Glad that someone else remembers the maze downstairs under the escalator, it was AMAZING!

I remember weird round and tall dressing rooms in the girls area of Macy’s. Also, remember the TALKING CHRISTMAS TREE near Macy’s at Christmas?

Once I fell in the coin pool area near the pet shop/musicland and luckily my dad was friends with a lady who worked at the oriental shop nearby(Lims?) and got paper towels from her to dry me off.

My mom worked a a gift shop in the middle of the lower level, later replaced by an ice cream shop where they mixed in stuff into your ice cream.

I remember when Penney’s had a little restaurant/soda shop in the back. I remember when Woolworth was there before the AMC 6 went in, they had an eating area also.

I remember BEFORE Fun factory came in, I’d play
Donkey Kong in the Little King sandwich shop.

Has anyone mentioned the Talent Contests they used to have every year on the lower level, right near where the Smaks/later Big Al’s was. I think it was sponsored by a country music radio station.

Kay’s was a fancy women’s dress shop, which also had a salon inside.

There was a nice Russel Stovers on the upper level near Penney’s, they used to give out samples.

What fond memories. I went there a few years ago and was saddened that it all was pretty much gone. The only thing remaining from when I used to hang out there was Italian Delight, still serving yummy food.

even if not on purpose, your statement is offensive…just b/c we didn’t have the money that joco has had all these years doesn’t mean that we don’t have respect and love for where we grew up. i lived off of 65th and State Ave from 1985 to 1998, and even though i wanted so bad the things that the spoiled brats had in joco, i’m so incredibly thankful that i grew up in the dotte…i am who i am b/c of wyandotte county, and i wear it as a badge of honor!!!

ps. your parents were likely from the dotte, but moved b/c they were scared of black people and had the money to move…and just so you know, i have heard of some pretty gruesome stories regarding oak park mall, but it was never front page news like indian springs mall crime. one of the previous comments said it right when kck/wyandotte county has always received negatively skewed press…

There was a lot of controversy when the mall first opened. Some “psychic” said the mall would collapse on a specific day, of course the prediction was false. Supposedly the mall had been built over underground springs that were undermining the whole area, or some such nonsense.

There was indeed a Frederick’s of Hollywood in the mall – one of my good friends worked there in the 80’s. There was also a Smak’s burger joint on the lower level. They had the greatest onion rings. In later years it was replaced by a deli shop, J.T. Pickleman’s, I think. I used to buy all of my LPs at Musicland, and Taco Via was *the* place to hang out. I had forgotten the maze! My little sister and I had so much fun in it, even though we had memorized the path through it. The mall used to have these huge plexiglass rectangles that hung from the ceiling. They were translucent neon colors – orange and pink and blue. Originally the fountains had big rectangular structures in them that the water splashed off of. There were no barriers around the fountains! I can’t tell how many times my friends and I would try to push each other into the water.

I saw my first R-rated movie at the original Dickinson theaters on the Wards end of the mall. The Dillard’s was originally Macy’s, I think. Or maybe the Jones Store. My wife and I bought our wedding bands at Kriegel’s. She worked at KayBee Toys before we got married. I used to hang out in Hobby Haven and wish I had enough money to buy some of the model kits they had in there. There was also a pet store in the mall (Petland?), a Spencer’s Gifts, a Wicks and Sticks, Lim’s Oriental Gifts, Orange Julius, and a Wurlitzer store. I played in a Christmas concert with my school orchestra on the lower level of the mall one year.

I have many memories of that mall, but it died like all malls seem to be doing. I stopped going there because of the crime, and quite frankly it won’t matter what gets built when the Springs is razed, because that whole part of town is riddled with crime. That’s why Sears at Tower Plaza died, that’s why Venture died, and that’s why developers moved out to the Legends – to get away from the crime.

I think it was called Hobby Haven.