For those of us who have lived in Oakdale for many years, we remember when Oakdale Center Mall opened to great expectations. It began life as a Outlet Mall, filled with many stores, offering great discounts. It had small vendors in the halls offering refreshments and a place to sit while you shopped. We may have been members at the Health Club, or worked at the Imation facility that rented space. We may have gone to the Oakdale Library that briefly resided in the Mall. Or we may have attended Globe College that opened there. Or visited the long standing tenant CSO to buy clothes, and eaten at the China House. However it could not quite compete with the other malls in the area, and seemed far to quickly to begin its decline.
Sadly for many the only memory is that of the dilapidated, rundown, building with grass growing from the many cracks in the parking lot black top. Or the sight of ancient cars with for sale signs on the dash parked waiting for a new owner. An eye sore that we strived to blot out, and wanted removed.
Well yesterday the hard work of the City Council and Staff bore its final fruit with the "Symbolic Demolition" event. If you did not make it to the grass covered parking lot, for cupcakes and refreshments, you can watch the video of the event here.