i believe they renovated the mall in '89, so it has to be before that. judging by the shops, my guess is that the pics were taken in the early to mid '80s.

this flickr album has some interesting shots in it, too...


-M

I looked at the comments on a couple of those photos that said the pictures were taken in 1976.

i could believe '76. -M

Oh no! The LeMans/Bally's/Aladdin's Castle/whatever is closed? That makes me sad. I used to go play DDR there. I always loved that they still had that vintage signage on the storefront.

The only time Crossroads look lively is during November and December. They bring out all these decorations (but a lot less than before).

I saw garlands and lights along the upper rails in the picture. I never seen it that way in person at that place.

Maybe the owners should try to apply for Extreme Makeover on ABC. lol Can you imagine the biggest hit that would be? Thousands of Oklahomans would pitch in and help knocking the whole building down and reborn Crossroads. That would be 3 or 4 hours special and for sure would be a major hit. The project would actually be 14 days instead of 7.

I have to say all this makes me quite sad.

I was 16 when that mall opened and I remember driving (what seemed like forever) to go get jeans at the Gap. At that time, the place was awe-inspiring.

Many of the stores had very open interiors and multiple levels which made some of the spaces quite unique.

Then, I worked at Orbach's all through college (early 80's) and there were lots of nicer tenants at that time. And of course, spent all my breaks at Le Mans -- wow, that's depressing that that place is closed, too.

I was born in '84 and I'm 23. I guess that I experienced the last glory days at Crossroads and Heritage Park Mall. They were lively, interesting, and fun to go to. I agree, Pete, it does make us sad and depressed to see how things come and go. We can never keep anything forever.

I love the idea of Extreme Makeover making over Crossroads. I would definitely go there to see the finished product!! I doubt they could get Macy's and JCPenney to move back in though.....

Those pics make Crossroads look like a piece of paradise. I think the first time I ever went there was when I was 11.... so probably 1994 or so. It was fun then. Not so much now.

I'd rather the Mythbusters guys just blow it up.

.oO(Buster and Adam star in Crossroads ... Up in Smoke)Oo.

Mythbusters are a joke. I've seen episodes and most is just wrong. There was one that they wanted to prove that if a hole is formed in a plane way high up and things flying around inside (cuz of pressure) to be false. Well, they got a plane, but it was on the ground the whole time. They did something to the pressure on the inside and shot out a window, but nothing flew around inside. They labeled it as myth. Duh! The plane is on the friggin ground, the air pressure equalized already quickly! Mythbusters have a lot of info wrong. I would say they are much worse than Dumb and Dumber duo.

Hey guys, just found out Dillards is closing their top floor (3rd floor) everything is clearanced to 20% on that floor only. This also means no Christmas products this year.

I went to work as assistant manager of Frederick's of Hollywood on opening day. I had been working at the MWC Frederick's and was offered the Crossroad's store and a small raise. Crossroads was a beehive of activity and a fun place to work!

Funny - the biggest problem we had at Frederick's was people shoplifting crotchless panties! We lost about 2 dozen pair a month. I always wondered who would wear those things - they're darned uncomfortable!

__________________
Unions - the folks who brought you weekends!
Proud Army Mom

Uh oh. If Dillard's is closing the top floor, then Crossroads only has maybe one more year left. I think I'm gonna go down there and have a look around for old times' sake.

Also, I found one guy's account of Crossroads on Deadmalls.com:

Dead Malls dot Com: Feature: Crossroads Mall: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

He says that Crossroads actually contributed to the decline of that area. Does anyone else feel that way? I wasn't even alive yet when it was built so I'm curious.

Maybe you don't get it, but a plane's cabin has to be pressurized in-flight; they pressurized it on the ground to obtain a relative difference in pressure comparable to that of the inflight difference at flight altitude. At that point, aircraft altitide isn't relevant; the difference in pressure is the critical factor.

Mythbusters does a darned fine job, within the constraints of a TV show, to put a reasonably decent scientific face on many of the things they test. The problem is you get people who don't like the results they produce, and insist that their own notions are still right. Admittedly, some urban legends are more fun to hold on to...

That said, I'm not sure what any of this has to do with Crossroads

Nonsense observation...disagree completely. There was almost no way the developers could have predicted how the area west and north of the mall would deteriorate; but I have often wondered if Crossroads might not be in at least marginally better shape had they built somewhere on the south side of I-240 rather than the northside.

When Crossroads was built, it was an attraction unto itself that really should have invigorated development throughout that corridor. Heck, that was arguably the "east end" of town at the time; but the city grew financially more toward the southwest and south along the I-44 corridor rather than the more eastward I-240 area. At the time, there was a Leonhardt's lumberyard to the north, an OG&E facility to the south (which is still there), and that industrial overtone has hung over that area. Leonhardt's closed years and years ago, and numerous highway projects never made development of the area a very attractive project.

I suppose you could argue that Crossroads contributed to its own decline in at least a small way in that it did not make sufficient efforts to keep itself up-to-date. I think it underwent only one, perhaps two, significant remodels since it opened, and still today retains much of that original, clunky, 70's lots-of-angles and concrete floor architecture prevalent at the time. I always heard there were divided ownership groups that never agreed on how to market, upgrade, and advertise the mall, thus nothing ever got done. Don't know if that's true, but sadly, the result of the inaction is self-evident...

-David

I see. Interesting. I also wonder if maybe it'd be in better shape if the location were just slightly different, like if it had been built on the west side of I-35 instead. I guess we'll never know.

The slightly to south or the west would have made no different had the developer been visionary and built the mall ant 240 and Penn or furter then we would be looking at another Quail Springs

Based on what? Can you name another mall that just shut down all the sudden? It never works that way. There are lots of stores left and it will continue to exist as those stores slowly let their leases expire.

thats horrible there slowly dying, my wife worked there in 1977 in dillards and it was really a classy place then. I remember a many a christmas shopping there, or should I say my wife shopping while I played in the arcade or watched the big screen across the way from it,can`t miss those football games you know.
Then there was the pretzel place, and orange julius, ferrels ice cream shop, gordons jewlery where we got our wedding rings. Lots of memories for folks there if only those walls could talk.

I disagree.

The northeast corner of the I-35/I-240 interchange, in retrospect, became the worst possible location for Crossroads in terms of access. An area on the opposite corner would have enjoyed buit-in access benefits and been much less adversely affected by various I-35 construction projects.

You couldn't have built a mall the size of Crossroads on the I-240 corridor, as the area was surrounded with well-established residential areas north and south.

The debate is moot, obviously.

Any confirmation that the 3rd floor is actually closing in Dillards? As in actual print information or all hearsay?

I was in there this weekend, and the employees say it's true...And they've got EVERYTHING up there on clearance.

Some smokin' deals on clothes in there right now too.

Couldn't this just be a reflection of the current economy and them downsizeing some and not a direct reflection of them being at Crossroads?

Is steven berry still open there?