Lawton’s Central Mall: A Look Back At Happier Times

We recently walked through Central Plaza, formerly known as Central Mall, in Lawton, and were shocked by the dead air and empty stores. Back in the early 2000s, Central Mall was the place where the younger generation hung out, especially in the summer. It was essentially the mecca of Lawton and surrounding communities. But now, only a few stores remain and there's hardly any groups of teenagers to be seen.

Since the pandemic and after the City of Lawton purchased the mall for its FISTA project, Central Plaza has been on a dramatic down turn. Only 14 establishments remain in the mall, and that includes food and one of the mall's three anchor stores.

Some of the original Central Mall stores that remain include Claire's (for now), Journeys, Hot Topic, Hibbett Sports, JC Penny, Maurice's, Victoria's Secret and Zumiez. That's it.

The rest of the open locations include a barber shop, a few shoe stores, two arcades and a beauty supply store. The food court is downsized to just four places to eat, including three Asian eateries and one Italian spot. And one of the two restaurant spots is occupied with La Grand Cantina.

What happened to Central Mall?

Central Mall first opened in Lawton in 1979. There was a lot of contention about the mall's opening because it took the place of Lawton's historic downtown. Residents who remember when the mall first opened often talk about how a lot of people were against the mall's opening and still consider it a blight on the community today. Despite the resistance, the mall still opened and served as a home to many stores and restaurants for several decades.

Up until the late 2000s, malls were the place to hang out, eat and shop. But once online shopping came in, malls slowly began to dwindle. That shift in shopping habits was the beginning of Central Mall's plight. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and more stores began to shutter, and to give the mall a new purpose, the City of Lawton purchased the mall in 2021 for $14.6 million for its FISTA project to bring in more defense contractors to Lawton.

The City of Lawton also attempted to rebrand Central Mall in 2021 by hiring Freestyle Creative, a marketing firm from Moore. The Lawton City Council awarded Freestyle Creative a $81,000 contract with Hotel-Motel Tax funds for marketing and advertising for FISTA and Central Mall, which was later renamed Central Plaza as part of Freestyle Creative's rebranding efforts.

After the rebranding to Central Plaza, more stores began vacating the mall. Chick-fil-A closed in December of 2021, and in the years after, multiple stores either closed as well or moved locations in Lawton. Over the past four years, Old Navy, Spencer's, The Buckle and Bath and Body Works have all moved to 82nd Street in the same shopping center as Target.

Send in your photos of the good ole days at Central Mall.

Our recent article about what stores are left at Central Plaza sparked several memories for residents of Lawton and surrounding communities. A lot of people talked about how it was the place they hung out at when they were younger or where they had their first job. And it was the place where a lot of people shopped for clothes and gifts.

People remembered the fountain in the middle of the mall, and places to eat, like Corn Dog 7 and El Chico's. Other people remembered their favorite stores, like Gadzooks. And remember when Central Mall had a movie theater? You could shop all day and then end it watching the latest blockbuster.

But when we looked online, we couldn't find very many photos of the good ole days at Central Mall, so we're asking our listeners to send in their photos! We want to put together an online memory box of the best times at Central Plaza. To send in your photos, message them to us on our official station app. The more old fountain pics the better.

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