyone going into the mall through there door so you got very lucky going through the doors and even through these tough times of covid 19 the oakwood mall is always like this very few lights on and very few people reason for a lot of store leaving is over the new management they raised the rent so many businesses leaving used to be very packed if u want to know more just reply on this and I would love to tell u more information I know many people that worked there and alot over the train in the mall
The many stores you see people mentioning before me are gone. The mall is barren and quiet. I remember when it hustled with shoppers and something new was around every corner. I miss the mall I once knew.
And crappy On Deck I'm sure. I haven't been there in forever but I'm sure that's open. That and honestly I'd say the main stores keeping it's doors open are Chen Garden, Amc Theater, and Spirit Halloween in the fall.
It makes me so sad to see our mall empty. Thank you for walking the halls so we can always remember how it looked before it gets torn down.
I don’t think it’s getting torn down yet
I'm so glad you covered this mall. I used to go here all the time when I lived in Enid for a summer 10 years ago and even back then, this mall was dying. I hoped it would make a comeback one day but, boy was I wrong. Last year, my sister and I made a trip down to Oklahoma to visit some family and she remarked that this mall is one of the saddest that she's ever been in. At least we found some fun things to do with my niece while we were there. She got to ride the train, the giant animals, and those rides just outside the arcade near Claire's. I'm so bummed to see JC Penny leaving and seeing this mall do even worse thanks to the pandemic.
It's a shame😢, but in this video, he mall looks to be in pretty good shape.
@@cB-my5db At least that's a positive about this place. It seems like it's being well taken care of and that makes me smile. Since it's in such wonderful shape, why doesn't the city just buy it and repurpose it for something like a college or trade school or what the mall of my teenage years in Quincy, Illinois, the Quincy Mall is kind of doing, let the hospital or the local medical group buy it and turn it into a medical plaza? A gem like that doesn't deserve to sit there all empty and eventually rot like Jamestown and Rolling Acres did.
Thanks Chinese Communist Party!
@@richardm3023 The real thieves live much closer, around the District of Criminals.
Claire’s and Bath & Body Works have recently left the mall too
I got my first job at the Kinney ShoeStore in 1985. Michael Jackson’s Thriller was the buzz and people wanted slick bottom shoes so they could practice their moonwalking. This place was “hopping.” Was introduced to Sbarros Pizza, which was the beginning of a 30-year happy obsession. I remember Denise and her twin sister Diane worked at the Cookie store. The only real excitement I remember was a T-38 airplane crashed across the street from the mall the same year the mall opened. No one was hurt. In fact, both pilots ejected safely and one of them landed on nearby Waller Jr. High School.
I hated Sbarro- their pizza literally dripped of grease and it was sooo expensive!
I watched that crash 💥 really close and have been scared of planes ✈️ since 😭😭😂😂
It's so sad to me that malls used to bw so popular and were the hangouts for many teens now nobody really goes to malls anymore what a shame
shit's expensive and wages are stagnant, usually has that effect
This mall is the only real hangout for teens anymore in this town. Just not a lot of people shop in it. Sad to see it dying out for sure
I grew up and still live near Edmonton, so I'm super used to crazy busy malls
Teens only hang out in their virtual worlds. they don't want to leave their rooms and have face to face interactions with other human beings. Also, malls aren't that much more than most on-line retailers, and wages weren't stagnant before the cough-cough hit.
@@richardm3023 What an ignorant boomer you are. You do realise that online social interaction has allowed people from entirely separate nations, who would never have otherwise met, interact and become friends? That people with crippling social anxiety or introversion can more easily make friends? Did you know that people who meet online almost always end up meeting in real life as well? Get with the times you archaic fossil.
I actually worked in this mall for quite some time at the RadioShack, very close to the food court and the Bath and Body Works that’s still standing. The thing is, the rent of this mall when it was open was VERY expensive, so it doomed stores from the very beginning when it was “booming”. However, I reminisce times of it being packed inside of this mall when I was in my early 20’s (less than 10 years ago). It very quickly declined; mostly, from my understanding, because of how expensive it was to keep the storefronts open because of the cost to buy out a space within the mall. It saddens me, as this was THE place to go when I was a kid-Enid is a small enough place that this mall was the centerpiece for a lot of us teens/young kids.
Was at their Grand opening. We thought this would be a great mall for Enid and the surrounding towns. It every really took off. The big stores started closing, whether itt be cooperate downsizing or poor economy. Enid would rather go to Oklahoma City to eat and shop. Enid had very few places for shopping or great places to eat. Sad for us.
I think the owners want the residents to go to OKC for shopping
I spent HOURS at the mall as a kid in the 80s and 90s. Even as young as 10-11, our parents would drop us off and be like “ok meet us in the food court at ___.”
Thank you for covering this mall it really means a lot to see someone talk about this mall. I am an Enid native and I grew up in the area. In my time being raised and going to school in Enid. I have seen quite a lot of changes. I actually still live in the area to this day. Occasionally I will drive by the mall and it still surprises me how it's still around. It feels so surreal to see it sometimes. There is some memory I have of walking with my father through the mall at a young age and there was quite a bit of traffic. I used to visit it a lot when shops like Sears, Radio Shack and a few others were still around. But when I got older it really struck me how empty it started to become. There was this decent laser tag/reball place I visited a few times with friends but when that place shut down. I rarely visited. Only when I needed to buy new clothes or some accessory for a phone. When I visited a much larger mall like those in Oklahoma City. I was taken aback just how much bigger everything was. And how much smaller Oakwood was compared to places like Quail Springs or Penn Square. I still recall vividly the state of the mall in my senior year which was 4-5 years ago. I remember being there with a friend and being taken aback at how empty it was. I think the last time I actually set foot in Oakwood Mall was last year when I was at the JC Pennys during Black Friday. One of the last anchor stores still around after Sears and the other ones left. Though I was shocked to learn that they are planning to close the JC Pennys soon later this year. I will always have memories of the trips with my parents to buy new clothes or some home appliance. The current owners/management really failed to make good on the promises they made to bring new life into this place. It is sad to see how this place has ended up. Yet it does surprises me that there are actually still some businesses there. I would like to think that there is hope for Oakwood to continue. However with the pandemic going on currently. I do wonder about it's future.
My nephew had a couple of birthday parties at the laser tag place
Sorry about your bad luck that town sucks full of snobs and hypocrits and dang democrats
The owners charge too much rent. That's this mall's main problem.
And the property owner lives out of state
@@informedconsumer5293ironically the manager also manages my local mall but he is present for neither mall and lets them both rot
This mall had a store in every space when I was a kid. When I was about 10 the story was that the rent was too high for the stores to stay, and stores slowly started leaving. It used to be a really awesome mall but has sadly died away.
Every space. Including some that people today would never know existed because they’ve been walled off for so long now.
Man when I was a kid in the 90s-2000s this place was popping chik fil a in the food court sabarros pizza, every spot was full. They closed dillards last Christmas and are closing penny's now, and it was sold years ago and its gone down hill since. The knife shop at 4:28 is awesome, and chen garden is about thw only Chinese buffet left in enid
Beautiful architecture! I loved the mirrored ceiling I hate seeing these malls fall on hard times. When I was a teen the mall was the place to go.
Places like these are so surreal, it’s so cool to see the insides of ‘em
Ive been there and live in enid this place sucks0
Used to have great food in food court, had Sears, JCPenney and Dillard’s as anchor stores. The buckle, gadzooks, foot action, foot locker, coach house, Claire’s, pet store, vanity, and movie theater among many other stores. So sad to see a mall I grew up going to die like this
Thanks for the info Erin!
@@AcesAdventures1 mall has always been bad though, some stores still have dirt floors. Enid is supposedly getting a new theater which will likely put the mall completely out of business
I remember when the mall first opened. I LOVED Coach House Gifts! It was my favorite store there while it lasted. I moved out of Enid in the 90s. This video has virtually none of the stores from when I grew up (other than some anchors).
Radio shack?
Enid Native here (living in japan now) but I keep up with Enid very closely and thought I'd give a rundown of the mall.
Oakwood mall: once bustling, now dead. When I was small this was a vibrant bustling mall full of unique stores of all kinds, the arcades were full of life, as a teen, the mall was the place to be especially on the weekends. Teens running around, movies to see, and the air of excitement. Not to mention the variety of stuff you could buy but also holidays such as Halloween where there'd be unique animations, candy from every store, so on and so forth. Now looking forward 20 years later, the mall has spiraled downward. Stores slowly began to die out or move, which in thus probably caused higher rent rates, with stores moving out and very little coming in made for the perfect disaster storm of how the mall came to be dead. I believe the company before the one who bought the mall in 2016 envisioned to make a more "open aired shopping experience". With that vision I believe their plan was to have less stores, but also add a uniqueness that they wanted to revitalize it to draw customers back throughout that period of time up until 2016 to where the current owning company bought it. When being bought by this company, they said for their vision for the mall we to revitalize and revamp by making it more of a traditional mall/like the mall it once way by bringing in unique stores, More entertainment, and a new vibrant environment, now fast forward from 2016 to 2020 the once exciting possibility to see the mall alive again has gone dark with no changes nor any signs of it. Perhaps the company that now owns it ended up forgetting about it within their roster of businesses owned, or they just fell behind with their plans to push the mall back to it's once better days. All the anchor stores are gone, the AMC movie theater in the mall is about to get some major competition from Apex cinema since it's currently being built, and when opened will be very new and updated. Chen Garden is still a Enid Favorite since their opening however. The vendors in the food courts come but never stay long due to the low amounts of customers that now come through, and the same can be said with the other little stores that come and go throughout the mall itself.
Perhaps one day it'll be like it once was, or perhaps it'll fall to ruin just like many other places in Enid. Enid definitely has a habit of being catered for a community for individuals that don't really care for the expansion of entertainment for younger individuals. Enid brings in entertainment venues once in awhile but it's generally not what I see a lot of people routing for. Most people I know from Enid now goes to Oklahoma City for major entertainment.
ARCADES? PLURAL? Damn, that must have been incredible. Really sucks that the business is pretty much dead, other than locally owned passion projects like 1984 Arcade in Branson Missouri. Even in your Japan, SEGA dropped out of the business of owning arcades and now just makes machines, with their iconic Akihabara location with the cool tubes on the side straight up closing for months last year. This mall still has it's arcade I'm pretty sure, and it is, for the most part, a real arcade, actual games instead of claw catchers and 10 second money-wasting games of luck. It's great to see people still care about this kind of stuff, malls and arcades, relics of the past with no monetary reason to exist what with scummy online retailers and the ability to stream or download games to modern systems without even having to leave the house, but it's the unique feel of it, man. Browsing Steam or eBay will never give me the social experience and atmosphere of going to a locally owned game store or a bustling mall.
The store slowly started moving out of the mall starting in the late 90’s due to pitiful management! About a year ago or so some corporation purchased the mall and we were told they were going to “revamp” it but now it sits virtually empty! There are many discussions about this sad space on social media and in our local newspaper... Enid buzz has some articles about it!
But you know what’s funny? My parents’ and grandparents’ generations would say the same thing about downtown and how it used to be THE center of shopping until the mall was built. Then the stores started closing and moving out west. I’m glad they’re getting more stores back on the square but it’s hard to get a lot of business downtown when all the stores are Cleveland and west.
My hometown mall!! I’m not sure if its ever been at capacity that I can remember, but I went all the time with my mom when I was younger to “window shop.” I remember it being pretty busy and at least mostly full, but by the time I was in middle school it was on its way out.
32 and I’ve lived in Enid my whole life I remember as a child the mall had every store open. the change really starting to begin with stores like KB toys an FYE closing down. The rent was based mostly off of parking lot traffic they used car counters to monitor that.The problem with that is that people use the parking lot to pass through to other businesses in vicinity or neighborhoods
eventually when the new company took over a 2016 they change that policy but it was too late and the mall resembled more of the flea market With many of the businesses being craftsman or someone selling cheap items. I also remember another staple to this mall was the orange Julius and Sbarro’s Without those there wasn’t much of a reason to go to the food court and the businesses that came in after just could not keep up with the high rent.
katy's pantry, too
Sucks to be you😂😂
I’m a local. This mall has been slowly dying for over a decade. The last year has sealed the deal, since we lost Dillard’s and JCPenney. It’s really sad to see.
This is my hometown. I’m 25 years old, and this place has been here since before I was born. When I was a little kid, this place was the place to hang out. But over the years everything just sort of fell apart, mostly in part to poor management is what I suspect. The only thing that’s somewhat worthwhile to do in the mall is go to the movies, but even that isn’t much to say. It’s sad to see this place the way it is now. I was born in Enid, grew up here all my life, there’s not much in my town anymore. Big sad.
I just stumbled upon this video. Thank you so much for posting this! I used to live close to this mall and would hang out a lot in the early 2000s. I can still see the stores that were there at the time. Oh the memories you've unlocked with this video! Thank you
I was born and raised in Enid. I remember riding the train inside at Christmas time. That used to only come out at Christmas with the decorations. This place might be dead now but lives on in people memory. This place used to be very busy with a ton of traffic. Still a beautiful mall and Im so glad they have not renovated this property. Thank you for the video.
I used to go to this mall all the time. So sad to see it has now become a dead mall....
✔️😕
God, i used to go to the candy store in that mall a lot because you could buy so many kinds of candy in bulk; I'd also get funnel cakes and play at the arcade. The most recent trip I had there was to see the sonic movie in February with my cousin.
Thanks for uploading this, it's nice to see everything again before it (most likely) dies for good
Candyopolis
I visited this mall with my mom a ton of times when I was a kid. I am originally from Perry and this was a 45 min drive for us. We had so many fun times here shopping, going to movies, eating, etc. It's very sad that this mall has crumbled. I remember most of the stores that used to be here. I remember the movie theater vividly as well. Enid was my second home as my Dad lived here many years as well. Just a shame this is basically gone. Looks to be still in great condition. City of Enid needs to get this going again.
I am a local and from what I understand, the rent here is outrageous and they refuse to lower it or fix what is broken so stores are just leaving. This use to be a great place to shop and hang out. This mall, or lack thereof opens at 12pm on Sunday's. Bath and Body Works told me one day that they will be staying until the very end. 🤷
Almost doesn't make me feel bad, the idiots in charge killing their own mall with nothing but their greed. It's a fine area, very little crime and right near a lot of restaurants, if rent was lowered drastically and they made a big deal of it, place could totally turn around. Especially with the beloved arcade, theater, and kiddy train. Though the satisfaction of greedy stupid people getting what they deserve is far outweighed by my sorrow for the tenants themselves and other people like me who loved this place.
@@aortaplatinum People say very little crime but there's really plenty and it's on the rise. Always hearing about murders, break ins of houses or cars, meth heads overrun Enid too, the people are rude... It's really not a great area.
Not me coming in a year later to say this comment didn’t age well 😂😂😂
@@nathangray3443 I joke around about how quiet my neighborhood is-in the nearly 4 years I’ve lived here, only 2 people have been murdered on my street 😂😂😂
I wish you could have seen it in the 80s and 90s man! I was born in 85 here in Enid and grew up with a beautiful functional mall! We had the best childhood there thanks to all the awesome stores and the arcade. The movies were also the place to be there at the time. In the 90s it started dying. It later sold off to one company who was to revamp it but did nothing. They then sold it to the current company which is notorious for running malls into the ground and turning them into trashy flea markets (exactly what they've done to it now.) Now it sits as a stupid craft show mall where people sell awful crafts and overpriced things they got online from China. One booth a guy sells flags and tons of rings that you can buy on Wish for $2, he sells those rings for $20 in store- it's ridiculous.
Our mall has sadly lost Bath & Body Works, Sears, Dillards, JcPenny, Zales, Great American Cookie Co- all of the original staple stores that held it in place. Stores it featured in the past/present are KB Toys, Pet A Rama (small pet store run by a local couple), Disk Jockey (cd and cassette tape store), Orange Julius (sugary frozen smoothie store), Katy's Pantry (sold cookies and other baked goods), Sbarro Pizza, Steve and Barrys, Gadzooks, Halloween store at Halloween (I THINK Spencers ran this), Waldenbooks, Heilig Meyer Furniture, The Gap, Coach House Gift shop, Athlete's Footh shoe store, Candyopolis, Vanity (women's clothing), Chen Garden (Chinese food buffet), Big Lots, On Deck (overpriced sports memorabilia), and there was some kind of catalog store that had fun toys- I THINK it was where Chen Garden is... I know there were more- I just can't think of anymore.
Our mall used to be amazing, now it just sucks! They overcharged for rent so much that all of our new stores and even a lot of the current stores- all broke out into strip malls. We COULD have a working mall if someone built one fresh and put stores into it. But the current one sadly is a lost cause- they're not upkeeping it at all, we saw wires hanging all over the bathroom and ceiling tiles down- the place is just falling apart. The air conditioning doesn't work in many places like the old Big Lots spot where Spirit halloween always goes, those poor people always have to pay to rent portable air conditioners as the crappy malls isn't working.
thank you for another great video i love your dead mall videos
Thank you for making this.... so many childhood memories were made there..
Enid Buzz can give you a lot of information. The current mall owners have ruined this mall way more than it needed to be.
It also had the last real toy store this town had. KB toys closed YEARS ago. It had a radio shack as well. Its sad to see it in this shape. It was a regular hangout when I was a teen.
Kb Toy was so overpriced.
My aunt worked at KB toys at this mall for years.
Lived here my whole life. It died down when the new ownership took over. From my understanding they’re charging waaay too much in rent so most stores either moved to new locations or just closed down in general. We only have maybe 10 store still in operation In the mall. On Deck actually takes up a majority of the mall, having I think 5 stores that they keep extra stuff in.
They also used to have a pet store and a movie theater that's where I seen bridge to terabithia when it came out it was our fifth grade field trip
To understand the slow-motion failure of Oakwood mall, you must understand the economic history of Enid Oklahoma. The mall was planned and financed in the late stage of an oil boom. Housing and retail space were in short supply, speculation and building were rife. S&L reforms in '80 and '81 were setting the stage for a major economic crisis, but that would come later. It seemed like a good idea because money was pouring in. It was a crazy, unsustainable time, right up until the bottom dropped out. The oil boom began to bust in 1982, well before the mall opened. Milestones of the bust in Enid included the surprise closure of the Champlin Refinery in 1984 and the collapse of the 1st National Bank in 1986. The economy and real estate in Enid didn't really fully recover until the new boom kicked in the last decade. As you can see, the Oakwood Mall was doomed before the doors first opened. The only surprise is that it lasted as long as it did. Idle speculations that there must be some kind of tax advantage to the past quarter-century of apparent mismanagement aside, that is the story of Oakwood Mall.
Thanks for the backstory. I suspected something like that when i was working there a few years ago. The dilapidated skating rink was also sad to see.
I was a UPT student at Vance in 89-90. The mall was a good place to go on the weekends to escape the atmosphere of the base and decompress. I bought untold numbers of cassette tapes from the music store and saw a lot of movies in the theater there. It is so sad to see it in this shape today.
I actually live here. Born and raised. I moved away for awhile and came back to see that there was only a few stores left alive here.
It's sad isnt man
@@PackAttack580 it really is. I spent a good part of my childhood hanging out there.
@@580WiLL I wish we could save this Mall feel like this town needs one like a real good one like it used to be.
@@PackAttack580 become a leasing agent for the owners. You could hustle up some new tenants save the mall and make some good money.
Wow. So sad. I hosted the opening of this mall back in the mid '80s. It was so exciting at the time. Moved away in '88, and it's been more than 5 years since I've been back. Still a lot of good people there.
Thank you for the video. I moved to enid in 95 in grade school. This place, like the others have said, was very popular. I'm not sure whether the mall actually started to show it's age around 2000, or if I was just getting older and able to see it. Its funny, my favorite store as a kid (though it's moved within the mall a few times) is still there and open as of July 2023. I'm hoping to make it back there before long. Will post an update when I do.
The 3 main anchor stores were Dillard's, Sears and J. C. Penney. The food court and theater were also anchors. The theater closed the end of 2021. There are just a couple three places in the food court open now too. Claire's has moved out and Bath and Body Works has moved. I haven't been in the mall for anything for several years. As far as I know, the last two main stores open are a mattress store and On Deck, a sports memorabilia store. A few years ago, there were plans to "demall" it and make it an open air mall. Those plans met with a lot of resistance and they were eventually abandoned. I am 62 and an Enid native. It breaks my heart to see property in this condition. The mall property has so much potential. It could be revamped for anything from homeless housing and resources center to a senior housing facility to a medical clinic with Dr's offices, radiology facilities, lab, rehab facilities, physical therapy......the only limitations would be someone's imagination. I pray something happens soon and it just doesn't set there and deteriorate more than it already has.
Actually, when the mall first opened, Sears was still downtown. Sears added on to the back of the mall when they closed the downtown store. I actually used to deliver mail there when it first opened
I remember when I was a kid, we'd go here quite often. IIRC, the store on the left at 4:45 was once a bridal store, and the only thing I remember about it was that it had a "liquidation sale" for many years. So long, that it was a shock when it really did close for good (that was prior to 2014) Very sad to see that its on its last leg. I dont live in Enid anymore but I hope it can be brought back to life in some way.
I love the skylights here with the mirrors. I wonder why the interior is normally closed on Sundays. Usually retailers will tough it out 7 days a week unless there is a law requiring certain businesses to close on Sundays.
Super cool, I've been waiting for someone to check this place out. Used to be awesome, that fencing you saw used to lead to what was once a very small event center, I remember they had a few local things there like a kid's talent show and even an official Veggietales event to promote the then upcoming Larryboy and the Bad Apple DVD. Also near that fencing, in the area still open and right next to the kiddie rides, is/was[?] this really sick little arcade, and I mean like a real arcade not like most modern "arcades" where it's just claw catchers, games of luck, scaled-up mobile games and a photo booth. Naw man they had Crazy Taxi and Hydro Thunder and Super Off-Road. Granted CT's shifter lock mechanism was broken so you had to hold it in the gear you wanted it, making some more tricky maneuvers nearly impossible, but it was still rad. Another funny story is that one of the times I visited was in 2015 and the theater had their poster for Star Wars The Force Awakens, RIGHT NEXT to the poster for Alvin and the Chipmunks The Road Chip which released only a week earlier lol. I doubt it's still there but one of the spaces across from the food court used to be a display center for a local model train club, and they had the coolest setup I'd ever seen, it was like the entire span of the rather large retail space and decorated so intricately and detailed. I never visited as a young kid, but I remember clearly seeing the larger, actually rideable kid's train, and they would decorate it for different holidays, some fake snow for Christmas, an Easter Bunny cutout and big eggs for Easter, it was really nice and you could tell that the people in charge of the display and maintenance of the train were still passionate about it. Of course that's obviously changed now, since there's just nothing at all, leaving it barren and boring at 3:41
My dad actually used to work here in maintenance during the 90s [I think, might have been the late 80s] and brought home with him an Oakwood Mall branded wooden yardstick, which is a super cool and very obscure little collectable I hold dear.
I actually attempted to do a walkthrough of this place at one point on my other channel I used when I was a teenager, but I got told off by a security guard saying I can't film there... on a Saturday when the mall is open to the public... so that was weird. Maybe it's a rule to protect the privacy of other customers? Which I totally get, I was only about 16 at the time and I've always looked young so I'm sure our security guard was like "yeah there's no way a 13 year old lookin kid has access to a proper editing program on his phone which he can use to blur faces."
Now if only a channel like yours or Dan Bell would do a walkthrough of Promenade Mall in Tulsa before it's entirely destroyed by shootings. It's also dying slowly and even closed it's theater a couple years back. It's still hanging on, just barely by Christmas shoppers as well as students from the college across the street.
There was a plan a few years back to have the property de-malled. Don't remember the details completely, but it all fell through ultimately. There was a rumor of a Dick's Sporting Goods going in, but when Academy was built here before that can happen, it feels like it put a stop to that idea. The theatre has gone from Carmike back in the day, two other smaller companies bought it after Carmike was done (Douglas in the late 90's to early 2000s and Showplace (till 2018 ish or something like that), and now finally AMC. Before the ultimate decline, the Showplace Theatre( or whoever their name maybe) was going to buy the old Sears and put in a much larger/updated theatre in there to help possibly shore up the idea of the de-malling, but again that obviously didn't happen. Dillard closed last year, and as you said JC Penny's is in its death throws currently. The Food Court stays empty. Most people that visit are walking the mall for exercise, but there is very little commerce going on in the place anymore. I am sure a lot of people have posted that in the late '80s and '90s this was the place to be on Friday and Saturday night. Where you met your friends, relationships began and where they also ended. I am sure if you had some questions I could like try to drum my memory further to remember what was all happening. Also, the Enid News and Eagle may have some more information in detail, but they like to charge you to look anything up so be prepared to run into that blockade to information.
I grew up coming to this mall with my friends 10-12 years ago. It was dying then too. Mostly kids just hang out there. Rarely do people actually shop there. At least in my times there. So cool to see videos of the mall I grew up in. Sure do miss this place
It started dying after the 90s sadly.
I've been around this mall for all of my life. My grandmother even helped open up Dillard's and J.C. Penny's. Even about 7 years ago, the mall was still thriving (somewhat), the 2 arcades, candy store, Chinese restaurant, the goth clothing store, the Factory Connection, Claire's, and the Christian bookstore were some of the stores I remember being there around that time.
Now the only new edition (that I know of) is a weapons store. The food court was pretty nice a while back with a Chinese takeout restaurant, a little snack shack, and a Chick fil a.
There's also the movie theater which I assume was the mall's greatest source of income (of course, due to COVID-19, it's most likely closed, I haven't checked though).
This mall's obviously days away from death, and it kind of makes me sad.
In the mid 1990's, I was going to college in a small town about an hour away from this mall. If you wanted to get some decent clothes and have access to thing that you couldn't find in a rural Wally-World, Oakwood Mall was the closest place to go. At the time, it had all the anchor stores that you mention and other good 'secondary' stores. Also, the food court was good, by 1990's standards. Sad to see it failing, but totally not surprised.
Northwestern, Alva?
@@KittenSoto He surely meant Stillwater. Back around 1983 in Stillwater, a proposal to build an enclosed mall was presented but city council voted it down, so it was never built. For the long run, it was a wise decision. The corner where it was to be built is still just woods.
I'm gonna miss penny's because it was like part of the family my grandma took me there a lot now there both gone 😞
ditto
Them and DIllards were so overpriced though.
I have relatives in Enid and have been here a few times in the 90s and early 2000s. It died about 15 years ago. In roughly one year, about a third of the stores closed. Couldn't tell you why. My Grandpa worked at an art gallery in the wing of the mall that died. I haven't seen it since it died.
If I remember right it went to new owners who promptly raised rent to combat lost sales from closed stores which in turn caused more stores to close because they couldn’t afford rent. Basically just bad business management
@@datipadisdick2462 Thanks for filling me in. that's not shocking.
I am so glad you were able to get into this mall, its still very unique looking. Loved those ceilings! I had a good chuckle of the sign on the door with “GNC STILL OPEN” - of course it is! So glad you took this trip Anthony! Well done. -Bree
I used to help my grandma at her store in the mall
I live in Enid and as far as what I know, a large part of the problem was the amount they charged for rent. Many of the stores have moved out and gone to strip malls throughout the area. Some of those stores are Radio Shack, the Buckle, Famous Footwear, and Zales. Others have closed their local location completely: Sears, Dillard's, Foot Locker, and now JC Penney. There is also a movie theater here, but I understand a new one is being built in a new shopping center that is under construction so I imagine this one will close shortly after.
So much for that movie theater that was under construction 😂
@@bennettoneill203 Yep, so much for that.
Depressing to watch this. Enid is my hometown. I used to meet friends, and girls there back in the early 90's. If you and your friends weren't driving yet, the mall and Overland Trail Arcade were the spots. Sadly, both are dead now
From the area. Loved the Eskimo Joe's here and the factory connection.
I lived in a neighboring community to Enid for 4 years. I liked coming to this mall even though it was probably only half full back then (almost 10 years ago). I always saw it as untapped potential and probably bad management. This could be a really cool smaller community mall if someone knew how to properly manage it. With Penny’s closing they may be toast.
I love the music you play when walking through the mall.
Hi Ace!
I’m sorry I missed this when you uploaded it!
I’m in OKC, and remember when the Enid mall was a big new fun place to go when we went up there.
I hope you got a chance to check out the huge Crossroads Mall in OKC at I-35 and I-240.
That was the biggest thing going for decades in the city.
Opened in 1974.
Dead for several years now.
I did several videos on that mall if you have time to check them out on my channel. ;)
As always, love your adventures! :)
In 1999 Oakwood Mall was bustling....I worked at a
Kiosk back then and it was always busy...
The Oakwood Mall was built in the early 80's it was a popular hangout when I was in High school. (84 - 86 ) It's a shame it's dying in fact since the Oil Bust Enid has not been the same
It started dying after the 90s.
Hi, Anthony, I enjoy the video of this mall. I like aesthetics of this mall. I reside here in Weirton,WV. I bet this mall was a thriving mall at one time. It's sad to see any mall close, for people lose their jobs.
It was honestly the best mall when I was growing up. It’s so sad to see how it’s turned out. My best memories of my grandma and I are in that building. My heart breaks that I won’t get to relive those memories again once they tear it down.
I've lived in Enid all 21 years of my life and I can tell you the three reasons this mall failed: When they were building the mall back in the oil boom the City Council then refused to let it build for 5 years straight because they were to concerned about downtown. They finally let it build after the Oil Boom crashed and it never was truly full. Second was the City would not let the original owner of the mall revamp his mall and make it into a two story mall once again to focused on downtown (which by the early 2000's was stagnating) so he sold the mall to the third reason it failed to a business owner in California who ran the mall into the ground over a period of 13-50 years. About 5 years ago it started to go down hill as if it drove off a cliff to the situation now.
Or maybe malls are obsolete and the population of Enid is 50,000.
I actually happened to visit this mall in March of 2020, and then there were a lot more stores open. The actual feeling the mall had during buisness hours was very mysterious. We went in to take pictures, and overall just experiece the place, but the staff working there were sort of suspicious. they somewhat followed us, and would stare at us when we walked by. They constantly asked where we were from and why we were there, but not just in a nice tourist-y way. It's like they expected us to be there with wrong intent. We peacefully walked around the mall taking photos and such, not really disturbing anything, and then a nearby employee told us we weren't allowed to document the closed stores, only the open ones, which was a slightly strange thing to say. we didn't stay too long because the staff wasn't very friendly, but it was definetly a strange experience.
So I currently love in Enid and have lived here almost my whole life. The mall use to be full when I was a teenager. We would walk the mall on Friday and Saturday nights. Then walk across the parking lot when the mall closed to go to McDonald’s, or go to the movie theatre. A few years back the mall got bought out by an investment company and said they were going to bring in all different stores and the mall would be back up and running. The problem is the old owner and current owners charge to much store rent. So actually the majority of the stores in the mall have stores else where in town now. It is definitely a depressing thing to see.
But soon our movie theatre will be in a newly built strip mall. That mall will eventually be empty. We currently have 3 restaurants, bath and body works(rumor they are moving to a strip mall as well), Claire’s, on deck, and a furniture store is all that’s left.
Clarissa Nichols the new theater isn’t actually going to replace this one. It’ll just give us a new and better one along with AMC
Jazmin Nikole I have heard that but I have also heard it will replace the malls theater. I guess we shall see
Local here- back in the 80s & early 90s this was the spot. I worked there at Chick-fil-A in the late 90s and the stores were slowly disappearing. Even the operator of our store said the rent is becoming so outrageous. Early 00s very few stores left, half of that in 10s. COVID hit and I suppose that was the last straw. Dilliard’s left and then JCPenney’s, next Chick-fil-A moved to a stand alone location and that was a wrap. All the other name brand stores- Foot Locker, Bath & Body Works, T-Mobile, & maybe a couple more left to stand alone locations or strip malls in the old Wal-Mart area. It’s sad that the town won’t step in and make this a rec building with go-carts, paintball, arcade etc. it’s an eyesore and the only useful space is the parking lot for OG&E trucks during ice season and for the carnival during Tri-State. There is still the Chen Garden located in the store and Spirit Halloween during the spooky season. That’s it. That’s the use of this building.
So from what I’ve heard, the past owner of Oakwood mall owned another larger location and if a business wanted to lease a store in the larger location they were required to lease a spot at this location as well, once the lease was up here business started to trickle out. Then seems the few that were able to keep up business started dying out with online shopping.
In all seriousness I come here for the music 🎶
Yes, Ace always picks the best music.
What's the name of that song @ 7:10 ???
Used to work in that Penney's store. So sad to see it close.
Lots of memories of this mall. I am in a small town near Enid and that used to be the place to go. Sears left. Then Dillard's. And now Penney's. Those were kinda the anchor stores for me.
I lived in Enid for 21 years before I moved to Edmond. Growing up, my mom was busy at work, so she'd drop me off at daycare at Kids R Great, whose owner we were good friends with. We'd spend countless hours after it closed just walking around, going to Pocket Change or GameStop. I even remember EB Games existed near the Dillards up until 2004. My entire childhood was spent here, and then around 2013, everything changed. It's depressing to see what happened to Oakwood Mall. Pocket Change stood there for 25 years, probably more, and now it's empty. It's painful to see what happened to it. I remember when mom and I would go to the mall on Sundays for haircuts, school supplies and clothes, and of course. a few games of XMen vs Street Fighter. Watching this was like watching my life flash before my eyes.
I am a local and there's a mural paint on the old JC Penny wing entrance. Maybe I can email you a picture of that mural. I had to get an employee to take me to that part of the mall.
Nice tour. Stay safe!😁
What kind of mall closes on Sunday.
I used go there at least once a week but was there definitely on Friday-Sunday !!! This thing was poppin in the 2000s
I live in Enid as well. They just closed down JCPenney, the only department store remaining! 😭😵😔😢
I grew up in Enid and going to this mall in the 80’s. It had a Dillards, JCPenny and Sears and a movie theater. My family still lives in the area and the area. The GNC, Claire’s, Bath and Body works have moved out to other strip malls in the city. The arcade and some local places like a furniture store and sports products. I have no idea how they keep the lights on still. This place used to be very cool. Many development projects have fallen through over the years. My first job was managing a popcorn store in the middle of the mall in the mid 90’s. I left Enid the day I graduated High school for better opportunities. The issues I heard over an over was the rent was too high. I never understood that.
I Used to Work in This Mall When I Was Younger. Lots Of Good Memories. I no Longer Live in Enid . Currently live Massachusetts which is a far cry from Enid but I Miss The Small Town. Dillard's was My Favorite Store!!! 😍
Good video. Thanks.
Grew up going to this mall.. when they lost Dillard’s a few years ago it was heartbreaking..
It was just last year, I lost a good paying job due to the closure. Shame that
This gives me so many memories when it was open like the toy train ride
I live in Enid and the mall about 20 years ago was booming. It was the best place in town and people loved it. But the owners started to ask lots of money for the smallest stores in the mall. My parents know someone that used to have a shop in there and he said the owners were asking 1k a month for a tiny shop. I have always been fascinated by the mall and what can I do to keep it in business. I was just in there yesterday to eat lunch with my class and me and my friends walked around. As we were walking around it made me sad to see all the shops I went to with my Grandparents. I think every day that I am going to start a business and if it takes off I am going to buy the mall. But as a 14 year old, people say I will go broke and it is a stupid idea. But I think it will work and hopefully some day I can buy the mall. When the Oakwood Mall was sold in 2016 it was sold for 6.9 million and the buyers said they had great plans to restore it to how it used to be but the mall has gotten worse since then and it is almost out of business. So that was a little history I know about the mall and I hope it helped
It’s interesting some of the wings were sectioned off. As always the music is on point.
Perhaps some editing choices LOL
Looked like closed off due to shuttered anchors.
Lived here for 28 years, no Jc pennys, no bath and body works. Honestly the Chinese restaurant and on deck are the biggest things there. Oh and the movie theater I guess.
I remember when this mall was alive in its time! Good memories!
I don’t know how this mall is still open! I used to live in Enid from 2011-2014 and even then the mall was doing terrible!
All the anchor stores were still there when I left Enid though (JCPenney, Sears, and Dillard’s), but now there will be no anchor tenants left
Wish you could have been there on a saturday, there are a few gatherings that use the space.
When I was little this mall was the place to be as a kid
The only stores left in “The Mall” now are Chen Garden, On Deck (also a store in Quail Springs Mall in Edmond), arcade. People use it to walk in inclement weather. I was 8 yo when it opened in ‘84. It used to be the place to get dropped off when you were a kid/teenager. Stores just kept dwindling down due to rent being so high. Pandemic hit and big names companies, i.e. JC Pennys and Dillards closed many nationwide stores. At one point there was talk of creating an open format outlet mall similar to the one located on I-40 in OKC. Owners can’t afford to do such a large adventure or rather they just won’t. As it stood most shoppers went to OKC for the much larger selection of stores.
You guys ever been to fairview
Man I remember going there as a small kid. Halloween days. Bustling with hundreds of hundreds of people walking having fun laughing... now it's halls wail with dead silence as no people no longer inhabit its walls.
That yes we are open sign on the door was so ‘clerks’ for a second I loved it.
Inmate called in a bomb threat to ex-girlfriend?! What is this junior high?!
I was born 2012 and I remember all the cool stuff in it
Born and raised in Enid am I'm 26. The mall used to be a hot spot like any other mall, I have fond memories of it as a kid but now it's a ghost town. I know a lot of people are saying this but it really is sad to see this mall dying. I'd do a lot to see it bought by someone else that cares and wants another place in town where the community can come together.
I was around when they built that place. WOW!
Also Enid resident, multiple stories of owner raising rent prices to high for viable business. Some stores like katys pantray, made it out and are still successful.
I was just in this mall today, my doctor has her office there and I will tell you it is creepy looking down the hall way, at the darkness so eerie!
This is sad. In the food court there was a carousel, a $1 a ride. Down by JC Penny's was a florist. Waldon's books was on the other side of JC Penny's. Ruth's Christian Book store was across from Dillards. There was a pet store in that area as well. I loved spending $$$ there.
Does anyone happen to have some old interior pics of the mall from the 80s and 90s?? I've been trying for years to find someone who has some but no one seems to sadly.
Hello ace adventures I notice this video in recommendations and noticed that u said if anyone knows more about this mall to give u some insight I have lived in enid for 16 years and counting for the first thing the Chinese restraunt is very safety crazy about anyone going into the mall through there door so you got very lucky going through the doors and even through these tough times of covid 19 the oakwood mall is always like this very few lights on and very few people reason for a lot of store leaving is over the new management they raised the rent so many businesses leaving used to be very packed if u want to know more just reply on this and I would love to tell u more information I know many people that worked there and alot over the train in the mall
The many stores you see people mentioning before me are gone. The mall is barren and quiet. I remember when it hustled with shoppers and something new was around every corner. I miss the mall I once knew.
Current update: The mall, Claire’s, and the arcade are the only main stores open
And crappy On Deck I'm sure. I haven't been there in forever but I'm sure that's open. That and honestly I'd say the main stores keeping it's doors open are Chen Garden, Amc Theater, and Spirit Halloween in the fall.
While in Oklahoma you should checkout Promenade mall in Tulsa
I still shop at the promenade mall at dillard's
Mall closed on Sunday?
Nah, it opens at noon on Sundays. Has all my life
Man it is dead. I remember when it open I was a teenager.