Esplanade Mall – Oxnard, CA: The Rise & Fall | Classic Series

Join me as I revisit the beautiful Esplanade Mall in Oxnard, California. I share family memories and explore the mall's history, its challenges and its downfall.

This is the first episode of my Classic Series, which explores retail places that have disappeared several years ago.

Chapters
0:00 Title Sequence
1:10 Introduction / Early Years
3:29 Memories
6:51 Challenges & Decline
10:25 Conclusion / Credits

Music:
"カセットエクスタシー - ダイヤモンド~♦~" by Dan Mason

"Dal Boca Vista" by Surfing

"Mac Tonight" by S//P

[kevinmontgomery]

I left Oxnard in 1984 to join the military and I was always amazed to see the changes in the city when I returned for a visit. The Esplanade Mall was the biggest and most surprising change to me. Thank you for sharing this story!

[LL-lnsw]

Thank you for putting this together. I have nice memories of the Esplanade. My mom used to take us school shopping there and bought us our first Nintendo upstairs in Sears. I think there was also an electronics department upstairs in May Co, that sold VCRs. Can’t forget Tilt and that coin operated psychic that repeated, “Give me a quarter and I’ll tell you your fortune!”

[diamondssophia]

Wow born in 98’ in Oxnard and never knew about this. Oldest memory would have to be when the Mexican restaurant Yolanda’s used to be at the center point mall along with the CD store where autozone now resides. I also remember mervyns at the center point mall

[garyporter]

Born in Oxnard in 58 after my Dad died in Nashville in 69 Mom moved us back to Oxnard...I remember with fondness The Esplanade, the Go-Kart track close by along with Straw Hat Pizza in a smaller center not far from the Mall...Thanks for the memories you created in my mind making this video.

[moj]

Boy! My sister use to act a fool in Robinsons May. She'd dance with the mannequins, pretend fight the female mannequins, and say the masculine mannequins were her boyfriends. We'd have to use our imagination with how bored we get because our mom would shop for HOURS. And God forbid she ran into someone she knew, it was guaranteed they'd be catching up for an hour. Phew. Thanks for posting. This took me way back.

[abrahamsanabria]

I’m only 19 but this was really fascinating! No wonder The Collection has been doing so good and why they push growth there

[MarlonD]

They gotta do a documentary about Centerpoint . That’s some real Oxnard shit 💯💯💯

[guillermolopez]

Wow when I heard Miller's Outpost. It just brought back so many memories.

[MinatheRaichu]

I'm too young to know anything about the mall, I was born in '98. I wasn't even born in Oxnard, I just moved here as a kid. But this was so cool and gives me a new perspective on my city. It kind of makes it even sadder that Sears is now gone from Pacific View too, and that the pandemic is kind of killing the mall as a whole. Kind of don't have much of a memory of the CenterPoint though. We just happened to never go that often.

[KittenCasserole]

Really great video, you did an amazing job. I was born in ‘85 and I have a lot of the same memories. I would visit with my sister and Mom. I remember getting Orange Julius and getting photographs of me and my sister. The first dollar store I ever went to was there. The fountains were really cool and I have the same memories of throwing pennies into them. Thanks for the trip down memory lane ❤

[joelalferes]

Being born in 2000, I never knew there was an esplanade mall. Thank you for documenting our city.

[kdm]

My folks and I would often go there on Friday nights…do a little shopping and maybe get a freshly dipped ice cream bar at Bob’s Ice Cream.
I would sometimes get a model to build or something for my model railroad at Toy World.

[csblable]

I can't thank you enough for making this video. I am 58 and born and raised in Oxnard. I have fond memories, of the Esplanade Mall, as well as the Center Point Mall that used to be open air Twin Centers.

[samuelbaez]

So many memories! I remember fondly the Sanrio store, chinese food, Millers outpost and kaybee store

[joeyjimenez]

I was born in 57, remember going to the mall throughout my high school years. My best friends worked at Hardy's Shoes, our motto was, " you're really not a man until you've had a Hardy on ". The good ol' days. I work at Sears in the automotive center, busting tires and pumping gas. I was 15 years old then. I remember when they use to have road bike / 10--speed races / events at the mall, they would ride laps around the esplanade parking lot at night. I use to go, watch / compete in the races. Don't remember many of the stores anymore, but do remember the ones mentioned in this video.

[mathewstreet]

I remember running from the mall security. They would turn on their lights for me to pull over as I ran parking lot stop signs and they never followed me past the parking lot. :) Also, broke my skateboard off the walls to the loading dock next to the movie theater. I also remember the smell of the fountain. Late 1980's

[colletteramirez]

This was a great flashback!! I had great times and my first job at that mall. That fountain was my favorite! Thank you!!

[whitsundaydreaming]

As a boy of 11 years of age, I watched the Esplanade go up. We lived in the neighboring Northmont tract and couldn’t wait for this to open. It did not disappoint. Nothing compared to the incredible May Co modernist structure, an odd juxtaposition to the Spanish Main structure. But it all worked gloriously. We spent years in that mall, and it remains a treasured memory. Loops, Oyster Bay and Orange Julius were the best.

The loss of the mall and May Co is still a deeply felt one.

[capricanna]

Such a neat flash back my memories only go back to the 90s. I learned something new today! Thank you

[masterrichie]

I worked there at Payless Shoe Source and then at Sears Portrait Studio. That place was my second home as a kid. I was surprised they tore it down so quickly.