Since I have lived in OKC (9 years now) Shepard Mall has been dead. Does anyone have any recollection of what used to be in it, what it was like, etc?

Shepherd Mall. I vaguely remember it as a kid in the 80's as it was still the place to go although Penn Square was fairly new and catching on about that time. I remember Dillards, Penny's, TG&Y, Orange Julius and a handful of other stores. It's mostly office space now, AOL (had their offices there), a mexican restaurant was and still may be in there, a few food court shops, Farmer's Insurance call center, Social Security office and a bunch of other government offices and the Aztec Charter School.

It used to have a TJMaxx as well if I recall.

Warren, you can see more about the mall when it opened on this thread:

http://www.okctalk.com/okc-metro-area-talk/7688-childhood-memories-okc-2.html

I used to spend many weekend hours at Shepherd Mall. My first job (about 1972) was at the Shepherd Twin (I remember when Exorcist came out - they had nurses sitting at little tables in case someone had a panic attack). Across the street was El Chico. I loved that place. Dillards was on the north end, Penneys was the anchor in the middle. Val Geens Restaurant was on the east end and there was an ice cream parlor down there. Also a jewelry store. In between the anchors there were all kinds of other stores. It was a going concern. Penn Square was lame in comparison.

I never knew that Shepard had a twin theater. What part of the mall housed it?

In the '70's, they also had Napoleon Nash and the Squire Shop. They had TG&Y on the east end and I think a Furr's.

Shepard Mall will always have a special place in my memory. It was the first place I remember visiting Santa Claus. I got exactly what I asked for that year. (A toy train set and new lincoln logs)

When I would stay with my grandparents I went their quite often. We ate at El Chico after church on Sundays then stop in the grocery store next to TG&Y to pick up a few groceries.

I remember shopping in the stores, getting toy models at TG&Y, haircuts at the barber shop and cookies from the cookie store. I went with them when they bought their first computer at Wizards. No operating system, just a bunch of big floppy's.

Shepherd Twin was where the pizza place is up on the north end, west side, right by the door.

I lived across the street from Shepard Mall when I was a kid. I moved with my family to 24th & Villa in 1961 and lived there until 1974.

I watched them build Shepard Mall. It was the first enclosed shopping mall in Oklahoma. At that time, the only other mall in OKC was Penn Square Mall, but it was open air. Shepard Mall was a fabulous place back then. It was filled from end to end with every store you can imagine. John A Brown was on the north end where AOL ended up. Just south of the John A Brown (that later became Dillards, when they bought all the Browns out) on the west side was the Shepard Twin. I believe if I am correct...that the Shephard Twin was the first two screen theater in OKC. Could be wrong on that, but I am pretty sure it was. We were amazed with a theater with two screens. Across from the theater was an El Charito, later to become El Chico. There were two TG&Y Stores. A small on up on the west side, north end (south of the theater) and a big one down on the far east side. Where State Farm (or is it AllState) had their call center....was JC Penney. Then on the extreme east end, attached to TG&Y on the east was a Stone's IGA. A great grocery store. In between Brown's, Penney's and TG&Y was every type of store you could want. It was a great mall.

Down outside of Penney's was a large open area at the "L"...where they were always having some sort of a show. I remember every year for years, a traveling dolphin show would come to the mall and set up a huge sea water tank with glass sides. It was huge. And it had 2 dolphins and they would have dolphin shows every hour. It made a huge mess as the dolphins would splash out tons of water, and all us kids would go stand in the splash zone so we could get drenched. This was what I guess you could call redneck Seaworld. Before Seaworld existed.

Every Christmas...they would place a tall, large Christmas tree in that "L", with a stage, and all the high school choirs and church choirs and grade school/ junior high choirs from all over OKC would come and sing Christmas music. Hundreds of people would come for the music every night. The center court, "L" would be filled with people.

Every month they usually had some sort of display or show in that "L".

I spent every day over there during the summers. We were mall rats before being a mall rat was cool. That was just during the era when parents didn't worry about their kids be kidnapped and they let them run all over. We would leave home in the morning, be gone till lunch, come home and eat a sandwich and then be gone till dinner. And Shepard Mall was one of the hangouts. On the north end of the property where those apartments now are...was a huge pond. We used to play down around the pond. And then of course, east of Stone's and between it and where Sears was located was the old home place of the Shepard sisters. It was a big beautiful victorian style mansion that was painted some sort of blue green. When they build Shepard Mall, they excavated the area down quite a bit (you can see how much over on Villa where the old Villa street is about 7 feet higher than the new Villa). And the house stood up on a large island looking thing, about 10 feet (in the back) above the parking lot. It had a big 6-8 foot chain link fence around it to keep everyone out. The old sisters lived there together for years. Finally when both were dead, they tore the old house down. On the back of the property was an old small, two story house. It is reputed to be the first two story house in Oklahoma, or OKC. I can't remember. Anyway, when they tore down that beautiful mansion...they moved that old two story house to the zoo, where it was on display for many many years to eventually be moved to the Harn Homestead over south of the capital. It is now on display there at the Harn.

The mall had, I don't know 70-90 stores with 10 or so restaurants, some open air some totally enclosed. There were clothing stores, toy stores, jewelry stores, shoe stores, accessory stores and just about every other store you could want. It really was the beginning of the end of downtown shopping. Prior to that, you had to pretty much go downtown to shop. Because we sometimes did go downtown to John A Browns or Wards or Rothchilds (even though they had a store in the mall) because my dad worked downtown and mom would take us down there to shop and eat lunch with dad. It was a great place, a great era, and a great place to grow up.

If I can tell you anymore...let me know.

Does anybody think it will ever return to being a mall?

I suspect it will remain a harbor for govt. based offices for a long time to come.

Does anybody think it will ever return to being a mall?

No chance. It's in a crummy area and Penn Square is only about two miles north. I'm glad it has a use now, unlike when I moved here in 1995 and it was a barren debacle, but there's no chance at all it'll ever be whatever it was.

Does anybody think it will ever return to being a mall?

No that ship sailed a long time ago. It has been remodeled, and cut up and reconfigured to the point that it would be cost prohibitive to try and reconstitute it as a mall. Not in that area with the market we have. Maybe something on the far east end that ties into the other retail closer to Penn. But it is doing too well as a business/office park. Glad that it got this chance. And really, if I'm not mistaken...it was the Murrah bombing that breathed new life into Shepard Mall. All those federal offices moved there in the aftermath needing office space. Once their new building was completed...the State took over.

Thanks, yukong, for those memories. I share many of the same memories of the mall and remember so many hours walking that place, seeing movies, eating ice cream, checking out the new toys, eating at the Deli at Stones, so much fun. What a great mall that was during the 60's and 70's. I miss it.

Thanks, yukong, for those memories. I share many of the same memories of the mall and remember so many hours walking that place, seeing movies, eating ice cream, checking out the new toys, eating at the Deli at Stones, so much fun. What a great mall that was during the 60's and 70's. I miss it.

Yes, thanks, Yukong for the nice little trip back in time. I spent most of my free teen hours at Shepard Mall. Got my first "real" kiss at the Shepard Twin! :woowoo:

http://mysite.verizon.net/res17zef/shepherd.jpg

http://mysite.verizon.net/res17zef/shepherd2.jpg

I watched them build Shepard Mall. It was the first enclosed shopping mall in Oklahoma. At that time, the only other mall in OKC was Penn Square Mall, but it was open air.

Penn Square was an open air mall?

Penn Square was an open air mall?

Yes! It was a single-level outdoor "square". Actually very cool and if it were built today we would talk about the refreshing change from indoor malls. It wasn't redesigned and enclosed until - what? - 1981 or so?

Penn Square opened as an open-air center in 1960 and was enclosed in 1988.

Here's a site plan of the original configuration:

http://bp3.blogger.com/_AcUdTl7Aq-s/SFFEthvqkfI/AAAAAAAAF3I/sHJECWk04k0/s400/01_Penn+Square+Plan_1960.JPG

Yukong - that was a great description - you described my experiences almost exactly. I started to mention El Charito but didn't. They had "the Explorer" on the menu, if memory serves. I loved that place. It still shocks me when I am in town and see what it has turned into. Young people - for a long time it was THE place to be.

WAS PENN SQUARE EVER AN OPEN AIR MALL!!!!?

Good lord, I'm getting so old...

Thanks for that, Pete!

I hadn't realized it was enclosed so late. I would have sworn early 80's and here it was the late 80's!

Penn Square was my first visit with Santa Claus in about 1961.

Whenever I am in San Diego and go back to UTC (University Towne Center) it always takes me back in time to Penn Square.

i could swear that i remember once being in penn square's movie theatre and saw a 'coming soon' movie poster for robocop. that movie came out in 1987.

are you sure that the place was enclosed in 1988?

-M

Yes, I'm sure of the timing. Construction started in '86 and was completed in '88.

well... i was all of 10 years old, so i won't swear to the accuracy of my memory! maybe it was another theatre. maybe it was an ad for robocop 2. so many pieces of that memory could be just a bit out of place.

guess it's just hard for me to accept that penn square was renovated so recently.

-M

well... i was all of 10 years old, so i won't swear to the accuracy of my memory! maybe it was another theatre. maybe it was an ad for robocop 2. so many pieces of that memory could be just a bit out of place.

guess it's just hard for me to accept that penn square was renovated so recently.

-M

Welcome to the club. You know you're getting old when twenty years ago is "recently." Boy, do I know what you mean though. Grrr.

i used to give my folks a hard time for pointing out spots and saying, 'i remember when that was a wheat field' or something similar... now i catch myself doing the same thing. sheesh.

-M

Here's the confusion....I had forgotten that they put a roof on the old mall and then seven years later renovated the mall, put the second level up and added the theaters, etc. So, it was enclosed in 1981 - but the big redesign opened in March of 1988. Here's a couple of old clippings.



http://img28.picoodle.com/img/img28/4/6/18/f_pennm_b147060.jpg

http://img28.picoodle.com/img/img28/4/6/18/f_penn2m_529e32b.jpg

A research shows that it re-opened on March 2, 1988.

I remember all this clearly because I worked for the company that handled the leasing. Walked through it several times while it was under construction.


And regarding feeling old due to things changing, you should take comfort in the fact that is happening at an increasing rate and even teenagers can play the "remember when" game. :)

Great pictures and ads. I'd love to see more vintage pictures of the mall and theater if you have them. Is the shell of the theater still there? Everytime I pass the mall I try and look over the exterior to see if a theater would have fit into the building, but I guess it did.

One of my favorite stores...not because of shopping there because I didn't...but it was The Mouse Trap. As a kid, I always liked the huge (about 5-6 feet long) mouse trap on outside (mall side) of the store. I was always trying to figure out a way to make that thing go off. It was so cool.

And as to the old Shepard sisters house...a couple of friends of mine...we were about 10-11 years old...we climbed up the dirt wall to the fence, and were able to get under the fence and we explored around the back side of the house. We went into the old, old two story house that is now in Harn Homestead. We went upstairs and looked around. We were scared to death because all the neighborhood kids told stories about the old sisters being mean, and if they caught you, you may never make it out. But we dared to go in...and we lived to tell about it.

I remember going to the movies at the twin, and if you were good...like we were sometimes... you could sneak into the other theater and see two movies for the price of one. succeeded a couple of times.

Burglar and theif

Burglar and theif


Well, a few things...that was about 40 years ago...and the statute of limitations has run out long long ago. Second...the victims (as if they really were) have been dead about 35 years. Third...we did steal anything...other than looks around the property...and we didn't break into anything...because the fence had an opening...and the door to the old house was open. Maybe trespassing...but that was about it.

You see...we had to check it out. For years...all the kids in the neighborhoods surrounding Shepard Mall claimed that the old women were catching kids who came on the property and not ever letting them out. We had to go in and see if there were any POWs that needed freeing. It was a childhood necessity to go in there and save those other kids. Never mind the fact that we didn't know anyone who had turned up missing. We just knew they were there. But we didn't find them.

I wonder if they turned up any bodies or anything when they tore down that old house. It may be some governmental conspiracy. City fathers covering up for one of the old city families? Has to be.

I don't blame you. I wish it was still up so I could go look around.

Does anyone have any old pictures of Penn Square before it was enclosed? I don't really remember what it looked like. I do remember it being enclosed. If memory serves me correctly I had a buddy who worked there at I believe it was Harry Bear's during the construction. I'd go by and see when he would get off work and I remember it was a hassle to get through the place.

I don't have any old pictures...but the one thing above all that sticks out to me about Penn Square is Christmas time.

Back in the day, before it's enclosure...and I am talking the early 60's, at Christmas, they would erect a huge tensil Santa thing in the area that is now where the fountain is located. It was very very tall, and you could see it from out on NW Hwy and from the surrounding areas. It was that tensil shiny stuff on long streamers (don't know what it is really called) but it was erected in the shape of a Teepee, but it was a Santa and you could go in side the thing. If I am correct..this is where Santa was set up for pictures. I always wanted to go there for Christmas and go inside of Santa.

It was cool.

Yes, I'm sure of the timing. Construction started in '86 and was completed in '88.

So when was the north wing with Foley's added? In '81 or '88? Sounds like '88 probably w/ the article.

The enclosure in '81 wasn't much of anything, just a roof over the existing interior courtyard. I had forgotten they even did that as it didn't represent much of a change.


In '88, they just about doubled the footprint, added a second floor, food court, parking garage, etc. That is when Foley's was opened.

yukong.....This is the big Santa!

Check out the old Penn Square logo/sign at the bottom. That was so recognizable, remember?

http://img26.picoodle.com/img/img26/4/6/20/f_pennsquare1m_6cf2d48.jpg

Yes, and I had many Santa pictures taken in that little house in the middle of the courtyard.

And that sign was greatness. I think it was there until right before the big re-do in '88.

solitude....Oh man...thanks so much for posting that. I had tried for a few minutes today to find a photo or something of that Santa, but I didn't have any luck. And then you pull that out for me. Wow. does that bring back more memories. Every Christmas I just begged to go out that and go inside Santa. I would go in there and just stare up to the top. When you are a little kid...68 feet tall is huge. Well, I guess it is even when an adult. 7 stories high. That if pretty big. It was so cool.

Thanks so much again.

And yes, I remember that sign. They should bring that thing back. It would be so cool if they would replicate that sign.

Just south of the John A Brown (that later became Dillards, when they bought all the Browns out)

not to be picky... but JOHN A BROWN was bought out by SANGER HARRIS (who was later bought out by FOLEY'S... who was later bought out by MACY'S).

i remember cuz i was a full on POLO JUNKEE back then (this was right after my IZOD/LACOSTE addiction) and i was all about the malls and what not.

not to be picky... but JOHN A BROWN was bought out by SANGER HARRIS (who was later bought out by FOLEY'S... who was later bought out by MACY'S).

i remember cuz i was a full on POLO JUNKEE back then (this was right after my IZOD/LACOSTE addiction) and i was all about the malls and what not.

Ed, Actually John A. Brown was purchased by Dayton-Hudson. They held the stores for only a short time before selling them to Dillard's in 1984 (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903E2DB1438F933A2575BC0A9629482 60). Dillard's, of course, is still in operation today.



solitude....Oh man...thanks so much for posting that. I had tried for a few minutes today to find a photo or something of that Santa, but I didn't have any luck. And then you pull that out for me. Wow. does that bring back more memories. Every Christmas I just begged to go out that and go inside Santa. I would go in there and just stare up to the top. When you are a little kid...68 feet tall is huge. Well, I guess it is even when an adult. 7 stories high. That if pretty big. It was so cool.

Thanks so much again.

And yes, I remember that sign. They should bring that thing back. It would be so cool if they would replicate that sign.


I'm so glad it brought back a flood of memories. I admit to being a sentimental coot and I miss those places and get really nostalgic for certain things in Oklahoma City during my childhood. I loved that Penn Square sign, too!

You are correct Solitude. It was Dayton-Hudson then Dillards. I remember when the switch was made. A lot of people were unhappy because John A Brown was such a household name around here.

And I too am very nostalgic when it comes to the OKC of my childhood. So many great memories.

I enlarged that ad you included and was reading some of the text. I remember those things. It was neat to see it talk about at the opening night, Santa lighting, that the Northwest Classen Chryslers under the direction of Mr. John Platt. That was the finest high school chorus there ever was. Mr. Platt was psycho but he could get more out of singers than anyone around.

hmmm... i was 12 in '84. my apologies fellas. jeez, i'm 35 but have the memory of a 70 year old.
so does anyone remember what department store sanger harris replaced at crossroads?

I know you all are strolling down the Penn Square Mall "memory lane", but we never went there when I was a kid. Not sure why. I sure do like the place now, though!!! :Smiley259

However, we did frequent Shepherd Mall (when we weren't at Crossroads!) and I remember shopping at The Jade for my first prom dress. This was when Shepherd was at the beginning of their end. I really liked that mall when I was younger...probably because it seemed smaller and easier to maneuver than other malls.

I also will probably always remember returning several sets of earrings/necklaces there at the JCPenney when my wedding was cancelled...darn clerk kept demanding to know why I was returning them! That was before "I don't need them" was allowed, I guess.

Ooh! Just had one other memory of Shepherd...I had my Junior Symphony tryouts there when I was in 9th grade...ah, the memories. :)

I know you all are strolling down the Penn Square Mall "memory lane", but we never went there when I was a kid. Not sure why. I sure do like the place now, though!!! :Smiley259

However, we did frequent Shepherd Mall ...

Speaking of Shepherd Mall.

I have seen a few Penn Square Mall post card on E-bay. Just type in Oklahoma City and you are always guaranteed some great pics from the past. If my memory serves me correctly Anna Maude and Humpty Dumpty was also in the mall. As a child we would cash in our S&H green stamps at their redemtion center of the mall. Today it's the home of Pier I.

I miss Shepherd mall the way it was as well.

Does anyone remember Faudree's gift store? It was so cool back then. It has stuff that other gift stores did not have. I loved going there. El Charrito's was great even when it became El Chico's. I remember going there as a teen and seeing Santa Claus his suit...at the bar getting a bit tiddley!!!!!! Made me laugh.

:sofa:

I don't know if it's been mentioned, but Jerome's was a fantastic women's clothing store in the southwest corner of the "L" immediately east of Penny's ... Jerome's still exits but at North Park Mall, and it's still a great women's clothing shop.

Expanding a bit beyond the thread, at the west end of the mall was Sears Department Store at the northwest corner of Pennsylvania and NW 23rd. It was a staple and anchor store for that area for I don't know how many years.

JWil, I'll also say that I strongly disagree with your characterization of this area as "a crummy area." In my mind, it is anything but that. The mall did not compete well in the long term with Penn Square, but that doesn't mean that the area is "crummy." Some of Oklahoma City's nicer older residential areas are on the mall's west and north side. OCU is on the east. Areas south of NW 23rd in the area are not bad at all. What's "crummy" about that?

Aside from the mall and from a wider historical perspective, before the mall was built and back in the 1930s and 40s, a lake was there, Shepard Lake, which was a popular swimming venue for those living in those days. I may have dated it wrong, but what I said is pretty close.

Aside from the mall and from a wider historical perspective, before the mall was built and back in the 1930s and 40s, a lake was there, Shepard Lake, which was a popular swimming venue for those living in those days. I may have dated it wrong, but what I said is pretty close.


Doug...obviously as a child of the 60s I don't remember Shepard Lake as a popular swimming hole...but as I said above...I do remember playing around the large lake/pond at the north end where those apartments are now located. It was pretty good size.

Doug...obviously as a child of the 60s I don't remember Shepard Lake as a popular swimming hole...but as I said above...I do remember playing around the large lake/pond at the north end where those apartments are now located. It was pretty good size.
I didn't live here then but in researching stuff in the Oklahoman's archives, there were lots of ads for swimming there but I think that probably stopped by the 60s, maybe even 50s. But, I'd suppose the lake you saw is the same thing.

I lived just a few blocks from there, and I don't remember ever seeing or hearing of the lake or the sisters' home. I wasn't aware of their existence until the mall was built.

I browsed the Oklahoman's archives this morning and found that the 1st reference to Shepherd's Lake was in the small 7/23/1913 item below:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/sheperdmall/shepherdlake_7_23_1913.jpg

Other articles and ads occurred from 1919 through the early 1940s for swimming but after that it seems to have become a local fishing lake. I found no swimming ads after the 1940s.

8/17/1932:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/sheperdmall/shepherdlake_8_17_1932.jpg

A 6/11/1932 ad shows that it had a golf course. The last reference I located about the golf course was in the March 27, 1939, Oklahoman where a fellow was described as getting a hole-in-one on the 156-yard #6 hole. A retrospective June 2, 1963, article described the course as "Oklahoma City's first golf course."

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/sheperdmall/shepherdlake_6_11_1932.jpg


6/5/1933:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/sheperdmall/shepherdlake_6_5_1933.jpg

6/30/1935:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/sheperdmall/shepherdlake_6_30_1935.jpg

8/4/1935:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/sheperdmall/shepherdlake_8_4_1935.jpg


6/24/1937:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/sheperdmall/shepherdlake_6_24_1937.jpg

6/25/1937:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/sheperdmall/shepherdlake_6_25_1937.jpg

1/5/1942:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/sheperdmall/shepherdlake_1_5_1942.jpg

5/9/1942:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/sheperdmall/shepherdlake_5_9_1942.jpg

6/13/1948:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/sheperdmall/shepherdlake_6_13_1948.jpg

This undated map published by Manley's Office Supply -- probably drawn in the late 1930s but updated through the late 1940s -- shows the location -- Pennsylvania is the north/south road bordering the property on the east.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/sheperdmall/manleymap_sheperdslake.jpg

I also noticed a 1/16/1955 article describing the 3 Shepherd sisters' gift of property worth $500,000 for what would become Baptist Hospital.

I lived just a few blocks from there, and I don't remember ever seeing or hearing of the lake or the sisters' home. I wasn't aware of their existence until the mall was built.

The lake was...from the newspaper articles posted by Doug...reduced greatly by the construction of the mall. The lake that was left after the construction was at the far north end of the current property. Running from about 27-28th to 30th. Well...again it was in the area that is now where those apartments are located. When they built those...they filled the lake. But from the pictures shown by Doug...there must have been more that was filled by the mall construction. Probably toward the north end. I loved reading that ad...saying the lake was at the end of the paved portion of 23rd. Hard to believe that 23 ended at Villa.


The Shepard sisters house was right between the east end of the mall and where Sears used to be located. It sat up on a raised portion of the lot and was a large victorian style home. As I recall it was painted a light blue/green color. It was a very tree covered area. It looked like a small island in a sea of concrete. Was actually quite a beautiful place.

Gary

I've just added a map in the original post.

Gary, do you have a photo of the sisters' home? I'd love to see it.

The Shepard Sister's house was about where the "F" in the word "Golf" is on that Map.

As far as a photo...I don't know if I have one or not. My folks may have an old one. I'll check, but I just don't know. It was as I recall, a majestic home. At least to the kid I was back in the 60's. I was so sad when they tore it down. And I'm not sure if they tore it down or moved it. It may have been moved. I'll check with my folks...they may remember. But it was so neat. And once the mall and Sears were built...the house sat on that 8-10 foot high island in the parking lot, and it made it even more majestic...or to most of the kids...more sinister and scary. Like a haunted house you would see on a hill in the movies. Like Norman Bates' house overlooking the motel.

As far as the lake. From that map...it appears there were two lakes. The one to the top is the one left after the mall was built. The larger one in the middle was obviously filled in by the mall construction. Never knew there were two.

Gary

1. Shepherd Mall. Just a reminder.....the Shepherd sisters donated the property to the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma (BGCO) to build the new Baptist Memorial Hospital. Unfortunately, the city wouldn't approve zoning for the hospital, so the BGCO ended up buying the much larger property on NW Expressway and Independence, which at that time was out in the middle of the country....much like Mercy was a few years back. Was a blessing actually because of the size Baptist Medical Center is today.

The reason Shepherd Mall declined was three-fold: 1. The mall was purchased by foreign investors that invested little into the mall and actually let leases expire. 2. Penn Square expanded in 1988, and Dillards moved their flagship store to Penn Square, and closed the nearby Shepherd Mall store. 3. The area around the mall declined

2. Penn Square.....was enclosed as a 1 level mall in 1981. Was later purchased by Urban Retail, Inc. They closed it in 1986 and over two years a 2nd level, the new Foley's wing, the new Foley's department store, a parking garage, a food court called picnic square, an 8 screen movie theater (later to be 10 screens) General Cinemas, and a newly renovated square with a fountain and elevator were added. Was re-opened in 1988 with a victorian and carnival theme, reminiscent of the old Belle Isle Amusement park. In 1995 the JC Penney dept store was built.
In 2001 the mall was renovated with marble floors and a new contemporary look.
Since then Cheesecake Factory and Elephant Bar and Restaurant have been added.

Things keeping Penn Square strong: 1. Good management by Simon Properties, 2. High traffic intersection of NW Expressway, I-44, and Penn. 3. Most importantly, demographics of nearby Nichols Hills.

Wasn't there a big Sears store located on the northwest corner of N.W. 23rd and Penn? Seems it shared the same parking lot with Shepherd Mall. Maybe it was just an auto center, but I remember the scripted, neon Sears logo on the side of the building every time we'd drive by. (EDIT: Oops, yukong, just saw your mention of Sears. Sorry about that...at least my memory's still partially intact.)

The mall was always packed and during the holiday season performers would sing Christmas carols in center court.