Crossroads used to be the only mall I'd go to in middle/high school. I hardly go to the mall now, but when I do I end up at the outlet mall.

I live in Moore and I have been driving to quail Springs mall lately. My kids love it, my 9 year daughter said its like shopping in a city without the bad weather, she said she doesn't like the outside shopping strips she likes malls (but I think thats a girl thing that I think will never fall out of trend :) ) I also enjoy having dinner going to the movies and shopping all under one roof especially with my two kids, I hate getting in and out the car and having to drive to different locations around town when you can get it all done with one location. I hope the malls make a return, I hope that south okc/moore gets a good mall.I couldn't agree more with this. I firmly believe enclosed large-scale shopping malls will make a return.

Just found about a dozen great photos from 1975, which have been posted to the article at the top of the page.

Here's a sample:


http://www.okctalk.com/attachments/development-buildings/6619d1392083322-crossroads-mall-cr753.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/attachments/development-buildings/6622d1392083326-crossroads-mall-cr756.jpg

Maaaaaaaaan do I have story about this mall.... will post later.

Which story had a hotdog and coke stand right at the front of their entrance? I think they were like .50 for a combo

They had a Baskin Robbins? Wow!!

They had a Baskin Robbins? Wow!!

Yep.... Conned my grandfather into buying me many scoops of praline and cream there. It always came with a "Don't you let your grandmother know I bought you that." and a wink..... Grandma never found out. =+)

I worked at Crossroads all through most of college, at the very upscale men's store, Orbach's. This would have been from 1979 to 1982.

Orbach's did very well there at the time and there were plenty of quite nice stores there well into the 80's.

Quail Springs and the huge re-do at Penn Square had a lot to do with the downslide, but certainly the people that owned Crossroads could have done much more.


So many great memories of Le Mans Arcade, which was a revelation at the time.

IMO, that arcade was the last great mall arcade in all of OKC.

Update on this:


OKLAHOMA CITY – Jose Legaspi with the Legaspi Co. is in the business of revitalizing old malls and making them into Hispanic retail destinations. He is working with Raptor Properties to turn Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads into a Hispanic shopping center.

The revitalization of the mall will not include an anchor tenant, Legaspi said during the Commercial Real Estate Council luncheon Thursday at the Devon Boathouse. He said his malls don’t use the model seen at other malls, such as Von Maur moving into Quail Springs.

“We don’t rely on a specific anchor,” he said. “We invite an anchor to come and join us so they can learn about the Hispanic community.”

He said when a mall depends on an anchor, it is reliant on one type of customer.

“We take each mall on a very consumer-centric approach,” he said. “We are trying to understand the community factor that may be specific to that mall.”

To help attract the community, Legaspi’s malls have weekly entertainment and host festivals on holidays celebrated by the Hispanic community. Every Sunday, Plaza Mayor hosts live entertainment on its stage in the center of the mall, as well as other events throughout the year.

Also, the malls each have a small marketplace area. At Plaza Mayor, that will be in the former Dillard’s space. Mall Marketing Manager Robert Ruiz with Raptor Properties said construction is underway. The demolition is complete and electrical outlets are being installed for individual booths. The exterior has been repainted a bright yellow, with more bright colors expected on the exterior of the entire property.

Legaspi said the mall is now 37-percent occupied with 57 stores, and he expects it to be 60-percent occupied within a year. He said he expects the center to attract people from outside the area, even the state. He said he is working on a deal for the mall that could make it an even bigger game changer for the city.

“Hispanics tend to travel farther than any other demographic, especially if they feel invited,” he said.

After the mall has been complete for two years, he will evaluate the tenants in regards to the customers to see if changes need to be made. He said a continued evaluation process will help with the health of the mall.

Ruiz said the mall has been experiencing a lot of tenant growth and is planning for more. Raptor Properties has hired Johnny Mila, who will be a leasing agent for the mall.

Mila will work on a local level, while the Legaspi Co. is striving nationally to help the mall reach its goal of 60-percent occupancy in one year, said Kristi Cole, Plaza Mayor manager.

Besides the colors, the next noticeable change will be a large electronic marquee along Interstate 35. The landmark signs on the property are completed.

- Anchors away: Mall makeovers set sail sans traditional model | The Journal Record (http://journalrecord.com/2014/04/10/anchors-away-mall-makeovers-set-sail-sans-traditional-model-real-estate/)

Very glad to see this is moving forward! I really think this will be a huge asset to OKC and the hispanic community and will become a regional draw. I just wish some of the parking would be consolidated and the remaining lots, leveled and tiered with landscaping and have a carnival type set-up all year round(adjusting to the seasons) in one of the lots.

BTW, shouldn't the name of this thread be changed to Plaza Mayor at Crossroads?

PluPan, is this the story you alluded to in post #16?

PluPan, is this the story you alluded to in post #16?Oh no.... I forgot all about that lol.... I will post a bit later tonight. I am at work right now haha.

I am getting more and more excited about this mall. Seems like it really has potential and a good owner.


OKLAHOMA CITY – Robert Ruiz wants to mark the path to better health and more sales. The marketing manager for Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads is working on a public service campaign to encourage physical fitness. He said he expects dozens of regular visitors can indirectly help boost sales in the mall.

Ruiz has partnered with the Oklahoma State Department of Health’s Shape Your Future campaign to create trail marker-type signs around the mall. One lap around the upper and lower perimeter of Plaza Mayor is 1 mile. He said he hopes the signs, as well as tabletop ones in the food court area and a wrap for the escalator, will encourage people to exercise more regularly.

“A lot of mall walkers tend to be older adults who come here because it is a free place to exercise,” Ruiz said. “There is no admission and most people we see every day. They make it part of their regular routine.”
The signs aren’t yet in place, but Ruiz said he expects all the material to be up in one to two months.

Leslie LeClaire of Cookies By Design said she nurtures the relationship with mall walkers, but not because she expects more sales at her business. She said she developed a relationship with the regulars when she worked the early shift. LeClaire said she was glad to see elderly people getting regular exercise and maintaining communication with others in a safe environment.

She wanted to foster fitness and community involvement, so when she and her husband, Nathan, took over the business in January, they began opening the store early. They make coffee and sell it on the honor system specifically for the regular, early-morning visitors.

- read more here: Paths to fitness: Mall encourages walkers to improve health, business | The Journal Record (http://journalrecord.com/2014/04/23/path-to-fitness-mall-encourages-walkers-to-improve-health-business-health-care/)

BTW, they also have a website here: Home (http://plazamayorok.com)

I'm trying to find some rendering that were said to have been unveiled here


Plans unveiled yesterday included architectural rendering of new entrances, a performing arts center, the retail business incubator, and other proposed uses. The hope is that Plaza Mayor will join the list of successful implementations throughout the country, and it is well on its way with 15 new contracts signed since the end of March, and increasing interest from additional national tenants.

- New Direction for Crossroads Mall (http://plazamayorok.com/index.php/component/k2/item/67-new-direction-for-crossroads-mall)

but is also said it hadn't been updated since 'Last modified onFriday, 28 June 2013 20:46' and I don't remember seeing any posted on here.

There also this interesting graphic from The Legaspi Company (http://thelegaspi.com)

http://thelegaspi.com/assets/Uploads/Eblast-Images/PlazaMayorCrossroads.jpg

Also said is this
In 2000 the Hispanic Population within a 20 mile radius was 67,204. The 2013 estimate is 150,790. which is pretty cool to note.

I just wonder if 20 million is good for a mall this size.

Also, their Facebook page which is good to they are updating it.

https://www.facebook.com/PlazaMayorOK

As I drove past on I-240, I saw a lot of red paint on CRM's south "anchor." Anybody know: Is that recent or I just haven't been paying attention?

I noticed they had been painting the old Dillards. It's obviously not done since you can see through the first coat from miles away, but it matches that concept design up above. I dont really know what that gets them, other than having to paint every 10 years, but it does make it stand out.

There have been a lot of new stores open for business in the last couple of months including an AMAZING Mexican Restaurant on the upper level called Chile Verde Mexican Grill along with a really good bakery downstairs called House Cake (you have to try their chocolate tres leche cake).

American shopping malls struggle to survive - Videos - CBS News (http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/american-shopping-malls-struggle-to-survive/)


This Is How You Resurrect America?s Dying Malls - TIME (http://time.com/58356/this-is-how-you-resurrect-americas-dying-malls/)


The first video was on CBS Sunday morning on March 23 and will re-air on June 29th. The second link is to a video that was done in conjunction with a Time Magazine article that talks more about the Mercado which is the concept going in the former Dillards space. Happy watching!

$450,000 building permit to remodel 1st floor of former Dillards into "open air mercado". Says no plans yet for 2nd and 3rd levels.

First real big investment since the property changed hands.

I kind of hope they spend some money marketing this place once it's done. Most everyone I have talked too thinks its a big flea market now and are staying far away. It's got a real big image problem.

Work begins on marketplace for small businesses at Plaza Mayor in southeast Oklahoma City | News OK (http://newsok.com/work-begins-on-marketplace-for-small-businesses-at-plaza-mayor-in-southeast-oklahoma-city/article/5343006)

Fail, it's exactly what the place does NOT need. You want to make it into a real farmer's market type place, great. But it certainly feels more like a flea market. I understand what they are trying to do here, but the way they are doing it, it just isn't going to end up that way. What they're TRYING to do is make a market square indoors. There really isn't an equivalent in OKC, but i think it's going to end up feeling like a flea market more than a square. A real market has a mix of food vendors (carnitas, panderias, taquerias, peppers, etc) as well as people that MAKE things, not just resell old crap.

A real market has a mix of food vendors (carnitas, panderias, taquerias, peppers, etc) as well as people that MAKE things, not just resell old crap.

Do you have information about what or how many businesses will be there that fit that description. I don't see anything about that in the article?

What im basing that off of is the description they gave for the market section. Hey, I could be totally off, but it just doesn't sound like they're pushing more than a flea market.

From the Journal Record:

Reason for Christmas cheer: Plaza Mayor grows into regional shopping destination

By: Molly M. Fleming The Journal Record December 15, 2014

OKLAHOMA CITY – In its second Christmas season since announcing renovation plans, Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads mall has grown into a regional shopping destination, with some help from Santa Claus.

The mall’s North Pole Adventure attraction was built by local resident John Conner and has more than just a stop on Santa’s lap. It features the North Pole Welcome Center, Santa’s Post Office, Elf University, Mrs. Claus’s Kitchen, Santa’s Workshop, an Elf Clubhouse and Bedroom, Reindeer Barn with live reindeer, and Santa’s House. Tickets to tour the wonderland start at $10 for the first child.

The mall also hosted a serenade event celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe, a traditional Mexican holiday, on Dec. 9.

Plaza Mayor Marketing Director Robert Ruiz said the area – which is set up outside the mall – has attracted more than 10,000 children, which was Conner’s total goal for the season.

“(North Pole Adventure organizers) are projecting to double those numbers,” Ruiz said.

The young people certainly didn’t come alone. They brought their families, who spent money inside the mall, especially on Black Friday. Ruiz said the mall’s Bath and Body Works sales to date were the nationwide highest percentage above planned sales. Victoria’s Secret also surpassed its sales goal.

“We’re really excited with the way everyone is performing, and we expect it to get better,” he said.

Ruiz said he thinks growth will likely continue as Christmas customers return next year, and as people come to take care of their documentation at the Mexican consulate’s office. Ruiz said the mall staff is already seeing customers from at least three hours away. There are more Christmas events planned, including a celebration on Three Kings Day, Jan. 6.

To keep those customers returning, Ruiz and his team are working on recruiting new stores. When renovation was first announced, the mall was 17-percent occupied. That figure now stands at 42 percent. Starting in February, the former Dillard’s location will reopen as the El Parian. The first phase will feature 44 small shops that could grow into full-size businesses.

The mall’s continued growth can only benefit the community, said Elaine Lyons, South Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce CEO and president.

“I think the mall is becoming a vital part of Oklahoma City,” she said. “It certainly meets a needs that we didn’t know needed to be met.”

She said she’s anticipating the mall to continue to create a buzz in the area.

“They won’t have the same stores that we currently have in our market, and I think that’s exciting,” she said.

They are certainly trying their hardest to breath life into this mall with these special events and activities.

North Pole Adventure attraction was built by local resident John Conner
Shouldn't he be more worried about Skynet? IIRC, that's right around the corner.

They are certainly trying their hardest to breath life into this mall with these special events and activities.

If you haven't been in a while I suggest you check it out. It is a lot more lively than it once was. Obviously not on the level of Penn Square or Quail, but there has been an obvious increase in customer activity.

Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads starting to lease spaces for incubator project | News OK (http://newsok.com/plaza-mayor-at-the-crossroads-starting-to-lease-spaces-for-incubator-project/article/5406611)

Hmm, what's the difference between a " business incubator" and a flea market again? I guess the fact that its attached to a mall makes it special. Either way, its better than an empty Dillards shell.

Yeah from the video that looked like a flea market. At first I thought it wasn't finished, but the article says ribbon cutting April 9th, so unless that video was done awhile ago it's not very fancy.

Yeah from the video that looked like a flea market. At first I thought it wasn't finished, but the article says ribbon cutting April 9th, so unless that video was done awhile ago it's not very fancy.

That's the finished product. its a big open space with partitions and chain gates.

That's the finished product. its a big open space with partitions and chain gates.

Right...looks bad IMO.

Yep. Just looks like a nicer Old Paris

Is that a bad thing? Old Paris is extremely successful & it serves a huge market. Believe it or not OKC has a pretty sizable lower class population, whether you try to ignore them or not. There are also people who like to shop thrifty even if they do have a higher expandable income. Everybody doesn't need/want to shop at Saks & Von Maur.

For me, it is a bad thing. maybe because I remember what Crossroads Mall used to be. I was talking with my wife and her family last night about our memories of CRM. It used to be a destination. When I was in college in Norman, my friends and I would carpool up to CRM for an afternoon. Later on, I worked there. When my wife was little they would plan to go to CRM all week, and then they would pick up her grandmother and spend the whole Saturday there. So yeah, it does bother me a little bit that it is turning into another Old Paris Flea Market. And "shop thrifty"? Have you actually BEEN to OPFM lately? The last time I went I realized it's a great place if you want;
Ear gauges
Throwing stars
Bongs

Hmm, what's the difference between a " business incubator" and a flea market again? I guess the fact that its attached to a mall makes it special. Either way, its better than an empty Dillards shell.

There's a HUGE difference in a REAL business incubator and a flea market, however OKC says they want a business incubator, but never follows through with what it takes. The closest thing we have to business incubators are i2E, The Stadium, the now defunct Blueprint for Business and to a smaller extent co-working spaces like 404, The Barn and The Commonwealth.

There's a HUGE difference in a REAL business incubator and a flea market, however OKC says they want a business incubator, but never follows through with what it takes. The closest thing we have to business incubators are i2E, The Stadium, the now defunct Blueprint for Business and to a smaller extent co-working spaces like 404, The Barn and The Commonwealth.

This development should be perfect then. They actually provide support from the operations side of things, and then if they start to become successful they can move in to a empty front permanently in crossroads mall. Physical looks can be deceiving. Sure, they are just crappy looking booths but the support they will receive should be a tremendous asset.

This development should be perfect then. They actually provide support from the operations side of things, and then if they start to become successful they can move in to a empty front permanently in crossroads mall. Physical looks can be deceiving. Sure, they are just crappy looking booths but the support they will receive should be a tremendous asset.

Perfect for what? It's NOT a business incubator in the traditional, industry standard sense. OKC needs a REAL incubator, better than the ones I listed above, although they are notches above what this is probably going to bring in.

I think it would be fair to portray it as a RETAIL incubator, especially considering the location and the fact that a shop owner can move right out into a mall space owned/managed by the same landlord if successful. That said, metro is right that it bears little resemblance to a business incubator in the traditional sense.

Looks like a new charter school, Lighthouse Academies, will be leasing space here next year in the old Montgomery Ward building.

Wow that is a great location for a Charter School. Much needed in SE Okc.
Primary or Secondary?

K-8 I think.

Plaza Mayor has new electronic signage up. One along I-240 near Texas Roadhouse and the other along I-35 near the Fairfield Inn. The I-35 one is working fine and they're working today to get the I-240 one to work right.

checked in on the place about a month ago and they had the dillard's space partially opened. i don't want to be too negative but it was essentially a glorified flea market... the floors have been taken down to the concrete, the walls to bare cinder block. really disappointed given what that place could have been if it had been better managed in the late 80's and into the 90's. -M

checked in on the place about a month ago and they had the dillard's space partially opened. i don't want to be too negative but it was essentially a glorified flea market... the floors have been taken down to the concrete, the walls to bare cinder block. really disappointed given what that place could have been if it had been better managed in the late 80's and into the 90's. -M

Honestly a lot of us thought that's what it was going to be. It's a shame really but I know most people are turned off by that mall in general. I know I can't see myself ever going to it again.

Honestly a lot of us thought that's what it was going to be. It's a shame really but I know most people are turned off by that mall in general. I know I can't see myself ever going to it again.

Crossroads Mall goes to show that once a place gets a reputation it can quickly go downhill and can be nearly impossible to truly revive. In the late 90s and early '00s, Crossroads wasn't on the level of Penn or Quail but it was holding its own. The mall remained pretty full with few vacancies. After the 2006 shooting the place went downhill fast. By 2009, it was all but dead. It's unfortunate because I think the south metro is large enough and has enough money to support a mall.

I wish the new owners well in trying to revive it and hope it one day ends up reaching its potential.

Crossroads Mall goes to show that once a place gets a reputation it can quickly go downhill and can be nearly impossible to truly revive. In the late 90s and early '00s, Crossroads wasn't on the level of Penn or Quail but it was holding its own. The mall remained pretty full with few vacancies. After the 2006 shooting the place went downhill fast. By 2009, it was all but dead. It's unfortunate because I think the south metro is large enough and has enough money to support a mall.



I wish the new owners well in trying to revive it and hope it one day ends up reaching its potential.


Yep you are totally right. I used to only go to crossroads. Now that the outlet mall exists I go there instead. Honestly I know several neighbors that actually don't even shop on 240 because of the reputation of crossroads. They associate the whole area with crime. My neighbor actually told me this the other day he won't let his wife go by herself. The drive to Moore or Yukon for most stuff now. Kind of a shame but it's just an area that has been let go. It gets some updates but the city doesn't even mow the grass off the interstate. I really just get the impression that the south side is the forgotten area and have given it up to Moore.

Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads thrives two years after opening | Oklahoma Gazette (http://okgazette.com/2015/08/12/plaza-mayor-at-the-crossroads-thrives-two-years-after-opening/)

Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads thrives two years after opening | Oklahoma Gazette (http://okgazette.com/2015/08/12/plaza-mayor-at-the-crossroads-thrives-two-years-after-opening/)

45 percent occupancy is certainly better than 17 percent. You can have a lot of success when you start out with a nearly dead mall and the bar is set lower. This will never meet the high expectations that a lot of people have, but it is a lot better than having a dead mall. It fills a niche in the community its in and its crazy to expect it to be anywhere on the level that Penn Square mall is.

I really think the benchmark should be the 90% occupancy in FT Worth.

checked in on the place about a month ago and they had the dillard's space partially opened. i don't want to be too negative but it was essentially a glorified flea market... the floors have been taken down to the concrete, the walls to bare cinder block. really disappointed given what that place could have been if it had been better managed in the late 80's and into the 90's. -M

Good or bad, I think that's more or less in keeping with the intent of how the new owners want to "reconceptualize" the mall - in the vein (at least to a certain extent) of an open-air market.

I think its clear the new owners are serious in their efforts to revitalize the place; they've sunk some decent coin into large video boards on the south and west sides of the facility. The one facing I-35 has been operational for some time; the larger one on the south side along I-240 was up for a time, but clearly had some technical issues, and has been off for a week or so. Looks like they had to do some trenching around the base of the sign; power or cabling issues, I presume..

As a nearly life-long OKC'er, Crossroads will always be in my heart what it was when I was a kid; an amazing, first-of-its-kind place in OKC, thriving with Orange Juliuses on the lower floor, LeMans Speedway blinking and racing with bumper cars, pinball machines, and video games; the annoying survey people on the west side near Penney's, and a center court with its fountain, switchback ramp, and varying kinds of performers along with the annual Jerry Lewis MDA telethon for many years. There are lots of reasons why it has become what it is now; some of it was/is perception, some reality, but to see it deteriorate into a ghost town is sad. They may well be successful in their idea of revitalization, but in my heart of hearts, it will never be "Plaza Mayor," it'll always, ALWAYS, be "Crossroads."

45 percent occupancy is certainly better than 17 percent. You can have a lot of success when you start out with a nearly dead mall and the bar is set lower. This will never meet the high expectations that a lot of people have, but it is a lot better than having a dead mall. It fills a niche in the community its in and its crazy to expect it to be anywhere on the level that Penn Square mall is.

The thing to keep in mind was that, in its day, Crossroads was the benchmark the other malls, which included only Shepherd and Penn Square, tried to meet. Quail didn't even exist then. By the time Crossroads opened in about 1974, Penn Square was starting to show its age - it was an open-air mall that was starting to see a decline in tenancy, and Shepherd Mall was in an area of town that had started a slow but evident decline that eventually led to other retailers bailing out. It wasn't for something on the order of another ten, perhaps twenty years (?) before it was bought and overhauled into the indoor megacenter it has since become.

I think a *lot* of people held out hope that CR could regain its glory days in some measure, hence the first movie theater that went in, and the outparcel strip shopping center and old Luby's cafeteria. Unfortunately, the area around Crossroads kinda crept in from the north, and no one wanted to take the risk in redeveloping or resuscitating the mall when the inevitable decline of the area around it was manifest...

Good or bad, I think that's more or less in keeping with the intent of how the new owners want to "reconceptualize" the mall - in the vein (at least to a certain extent) of an open-air market.

I think its clear the new owners are serious in their efforts to revitalize the place; they've sunk some decent coin into large video boards on the south and west sides of the facility. The one facing I-35 has been operational for some time; the larger one on the south side along I-240 was up for a time, but clearly had some technical issues, and has been off for a week or so. Looks like they had to do some trenching around the base of the sign; power or cabling issues, I presume..

As a nearly life-long OKC'er, Crossroads will always be in my heart what it was when I was a kid; an amazing, first-of-its-kind place in OKC, thriving with Orange Juliuses on the lower floor, LeMans Speedway blinking and racing with bumper cars, pinball machines, and video games; the annoying survey people on the west side near Penney's, and a center court with its fountain, switchback ramp, and varying kinds of performers along with the annual Jerry Lewis MDA telethon for many years. There are lots of reasons why it has become what it is now; some of it was/is perception, some reality, but to see it deteriorate into a ghost town is sad. They may well be successful in their idea of revitalization, but in my heart of hearts, it will never be "Plaza Mayor," it'll always, ALWAYS, be "Crossroads."

Agreed. Sometimes it's just better to remember it as it was.

Crossroads was the perfect, ideal 80s and early 90s mall. I really miss things like mall arcades and record stores such as Wherehouse and Camelot Music. I also remember Babbage's at Crossroads, which was FAR superior to present-day Gamestop. I also seem to remember a Native-American art store in Crossroads back in the late '90s that was very cool. Malls used to be a destination and offered so much more than clothing stores.

The thing to keep in mind was that, in its day, Crossroads was the benchmark the other malls, which included only Shepherd and Penn Square, tried to meet. Quail didn't even exist then. By the time Crossroads opened in about 1974, Penn Square was starting to show its age - it was an open-air mall that was starting to see a decline in tenancy, and Shepherd Mall was in an area of town that had started a slow but evident decline that eventually led to other retailers bailing out. It wasn't for something on the order of another ten, perhaps twenty years (?) before it was bought and overhauled into the indoor megacenter it has since become.

I think a *lot* of people held out hope that CR could regain its glory days in some measure, hence the first movie theater that went in, and the outparcel strip shopping center and old Luby's cafeteria. Unfortunately, the area around Crossroads kinda crept in from the north, and no one wanted to take the risk in redeveloping or resuscitating the mall when the inevitable decline of the area around it was manifest...

I think that the slide really began with the shrinking and closing of GM and the high paying jobs in the area.

I would disagree Rover. I think the decline of crossroads lined up with the development of massive strip developments in the suburbs. As MWC and Moore developed more and more of this stuff, the economic draw simply went away....same thing that happened with Heritage Park. Both malls had more "average joe" shops compared to Penn, which one could argue was one step up. The NW side has always had enough of a population concentration and nearby old money, to keep Penn going. But CR stands at a junction that's, economically, never been strong. And it's sort of in-between two larger population centers (eoc and moore/norman). And if you're in Moore/Norman, you've got Sooner Fashion nearby as well. Far EOC'ers actually are closer to Shawnee Mall than CR too. It just wasn't a great location because the SE section of that intersection never had the population boom they had hoped for.

I believe that Crossroads will never work as retail again. My kids and I started talking about Crossroads a few weeks ago as we drove past it. What we came up with is out of the box thinking, however I think it could work if done right. Turn that bad boy into an indoor amusement park. I'm not talking about an indoor Frontier City either. Turn one of the old box stores into a lasertag course, and another one into a piantball course, while you could put a small roller coaster in the old dillards (since it was 3 stories). There would be plenty of room for some typical rides like bumper cars and tilt a whirls. Also have an indoor skydiving tube and a bowling ally. I think for it to work best it would need to be a pay for each ride and not one big admission fee like a normal amusement park though. The biggest plus would be to get us out of weather. Are we crazy?

Dave n Busters and Frontier City to the North
Heyday a ew miles south

I think the former Crossroads likely missed that ship.

That's where we put our NFL stadium. :)

I think that the slide really began with the shrinking and closing of GM and the high paying jobs in the area.

No, don't think I can jump on that train. There are still plenty of high paying jobs in that area; look at the expansion of areas like Rivendell, Vine Haven, etc to the SW and long-term success of areas like Chatenay and Greenbriar; something is keeping those areas thriving. Crossroads fell into disrepair and the disinterest of its owners combined horribly with the deterioration of the area immediately surrounding it. In its forty years, I think it has received arguably one substantive "facelift" in its history. I recall one general, rather superficial, treatment many, many years ago, but nothing of the scope that (for example) Quail Springs entertained many years ago, or certainly Penn Square.

The story I recall quite vividly hearing from more than one source during that time was that the ownership group over Crossroads was a warring bunch, apparently over issues unrelated to the mall or anything else except their apparent bent to fight (for whatever reasons). It was explained to me that the partnership deteriorated so thoroughly that it had reached a point of one partner saying "black," the other said, "white," merely to be contrary. Crossroads paid the price for the resulting stagnation. I had once heard a plan to restructure the mall such that a center food court would go in the lower staging area, but that obviously never saw the light of day.

I obviously will never be able to prove that, but I also have/had no reason to doubt the people who relayed it to me, so take it FWIW (which is basically nothing).

Brianna's update.

http://www.oklahoman.com/article/5442615&headline=Plaza%20Mayor%20incubator%20tries%20to%20 grow%20OKC%20businesses

I'm thinking it might be time to change the name of this thread.