Dead Malls Season 6 Episode 25 - Arrowhead Mall (OK)

“enjoy the little things in life -
one day you’ll look back and realize, they were the big things..” - Arrowhead Mall. I’m sure that quote, written on one of the several walled off storefronts resonates with many Muskogean locals. Who sometimes still drop by, to take a stroll through its hallways. I’m sure some can even remember the better times. When the mall was still active and busy, and when the town was still flourishing; and filled with life.. However as of present, the mall, and surrounding area, is just a ghostly husk of empty abandoned storefronts, and parking lots.. What was once seen as a shining example of urban redevelopment, is now blight and abandonment.. Join me today, as we explore, and tell the story of the beautiful, and sad: Arrowhead Mall in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
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[@scaryprincess13]

I worked in like 5 different places in that mall. This is so surreal to see.

[@LittleBird_Tsisqua]

MADAME. TEH HELL YOU DOIN' IN SUCH SHADY SPOTS AS THESE???? (Lemme guess, you came here from A-Ron's link too! ❤) I worked at Garfields, where I happened to meet this one hot Marine.... ;)😊

[@scaryprincess13]

@LittleBird_Tsisqua 😂 Yes, indeed. I worked at Coach House, Halloween Bootique, Payless, the arcade, and the office.

[@LittleBird_Tsisqua]

I grew up with Arrowhead Mall! I was born a couple of years before it opened:) To answer your question, the colorful store front by Foot Locker was a Candy Craze, a candy store! I could probably name every store that was in there from the 80s up to2004 or so.....there was also a giant fish tank over by the movie!

[@dizzylizzydigital]

love this so much. considering making the drive to check it out!

[@NorthCdogg22]

You should! The quiet mall visit was SO therapeutic

[@dizzylizzydigital]

@@NorthCdogg22 I can imagine!!

[@justinsteele6308]

i am obsessed with dead mall footage, its wierd but i had dreams of such empty mall hallways when i was a kid in the 1990s (also endless "poolworlds" complexes), i feel like the energy still lingers in such places

[@maddexairlines]

I grew up going to arrowhead Mall. It’s so sad that it’s practically abandoned. Several of the people who worked in the Dillards had known me since I was a baby, and it was very sad to see it close.

[@6lastresort]

That store with the different colored tile was a candy store. It had every candy you could think of. This mall was an absolute blast in the 90s and early 2000s. It started dying around 2006.

[@carriemaxwell4695]

It's so sad to see the mall where I had spent all my 20's in, once lively and vibrant with life and options for kids to just hang out... to this. I had several jobs there: Claire's, C & C Market Research, Beaded Bliss... I haunted Borders and Hallmark when they were still there, bought my brother's Christmas gifts from KB Toys, and welcomed the addition of the Dollar Tree. I won my very first blueray player in a drawing there, remembered watching Star Wars ep 2 in my senior year and seeing two of my teachers in the theater. I remember them installing the mini golf, i remember the pet shop, i remember them removing the arcade and putting in the Subway. I missed expanding my wardrobe from Maurice's and enjoying a meal at the Mexican restaurant. I even donated blood when the Red Cross & OBI set up right there in front of JC Penny's. My mom once bought me a gold dipped rose from Zales (which I still have) and I worked my ass off to buy the black pearl necklace from Riddle's (which ended up stolen) and filled my bathroom with products from Bath & Body Works, i was such a frequent shopper there. My mom and I would often get Dynasty Express and just chill in the food court, enjoying some mother/daughter time. The real first sign of decline was when they removed the kiddie play area, which took away a major part of some of the floor traffic because you had not only mothers with young kids but just a hang out spot for teenagers later in the day. And when they emptied the giant fishtank we knew there was no coming back. Closing the theater was a death knell, and the loss of Sears and Dillards cinched it. Watching this video hurt. But I watched this slow death happen in real time as well. The only thing keeping it "afloat" is the fact that the post office took up residence from the dinky little shoebox of a building they once had, so there's that. But god, that horrid paint job on the outside... I had been hospitalized for a few days and when I came out, the once bland normal paintjob was replace with that ugly ass combination of orange, yellow, and gray. Oh, that spot next to Claire's, it used to be a Sam Goody back in the day before they shut down and then it became a Christian book & music shop, a downgrade if you ask me. So that mall shooting on the day of the chili cook-off... I was on my way there, to meet my parents, and they were inside a shop. An employee pulled them further into the back and locked the doors to keep them safe. I had never been so glad for being late to be somewhere before. That's real fear right there.

[@JoshYT1]

Dang who wouldve thought about 30 or even 10 years ago a place like this would be seen in this state, really mezmorizing stuff to think about honestly. Excellent work, your really getting into some new areas!

[@NorthCdogg22]

Appreciate it! It’s been a lot of fun exploring some of these lesser-known spots!

[@BlueJay6441]

Ohhh man. What an amazing mall. I keep thinking about what it might have once looked like...so liminal. And your music choices are just top notch always!

[@NorthCdogg22]

Thank you so much! I wish I could’ve seen it in its prime, must’ve been quite the place!

[@qckndrty1]

🎶 proud to be an Okie from Muskogee 🎶 I can smell the interior of that mall lol

[@fayeleonguerrero1473]

That brightly colored facade store used to be a Candy Store. It was called “Candy Craze”. In the Arrowhead Mall in Muskogee Oklahoma.

[@leabunnie]

My heart aches with nostalgia watching this, so many of my childhood and teenage years were spent here. 🥲 Thank you for uploading this. 🫶🏻

[@joelmclemore8798]

I remember seeing a late night showing of Total Recall at the movie theater there when I was in high school.

[@TcsDaughter]

New Subbie here every morning I come to KZbin and first thing I saw is this video! I was born and raised in Muskogee and this mall is now a sad story but I have so many great years of memories in this mall I miss going to the movies on weekends with my girlies and head to the game room after. Thanks for sharing this hidden gem 💎 ☺️

[@NicholasShade-eq1ts]

Yeah, I loved watching movies there, as well. And I too, loved stopping at Silverball(the arcade). I used to get some of my school clothes there at their Dillard's. 🤎

[@TcsDaughter]

​@@NicholasShade-eq1ts me too ! My mother always shopped at Dillard's lol

[@noisebleed1980]

enjoyed the video! Great muzak choices as well!

[@jeprusan]

This mall looks very clean and well maintained for it to be abandoned. It’s strange how, across the country, city to city, they open the doors to these dead malls every day knowing there’s nothing there. Strange.🤷🏽‍♀️

[@scaryprincess13]

@@jeprusan the post office is in there, and somehow, the Juice Express is still open. 🤷‍♀️

[@jeprusan]

@ Gotcha.😉👍🏼 That explains why it’s still so clean. Normally these abandoned malls are crumbling and deteriorating before they are vacated.

[@rounduprodeo7893]

I had to do a few days at Sears here back in the day! Thanks for covering this one.

[@cpool2978]

Always loved the food court aquarium

[@cultivatelife]

Youre one of the best at what you do! 2 thumbs up!!

[@Mom2my4blessings]

I really like the old 80’s vibe. The circus tent ceiling is neat. It looks like there is nothing left open. I think they should have just kept what was there instead of building the mall. It doesn’t seem like it was needed. The mall may have done well for a time but now it’s basically abandoned. Great video North!

[@NorthCdogg22]

@@Mom2my4blessings thank you!

[@maddexairlines]

We also used to have an aquarium right next to the movie theater as well

[@BRFilmStudios]

Hello! Awesome intro, this is going to be a good one!

[@jhunter443]

That former Subway was an awesome arcade in the 90s. Saw many movies in that theater with friends. I think Gold Member was the last movie I watched there.

[@mitchgray8413]

I was a news reporter for KMUS radio in Muskogee back in the 70s and 80s. Senator Don Nicole's press office gave me the news that Muskogee would receive a large UDAG block grant to fund the downtown area. That was 1980. It's strange to see how it went from old to new to abandoned. I still remember the Roxy theatre and the Round House bar.

[@Radagast49230]

this is like stepping back into the 80s. This is what I remember from the mall I frequented in my childhood, same colors, same columns, same fake greenery.

[@LittleBird_Tsisqua]

There was an excellent arcade called Silverball, it is where the Subway/axe-throwing place is. The Explore Experience Enjoy space near the courtyard is where the giant fish tank held.

[@NorthCdogg22]

A giant fish tank sounds crazy!! Thanks for the insight!

[@SpiderWitch13]

Not to be that person but Tulsan here, Eastgate mall is the new name when the mall got converted into office space. It was original called Eastland mall. 😊Omg the wood paneling ❤. It’s hard to find mall like that.

[@moonlitegram]

Man, the fact that it was never renovated and still has the 70 & 80's design aesthetic in its tiling, the plant life, fountains, etc is really something and makes it particularly sad that the mall is dead. It really looks like a time capsule. Wish I had a better reason to travel all the way out there to see it before it gets demolished or sold & renovated etc. But hard to justify what is probably a 1500 mile trip or so just to walk around a dead mall for a bit.

[@jatdesign4495]

The colorful tile is a candy store. They is one in Fayetteville, ar and was/is one in Bartlesville. Tulsa has one functioning mall now since promenade closed and eastgate is now a business center kind of like how arrowhead is. I walked this mall in 2022 and yep creeped out and felt so surreal and it felt like Bartlesville mall. Woodland Hills in Tulsa demolished the Sears and added a scheels and it brought a new energy into woodland. It was a great mall but it’s now vibing really well.

[@padye1980]

There is still one person..in a free standing jewelry store there..as of several months ago..

[@retailtoursplus]

great video

[@ElizabethH74]

I remember very well when this mall was actually a pretty nice place to go! It's sad that this is what it's become. Looks like it's even a little more dead than the last time I was there a few years ago - the Subway and Bath & Body Works were still open then.

[@Yesterdays92]

If you’re a kid of the ‘70s & ‘80s… This is so depressing. This is something I never expected to happen. All we have now are the wonderful memories of the great times in these places. Sadly, we will probably not have anything like this ever again…at least in our lifetimes. Yes, malls are still around, but they are a lifeless, soulless bland liminal spaces now. 😭

[@Dad_Brad]

5:07 most recently was an abandoned country music radio station had its office there. Another urban explorer channel went through it because the door was unlocked and they explored it for about 30 minutes. It was dark and creepy and dirty and just a total disaster. the guys were hiding because mall walkers were in the area so they had to be careful. I think it was a few years back, you can find their video on demand somewhere on KZbin.

[@mistergone2990]

All I could dig up on the White/Red/Yellow/Blue tiled store was a Candy Craze that closed Easter 2017.

[@mollyheffernen]

Hey North - I enjoyed this mall too. That was a smaller Dillard's for sure. Not too much new in Iowa malls although I did read something might happen within the next year with the vacant Sears at Lindale. I think the weather is supposed to be ok within the next week.

[@missybaker1608]

Hi there! Looks like Washington Square Mall Evansville, IN Right? In the ARROWHEAD CENTER COURT!!!! Boy we had a great 24 yrs before they would renovate in 1987. I was working in that mall at 23. Just turned 61 on Jan 17th. I'm so sorry Arrowhead Mall was slowing down in the early 2000's . This a beautiful large ma that brought from different small towns. Dillard's was bigger at Eastland Mall. I still go to Eastland and look around. Goodwill thrives at the old Sears in Washington Square!

[@lambo485]

Great vid!….I want to go see this mall 👍

[@NorthCdogg22]

Thanks for watching! Definitely a mall worth checking out

[@Jack61410]

Is Pines Mall in Pine Bluff, Arkansas next?

[@NorthCdogg22]

@@Jack61410 it is!! You got it!

[@charlestonpinballarcade]

The opening Muzak in the mall makes me want to see a sign that says “worlds best cup of coffee” in a dirty food court vendor! 😂 Let’s see who gets the reference!

[@cathpeterson1944]

thats a retro looking mall 👍🏻

[@JackOSUrulz]

A crazy idea for a mall such as this, during the fall and leading up to Halloween….a spook house/mall/terror walk through. Could be hellaciously scary if done right. Have a dividing wall down the center and have people go in one way and come out the other, with different scenes in each store area, ending with a “zombie attack”.

[@Special-Delivery57]

THE OLDEST VIEW…OKLAHOMA STYLE…👍🏻🍻

[@cougarjrv9890]

Hello! My husband and I lived in Muskogee from 2008-2022. I kind of recall the shooting. I think maybe the reason reason it's kept open is because it was used as an emergency shelter during excessive heat or power outages. 🤔

[@JeremyLeePotocki]

10:49 I will safely say that it was a "Candy Craze" store. Central Mall in Fort Smith had one, and had the same pattern/look. Candy Craze in Fort Smith, AR didn't shutdown though they just moved to the shopping center were the east side Walmart Supercenter is located due to cost.

[@fdholley]

So weird how malls...once the be all and see all of shopping are fading away these last few years

[@greglozano64]

It's still a well kept mall. It's sad to see it not being used.

[@padye1980]

I opened with Dillard's as one of their employees..we even had a Lubys for a while...a petstore..

[@kituwahband]

I did security at arrowhead from july 06 - march 07 and this mall was hoppin...especially at Malloween

[@maddexairlines]

There were a few things that have changed over the years. They took out the play zone, near the center of the tent, and replaced it with more seating.

[@Dad_Brad]

I was hoping you would name the remaining business open and do some footage of the entrances to those businesses, but I guess that would’ve been frowned upon

[@Zeybrin]

Arrowhead is great and all, but for the real deep cut of Muskogee... There's the Shadow Wood Mall. 😱

[@scaryprincess13]

@@Zeybrin my aunt owns that place. It feels like a portal out of time. 😂

[@TimekillofPK]

That's the one really downtown, close to the Civic Center ain't it?

[@Zeybrin]

@@TimekillofPK Yeah when I found out about it many years ago I was very surprised. They really just crammed a whole ass multi floor mall into a seemingly impossible space. 😂

[@appalachianwoman561]

The colorful store I believe was a KB Toys, at least that's what the one's around me growing up looked like that opened in mid-1980s malls. This is such a beautiful mall, I really wish these places would make a comeback along with socializing in person instead of thru a phone screen.

[@mariebelladonna437]

That's a good possibility. My guess would've been a Great American Cookie Company. They had the same kind of colorful tile facades, at least at one time. Hard to tell without seeing inside, lol. ETA: Upon consulting the directory shown earlier in the video, there WAS still a Great American Cookie at this mall, but it was further down, right next door to the Bretzel Pretzels, and it looks like it had the older 80s facade. And it was stated that there was also a KB Toys there once upon a time. So I think appalacianwoman may be right.

[@TimekillofPK]

​@@mariebelladonna437there was a Great American Cookie Company at one time, but it was in the food court, on the corner like you're going to Dillard's

[@dubschloss]

@10:55 Great American Cookie !!

[@dubschloss]

Or Candyopolis?

[@CherylM66]

Please don't assume which stores are aware of. Stores can vary from state to state. I am on the east coast and I have never heard of the stores on the west coast. Thanks

[@joelmclemore8798]

I believe the last time I was at this mall was possibly around 2005 or so, the Dillards was still around and a handful of other places but it was obviously not going to make it. My grandmother liked going to this mall because it “wasn’t crowded”

[@BGNOLA]

"I'm proud to be a dead mall from Muskogee..."🎶

[@LittleBird_Tsisqua]

Also also--the Mexican place at the end didnt close until around 2016ish, I believe. It was under a couple of different restaurant names, but primarily in the 80s and early to mid 90s, it was a Luby's Cafeteria.

[@SlipMaker]

My local dead mall got demolished for a redevelopment a few years ago. I’m on the construction crew doing the new apartments where it once was, let me know if you want me to send you some… I don’t know, dirt? Or something?

[@maddexairlines]

Also, my dad used to work as a security guard for the Dillards as well

[@kitw76]

Wow I’ve never known to let the public in while construction was still going on!

[@padye1980]

We even had Gap..when it 1dt opened

[@NicholasShade-eq1ts]

I'm from Gore, Oklahoma. It's about 20 or 30 miles from Muskogee. I would go there to watch movies, shop, and play games in the arcade(Silverball). They had a big aquarium with several catfish. I definitely miss this mall. 🤎

[@AnimeJSaysBah]

The store at 10:52 with the colored tiles was more then likely Kay-B-Toys or even Circus World Toys. Like that tent roof also.

[@carriemaxwell4695]

yes, it used to be KB Toys back in the day

[@NorthCdogg22]

@@AnimeJSaysBah actually the KB Toys was at 30:34 on the right side, it is the store with the slightly stepped facading. When looking at older pictures of this mall in the 2000s it appears that the colorful tiled storefront was a candy store.

[@CapableBara]

"Unlocked for employees only" you know no one cares anymore when they just decide to leave the door open for like maybe two, three employees working there or pretending to work lol... such a sad nostalgia when you see a mall like this... all those memories... all those people walking and filling the hallways only for it to fall silent and lonely...

[@gottasweep44]

if you are ever in the area, you should visit the Fox Run Mall in Newington, New Hampshire. ive been growing up with two malls: the Hanover Mall in Massachusetts that is long gone, and the Fox Run Mall. It's practically dying and i would be happy if you made a video on it.

[@nole8923]

Another great video from NorthCdogg. I love the center strip skylight in the ceiling. However, if the designers are going to make the effort to do that why did they go cheap with the arch part of the ceiling being those ugly drop ceiling panels. Those belong in office buildings, not a mall. That being said, I love the 80s style live trees inside as well as the wood tones. However, I prefer the 80s style marble or shiny brick flooring over the public restroom style flooring this mall has. They went cheap with the flooring in this mall. I don’t know if it was from a later remodel or if that is indeed the original flooring, but they definitely went cheap in that regard. On the plus side this mall isn’t like so many of the malls today that have the sterile white purgatory feel. I can imagine this mall having a really nice ambience in its hey day in the late 80s with plenty of neon to add to the charming feel that the interior foliage and trees give. I can imagine it with music from the group Scandal being played in the mall speakers in the 80s mixing with the sound of gurgling water fountains near the wooden benches under the trees and the bright neon signage from the store fronts. A teenie bopper with big hair walking by with her girlfriends saying in a valley girl accent, “oh hi Debbie, are you going to the party tonight? I’m bringing my boyfriend Biff”. 😂. Young people today can try to imagine the 80s, but they’ll never truly know what it was actually like.

[@23names]

I THOUGHT AT FIRST YOU WERE TALKING OF THE ARROWHEAD MALL IN ARIZONA

[@Art32-e4s]

First time I actually see a video seconds after release

[@charlestonpinballarcade]

I really don’t understand the use of canvas tents in any enclosed structure. Looks cool, but it’s something that will fail at any random time and you can’t just get up on a ladder and easily patch over random leaks like a flat or sloped roof. It’s a very specialized roofing choice and I’m very curious as to how people in that industry address these types of concerns.

[@NorthCdogg22]

I too would love to know this! Especially with many of these old dilapidated malls containing tent roofs, I bet they all have a secret and cheap upkeep code. Not in OSHAs terms but in their own!

[@heinzie5]

Even some of these late 80's malls seem like a busted flush to me. 8 years of construction, millions of dollars invested and it would have surely started massively declining 15-20 years later. Was that worth it?

[@NorthCdogg22]

Exactly.. it was VERY poorly planned from the start. I can imagine downtown Muskogee would’ve been MUCH better off had they kept around the neighborhoods, and houses once here and simply reworked the old abandoned industry instead.

[@sooners2win]

I believe that was Twisted Joes pretzel. With the colored tiles

[@maddexairlines]

To answer your question about the store with the colorful tiles that was a candy store

[@jessecainjr]

Interestingly in good condition. I wonder who pays for upkeep? The city?

[@cookie_watson]

With the polka dots was a great american cookies!

[@dustdeepsea]

No, it was a Candy Craze. They were the only ones who used those colored squares.

[@nascarnapa]

These mall looks almost like the mall in Shawnee, Oklahoma except the Shawnee mall is doing pretty good.

[@historynerd3609]

Promenade mall Tulsa?

[@WhittyPics]

Why is it even unlocked? Mall walkers? There is no commerce going on in there. Looks like it is in good shape.

[@NorthCdogg22]

Solely for mall walkers, and the 3 businesses which are still left..

[@padye1980]

Yes..mall walkers

[@rongamble9884]

I've seen where they turning old malls into apartment complex and communities

[@helenr991]

Hi ✌️

[@cen2zero]

heritage park mall???

[@padye1980]

We had great mall..some young kid.gun incident..curfews on mall children..ect..and the. Enter of discount stores of clothes nobody else wanted..out on highway..well there you go..Dillard's gone..once a place of the 10 thousand dollor Christmas giveaway...So sad..

[@harrygoldun5779]

Keep watching in disbelief at the demise of these beautiful centres. Must be hundreds throughout the US, meanwhile in my patch of Australia, we had this on the news last night. What polar opposites to the US. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJC3g3WGnM90rposi=qmoZXTcejfA7vEGV

[@jessecainjr]

They should bump some music and open it to skating.

[@dumpmuch]

In Europe its also dead but in a different way, its filled with pick pocketers and unemployed refugees that are hanging around.

[@lonnyraye]

Now I just expect a zombie attack.

[@johnburke1317]

Hello

[@dongonzalez5084]

Mall in our town is fairly well occupied but seems like 90% of the stores are women's clothes, jewelry stores or cellphone kiosks. Not much of a reason to go there.