The History Of The Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks CA

[@johntaylorjr4344]

I so miss the malls and department stores of yesteryear. Miss all the competition. This mall isn't too unlike Fashion Valley mall in San Diego. Glad to see that it still thriving!

[@25tolifeinSimiValley]

I remember going to the restaurant on the third floor of one of the department stores - I can never remember which one - when I was maybe 4 years old, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I always wanted to go back there, but I never knew where it was until I was a teenager. It was also during my teen years that I found the windows in Bullocks. My friend and I were quickly shooed out of the store as soon as we found them, though. Sweeny's was probably the coolest place in the whole mall. Everything was wood and brass, and the ceiling fans were all connected to each other by belts. Brookstone also had the weird conveyor belt system that went up into the ceiling. The UA was my favorite theater when I was a kid. They had better candy than the Mann at the Janss Mall, and there was a secret ramp just to the right of the front entrance that wound its way around the stairs and elevator. You wouldn't even notice it if you weren't looking for it. Now, the theater is just another soulless food court. I was there a couple weeks ago, and I noticed the play area outside the food court was filled with kids, and all of their parents were ignoring them in favor of their phones. When I was a kid, the play area was in the middle of the mall. It was sunken below grade, and the play equipment was all wooden animals that I think were supposed to be an homage to Jungle Land. The mall just had more character back in the 80s. Now, it feels sterile and yet oddly pathogenic at the same time.

[@chrisbondio2394]

My family moved us to Thousand Oaks in '72. Was a great place as a kid growing up with all the fields to play in. In my opinion, once the mall opened, T.O. was no longer the same, quaint town. Population exploded and all our fields (playgrounds) were no longer. .. I was 14 y/o when the mall opened in '78. Now T.O / N.P. / W.V (Conejo Valley area) is nearly one contiguous connection to Simi Valley and the S.F Valley area. They even have homeless on the streets. Sad. I escaped So. Ca. in 2018 and now just look back at the fond memories as a kid / young adult.

[@DBVintage]

I pretty much grew up in this place. Started going there as a teenager kept going well into my 20s. One of my favorite places to go was into Brookstone. I brought some RC copters there for Christmas for the family to play with one year. I also remember the old roundtable pizza I used to go there with my father all the time. Was our favorite place to go to lunch. I recently went back there a couple of times since I lived nearby and it is amazing how much of the old mall is still there that I can remember yet it’s new stores. The Lazy Dog is a favorite place to eat these days.

[@karlarasmith5944]

Went here All the time when I was a student at Cal Lutheran. Worked at May Co one Christmas season and at Imaginarium another season. It was a really nice mall.

[@kevinwilt3918]

I grew up in Camarillo. Going to the Oaks before I could drive was a big deal. I loved going there especially in my Jr High years. Camarillo in the 80s was a boring town. I wound up working at Robinsons May for a while. Before I moved to LA.

[@leedaniels7196]

Thank you Eric,for another great upload!.Can you do a video on S.Klein Department Stores?.😎

[@mgre1986]

From 1986-1995 The Mall was where I worked at. I've worked in Alabama, Georgia,Tennessee, South & North Carolina (for MGRE). and South Florida and Puerto Rico (for Edison Bro. Stores) my office store was Mall @ 163rd. st. North Miami Beach, Fla. I understand that it was strip center turned in closed mall.

[@mgre1986]

I remember Millers Outpost, it's TV commercials

[@roachtoasties]

The last time was at the mall was a year ago. No recent remodeling as far as I can tell, with a boring food court.