Man. West Oaks was the hang out in the mid 90s. Everyone from Alief and beyond would regular this place. Brings back memories.

Oh have the mighty fallen. I used to work there! I remember BEGGING for a job almost every week at Electronics Boutique and they finally gave me a shot. A few months later it tuned into GameStop. The mall used to be FULL of traffic especially on a weekend. It feels eerie seeing it like this 😵‍💫

when mcdonalds and the alamo movie theather left i knew west oaks mall was in trouble. lots of good memories working there in 2009.

Oh I remember the old Mervyns's. That's where I used to get my new schools clothes during the summer before school started

I'm surprised Almeda is still limping along. I call it the "mall of the living dead"

RIP Alamo Drafthouse West Oaks Mall....holy frick such a great venue.....really loved Anime at the Alamo there back in the day circa 2004 thru 2009-ish

I was there for the grand opening in 84 and spent way too much time there as a kid and teen. My high school girlfriend worked at Treasure Gallery and entered and won a foot beauty contest! She did have beautiful feet! We saw movies, ate at the food court and socialized there. I cannot agree with everything this person says about the history and there was not a two level food court, but for the most part he was right with most of his info. Until about 2008 or so it was still thriving, but from 84 to about 95 was at it's most successful. Before it was built I used to go 4 wheeling with my much older neighbor who had a Baja Bug. Good times!

Spent so much time here as a kid/teen. The arcade that was across from the theater was incredible.

Seeing you cover this mall after going there myself was the most surreal feeling. Like after seeing the mall in it's ghostly abandoned yet pristine state, seeing you open those doors for one last time and tell it's story was the best thing to see tonight! 👏

OMG, This was MY MALL as I lived very close & my husband worked at THE SHELL Westhollow complex across HYW 6. I am glad to know WHY & HOW it failed. I moved west of the area 24 years ago & would go there on occasion until I became FEARFUL of going INSIDE. Thank You for this story.

December and just Christmas time in general was so special and beautiful here I remember how lit up it was as a kid

I remember the NUTCRACKER decor at Christmas time where Santa would visit with the children...it was so cool!

My high school friends and I made West Oaks "our" mall when it first opened. The renovation to a ranch theme has left it unrecognizable. We watched movies at West Oaks, ate dinner at Birra-Poretti's, and shopped at stores like The Limited and Benetton. The boys always wanted to go to Babbage's and check out the software offerings, such as they were in '84 and '85. It was very much the Galleria of the west side of town in those early days, and even when we had little money to spend, which was the norm for us middle class kids, we liked to soak up the vibe of all those aspirational consumer goods!

I grew up in Alief and this was my primary mall to hang out at as a teenager in the 90’s. It was always busy in those days around 1990 to 1996. But going into the late 90’s I could tell it was on the decline and pretty sure Katy Mills finished it off.

Dec 5th 1994 West Oaks Mall had a meet and greet with the power Rangers where children could meet the actors and get autographs. There is actual footage from that day on KZfaq that's easy to find. The amount of children there was astonishing. For anyone who knows that mall around that time the meet and greet was just across from where the JC PENNY was

this was my childhood mall. i got my ears pierced at the claires there. the woman who styled my moms hair on her wedding day, and gave me every single haircut i ever had until i was 16, worked at the visible changes that yall walked past at the beginning (she owns her own salon now in katy). i have so many memories of hanging out with my friends, movie hopping at the edwards theater, walking to the mall from my house. there used to be a super cool disney store too. good times! thanks for preserving this mall for us!

I loved this. It certainly could be reimagined. It's beautiful still.

my childhood mall 😢

I love the design, look, and feel of this mall. Far superior to the tacky 1990s/early 2000s style malls. This must have been a beautiful mall at its height.

I lived not even 3 miles from here my entire life until i left for college in 2016. This area used to be the edge of the city with cow pastures and empty fields and now every nook has been filled with 5 story apartment buildings and is now probably 30 minutes from the edge of the city. I agree other malls in the area contributed to West Oaks' decline but those are all about 20 minutes away. The big thing this video leaves out is that (in my experience) the mall just became a little too ghetto. We used to go there all the time to do our shopping and get family photos but over the years there were more and more crowds of people you didn't really want your nice suburban family to be around. One of my last memories there was of my older sister shielding me as a large group of thieves went sprinting past us running from the police. So really it wasn't that other malls pulled people away as much as people were pushed away and it made driving 10 more minutes to a slightly more affluent area worth it.

Managed a few shops here in the early 2000s(yalls tx store, carlton cards). Frequented it a lot as an Alief kid. Memory lane shit here.... sad them days are long gone

West Oaks was a fun mall. Full of memories for me. Sad it has declined like so many malls. It was great back in the day.

Haven't been there since the late 90s I live a few miles down the road it's a shame that it's no longer a hang out we had lots of fun there. Now everyone goes to the galleria and Memorial city I prefer to Galleria, because the stores and employees in the mall are much friendlier and welcoming, then memorial city.

My Fav. place there was Biaproetti's. The wood work at the bar and the rest of the restaurant was just amazing! The food was wonderful. I think there's just one more Biaproetti's left now down town, after this one closed and the one on West Gray Street shut down too. "A great Italian Restaurant...A heck of an Irish bar" I used to live in Bear Creek, and went there many times. Then Bear Creek went to hell, so many times the story.....

Man this and First Colony Mall was my spot every weekend! I still pass by on my way to various family members’ homes.

Thanks for the mention! Such a minor mall as PTS deserved that last bit of love. Seeing a place I always used to hang out at like that was rather heartbreaking. Thanks for visiting Houston! The retail bubble bit this place hard, so the crash hit harder. Luckily the scraps of it left some beautiful places. West Oaks is really pretty and always appreciated it's aesthetic! Just a shame it never turned it around.

Man, I haven't seen that mall in ages. I remember the Mervyn's. I used to park there to bike out to Fulsher back in the mid 2000's.

What a trip! A lot of my younger days was spent in those walls. That "image nails" that had all the food court tables and chairs in it used to be a Hot Topic. That fireplace in the center of the food court was such a weird idea lol. I wish i could remember what it used to look like before its remodel in the early 2000s. Even the last time i went there with my girlfriend at the time, almost 14 years ago now, it was dead. Amazed to see it's still there every time i drive by it to visit my folks.

The music is so beautiful. 🎶🎶 Keep up the GREAT work. 🐯 I LOVE ABANDONED MALLS.🤎

8 Years ago, my friends and I rode a lap through the mall on our bikes. Nobody stopped us of course. It didn't mean all that much to the few people there but it was a special moment for me.

My friend’s family owned land close to that mall that got bought by developers. They had a full on ranch out there. It was the boonies back when it was built, now it’s all part of the giant sprawl that is Houston

At 3:34 is Structure! Structure was a men’s clothing store before they merged with Express.

Bought my first Tamagotchi at that mall. I remember my Mom used to take me and my brother there on Friday afternoons for dinner (when we were good). It was a highlight of my week. 😂

Sears was my first job, 2000. I live 5 minutes away and haven’t stepped foot in there in years! I moved here in 2000. I always felt like that Shell location was out of place. This was very insightful. Thank you.

in the mid to late 80's that was my hangout spot. I grew up in Sugar Land nearby and I was there quite often. I remember seeing many movies at the old movie theater and then playing games at the arcade right across from there. Aliens is the main movie i remember. Then there was the old Sound Warehouse where I bought many many many cassette tapes and albums and then there was KB Toys.

Haven't been to this mall in years - probably not since around 2015, but I remember going there frequently in the early 2010's when my son was a toddler and we owned a home near by. He played in the plastic tree area many times. For me, the best part of the mall was the Alamo Drafthouse. Didn't go there much after they left the mall. Seems like that area has continued to go downhill. Today, I was in the Best Buy shopping center next to the mall and there were several homeless people pushing around carts and a homeless guy peeing in front of the shopping center as I was waiting at the stoplight. There were no homeless people when I initially moved to that area in the early 2000's.

Used to shop there (1988-early 2000s); didn’t know it closed. Was speaking of West Oaks last week.

I was here when it got hit by a tornado, blew all the doors open and glass everywhere. We went to sears and busted open a set of pool equipment and sat it out. My parents mini van looked like it went through a rock tumbler.

I’m surprised these dead malls have their doors unlocked with nothing opened inside. It’s still sad to see what has happened to these malls. Great video. 👍

For years this was one of my favorite malls for many years. It was very clean and had a great variety of stores. I liked the architecture too. I went by it around 6 or 7 years ago and it was already near the end. Watching this video, it looks like a sci-fi video. It seems to be in such incredible shape. It is like customers were here and then, mysteriously vanished. How weird... how very sad.

I have lived in nearby Mission Bend since 1998 and have seen this mall change over the years. It truly is a stark difference between now and then. It was once a bustling place, with a lot of great stores and the food court was so packed and loud you could never hear yourself or others at your table talking. It truly is sad to see that this place is no longer open, and only seems to attract meth heads in the parking lot. The only operating business in the interior core of the mall is a travel agency that is open at the edge of the only remaining entrance near the movie theater. A makeshift wall was put up to keep people from going any further into the mall. Redevelopment needs to happen here soon because the place is rotting and is doing nothing for the area except attracting druggies to the parking lot.

Grew up and watched this mall change, thank you for bringing me back 🙏🏽

I remember going to this Mall on many occasions back in the early 2000s the mall was still thriving. One of my earliest memories was around 2002, my dad took me there to buy a new ps1 game and I was estatic. The Sears was also a great place to shop before they closed. The last time I went there it felt so empty and a shell of its former self. Maybe one day before its closed for good I want to see it one more time as a trip down memory lane.

IIRC, this mall was meant to draw upper professional and affluent customers from nearby Memorial Drive. At the time, the older mall Memorial City was in decline, and the newer Town & Country Mall was competing for those same customers. The economy in Houston wasn't great in those days, and the Savings and Loan crisis in Texas was about to heat up. There just wasn't enough money to support both higher end malls. Also nearby and with easy access to West Oaks were the established neighborhoods of Alief and a newer development called Mission Bend. These were definitely middle class, and Mission Bend in particular was showing signs of economic stress in the 90s. I think the pivot to those customers occurred too late... the only anchor really serving them at launch was Mervyn's. The mall never really boomed, but I do have some good memories. The theater was in a good location and was successful during a time when other theaters in the area were converting to dollar cinemas. Across the hall was a video arcade. There were two computer software stores (sort of a precursor to Gamestop). I think they even had a Chick fil a, before that chain went viral.... or am I imagining that part?

Such a place to not only shop, but to hang out 👍👍 80s-Early 00s, I wished to have grow up at those times bc I was born 2002 in the wrong times

I grew up in this mall, my mom would do my school shopping at mervyns, and later I worked in three different stores at the mall, and my friend and neighbor worked at the Steve & Berrys right before he passed away. So many movies I watched at the Alamo Theatre, just many memories engrained in my mind.

I live a few neighborhoods down the st from it, one that was built in the 80s. It was fascinating to hear the history of the development in the area

Sharpstown in Westwood Mall were my go to since they were closer and those have been shut down 20+ years at this point

I remember going to this mall with my mom and my grandmother in the late 80's or early 90's. It's so sad how the majority of malls are now like this. :(

Lots of people confusing West Oaks with Westwood.

If you haven't already...next time you come to Houston you should check out Northwest Mall....even though it is already dead.

I spent a lot of time at this mall - it was the easiest to get to from where I lived and it was pretty and had lots of wonderful shops. I was one of those 80s mall rats that loved going to the various malls for different stores: Sharpstown for Dream Merchants, West WOOD (which died out long before the others and was converted into an office building), and West OAKS, where I could always find something at Express. In high school friends and I used to eat at the big restaurant there Birra Poretti's. When I got married, I practically haunted the Crabtree and Evelyn store. Hubby and I bought lots of the flavored coffee beans at that one store by the food court. You could smell it from around the corner. I think by split level the narrator means that in the 70s and 80s there was a raised part in the food court area that you accessed by long ramps. It wasnt very high off the main floor but it did give you a feeling of separation from the rest of the bustle going on around you. Ive watched its decline in the last couple of decades with a lot of sadness. Future generations will never know just what a fun place a mall could be and how it brought you in direct contact with people from other places. They were market places that gave everyone a sense of community and I think we really need that these days.

I used to work here from 2008 to 2017. I've seen, experienced, witnessed and took part on many things happening at this mall I could write a book if I wanted, haha. The really disappointing thing was seeing the wind down immediately the first day I started working there.

Was a tween growing up going here with my mommy. I miss those simpler times

This place was the place to be in the 90’s. Every weekend after school I’d hang out here w my brother and see all my friends up there too. So many good stores and even the Alamo DraftHouse Cinema. I saw Titanic here! The food court was so nice and cozy and always full of people. The arcade had soo many good games including Silent Scope😂 Sadly as the crime increased in Alief, West Oaks main customers moved away. Southwest Houston is not the same it used to be in the 80’s and 90’s. Too many ppl moved to that part of town and , well, most of them now aren’t, let’s just say, “model citizens”. RIP Westoaks Mall. You helped make my childhood.

Thank you for documenting this mall. I used to live nearby and walk through and watch the dying in real time. Even when the Sears and Macy’s were open in 2016, I don’t recall the mall being extremely busy.

I lived near there in 1992 and would visit there for the food court. It was kind of dead THEN. At least compared to Memorial City

Hope you can get in for an episode on Houston's Northwest Mall

Nice slow down or (chopped mix) Paul Hardcastle jazz music!

Oh wow, I worked at Babbages in West Oaks 1993-95. Spent a lot of time there back in the day.

You should have checked out Macroplaza Mall (formerly Pasadena Town Square Mall)!

I remember playing on that tree playground when I was a little kid!!! Although we didn’t go there all that often, it was my favorite “play place” growing up because I loved the tree😊

Great upload! Thanks for another adventure.

So many memories of West Oaks Mall ❤

My wife used to work here, at the time it was bustling. On Fridays and Saturdays there would be car meets and racing close by goodtimes.

So good so far!

It’s great that you use vaporwave as music for your videos, I love it so much

Used to hang out with kids from Hastings HS when I was a teen. This was one of THE nicest malls besides the Galleria back in the day😮

Enjoyed the video! Seared to perfection

Dude The Oldest View is SO GOOD. Can’t wait for part 5! Unnamed Shopping Muzak is amazing!

The mall started going downhill around 2004-2005 when they did a massive renovation and raised the rent for the stores. Soon after that, stores started closing, with some relocating to other locations. I believe Mervyn’s was the first of the anchor department stores to go. It was replaced with Steve & Barry’s, but that too closed after being in operation a year or two. Years later, they tried to revamp the place adding an Edwards theater on the property, but that too closed down after a few years of operation. Now the whole place is an eyesore

Memories 😊

I moved to Houston in 1975, West Oaks Mall was the happening place. I use to go to there to theater on weekends. Sadly, by the mid 90s things started to change. I remember the day that we stopped going to it. It was close to Christmas and we were out shopping at the mall like we always do when we headed to our car. Some poor lady was attack in the parking lot, shot, and killed. Real shame, I loved that mall.

Your channel is TOP over others that have been around for years. I enjoy the geographical information. I find other channels boring with not much enthusiasm. Keep up the good work & God bless North C dog22❤

Man that was the spot back in the gap. I worked at Spencer’s in 96

Another great video. The music was a great choice and very fitting. Thanks

I lived in the neighborhood caddy-corner to it in the late 80s and early 90s. It was a fantastic place to go during the summer to hang out.

this once great mall... I watched Purple Rain here 20 times in 1984... Shopped here all the time. Got engaged here in this mall. It's really sad to see what it has become.

I grew up in Richmond/Rosenberg and we went here a lot back in the 80s and 90s. After First Colony mall was built we all started going there, it was nicer. I haven't been to West Oaks in nearly ten years.

Mall culture was where it was at - vibe with friends, look at pretty girls, but record albums/ so sad to see it go!💜🖤🤎🤍💯👍!

Moved to Houston in 2009. Was happy to have a mall close by in the area. Little did I know it was already on its way out. Saw its demise year after year. I now use the empty parking lot to teach my daughter how to drive 🤷🏾‍♂️

Used to shop and see Santa at Westoaks when I was a kid in the early 2000’s. Watched it slowly die, and my family stopped going there all together by the late 2000’s. The area of Houston the mall is in is downright depressing and has been in decline for years. Just never ending signs, concrete and run down strip centers.

I remember shopping there as a young adult! I LOVED heading to the malls and checking out the day long shopping with family and friends!

We lived in Katy, grew up shopping at this mall. We used to go to the mall theater often as well. Fond memories of my teen years here (1980s/early 90s)

This was a trip to watch. This was my mall growing up but I never saw it after being remodeled so it’s hard to reconstruct my memories. The food court was the easiest portion to reimagine but still didn’t feel familiar like I hoped it would. The only parts that looked right were the flashback photos. What a bizarre way to have nostalgia stolen.

West Oaks was a great mall, but Houston at one time just had to many like before Westwood was a family outing that I Knew me and my brother would get to play arcade games at the Gold Mine, look around KB Toys or NintendoWorld, sometimes a movie, and possibly get dinner at Los Tios across the street or King Bo (when it was good) near by. My late wife enjoyed West Oaks as well as she liked the store choices and at one point there was a retro game store. Many malls in Houston are dying, dead, or have been converted like Westwood and it's a sign of the time with internet shopping and younger generations not seeming interested to go out to shop.

In the late 80's I worked riight down Hwy 6 at Shell's research center. Ran errands and had lunch at West Oaks often. It really was booming back then.

I used to hangout there from 98-05 the eb games there never checked if you were under 17 to sell you a rated M game. I was there at kb toys for the PS1 launch I bought my PS2 there at eb games. Some malls survived time most don't

They voted to turn it into the new supertrain terminal.Texas is building a supertrain railway from Dallas to Houston.

West oaks mall, sharpstown mall, town & country mall, Westwood mall. Man time flys

I was working to close the champs last year it’s crazy how dead that mall is it’s a shame it closed

So crazy seeing a mall you know on one of these countdown 😭😭😭. West Oaks was THE MALL yall. Now it’s…💔💔

Oh my,... All the old memories. I wish it was still popping.

I used to drive from mo city to west oaks all the time when I was a teenager.

LETS GOOOOOOOOOO🎉🎉🎉

I'm sad a Mall that was such a part of my youth and young adult life was basically walking dead for most of its existence while I remained blissfully ignorant and just enjoyed the place...

I'm glad you got to see West Oaks before it was closed off. It seemed to be on a good path to success just 10 years ago after the movie theater opened. Even Macy's had a small renovation around that time that cleaned up the carpets and reconfigured the upper floor. One funny sidenote about the Outlet inside of the former Macy's. If you ever need toilet paper in the future, they have at least a truckload stashed in the mess of their overstock merchandise. It is such a random thing to see, but so is the inventory at that store.

I kinda wish Conroe's proposed mall had come to fruition. From what I remember from visiting as a child, that whole town has this wonderful 80s aesthetic and I know a mall there would have been camp af

I live right down the street from this mall! (Can’t wait to move 😩). I’ve been here since 2020, and this mall has been damn near abandoned since then. Now, it’s just the Dillard’s Outlet store. Sad, cause it’s a waste of space! 😢

Love the content it’s just relaxing the music and your commentary is just right and the architecture of all the malls is amazing. You should check out Moorehead center mall in MN before the demonstration starts I don’t know when but the tedents are pretty much all out