A Visit to River Oaks Center 

The 1960s white stone stairs led to a series of small service businesses, barber, shoe repair etc. many years ago. Now there is a walled off section that was the old food court that is directly under the current food court. It is still intact but water and drain pipes are everywhere because they reasoned that the old food court would no longer be in use.

I went here in 2010. The mall was about the same as it is now. Mostly doing well enough, but clearly aiming lower end. Nice to see it's still stable, as lower-end malls don't usually tough it out especially not after losing anchors. The junior anchor you mentioned around the 8:00 mark was Jewel-Osco, which was later one of the two theaters in the mall. The other theater was the former Kresge space in the now closed-off Sears wing (that wall around 9:00). The downstairs space was the original food court. The current food court was a local department store called John M. Smyth. There was another junior anchor called Evans which lasted into the 90s. That space was later Steve & Barry's and is now The Look (seen around 11:00).

A few random thoughts from someone who grew up close to this mall. I enjoyed the mall more before it was enclosed (childhood memories maybe?). BUT it did look great after enclosed and was on par with Southlake in Hobart, IN until 2002 or so. The building that housed Westwood College was a professional building through the 80s. The big box you referenced around 7:45 may have been Jewel originally, then a 2 screen theatre. River Oaks had 10-12 screens total but they were scattered throughout the mall, both in the mall itself and outlots, and even a few across Torrence Avenue in the River Oaks West Center. Marshall Field's was a huge store but the last few years wasn't kept up as much as Orland Park. They did have a great cafe in the lower level. Always my favorite lunch spot when I worked nearby.

The lower level is a food court that was there before the indoored the mall. It closed when they built the new food court and enclosed the mall in the early 90s There have been a lot of violence in the area and with the closing of heavy industry the south suburbs have gone down socioeconomic. JC Penney was also and addition which I believe happened in the early 80s

River Oaks was best in the 80’s when it was an outdoor mall

Being a former Chicago resident I can tell you that Calumet is a very bad area and has been since the mid to late 1980s due to the massive demographic changes that began at that time. Major white flight out of the Southern Chicago suburbs due to crime and gangs led to almost every malls downfall. (The now demolished Lincoln Mall in Matteson is one example). However, it appears that this mall is doing pretty well. There seems to be a lot of stores and the fountains are still running and Macy’s is still there as well as some national retailers. It appears that a lot of local or perhaps regional chains have gone in that reflect the demographics of the area. So good for them I’m glad that this isn’t sitting completely abandoned and ready for the wrecking ball like so many other malls in the Chicagoland area.

I worked for the management company of this mall; left in 2013. I know where all the skeletons are in that mall.😮 Every nook and cranny. Every exit. Every hidden door. Sad what happened to that mall. My years there I saw so much change and not for the better. It really turned into gang haven. So many gang fights in center court. I am truly surprised it is still there or should I say open. I was there when we lost 2 Anchors Sears and Carsons. I could write a book. Dont go there after dark folks and keep your head on a swivel if you do. Oh they have always lacked security. ALWAYS. Im not telling whats down the stairs but I know. Ha ha

I think I was at that mall, once in the 70's and once in the 90's! I remember the fountain being bigger in the 1970's. It (the fountain) had water jets that shot up high into the sky: And people would toss pennies into it -- if I remember correctly.

There were 2 movie theaters in a separate building right next to the Calu-MET river

Looking around, it looks identical to how it looked in the early 2000's. The flooring and detail work are still in great shape, particularly the oak leaf design in the brass tile barrier between green and white. The rough green seems to be holding up, and the white flecked tile doesn't seem to be cracking much. The general aesthetic design was always good, and it's so nice to see that the maintenance seems to be kept up. (mostly) The green backed signs with the colored edges and brass colored lettering have been there since open. In fact, the general color theme and design hasn't changed since it was enclosed. It just seems to work. The and oak leaf reliefs everywhere have been a staple there. And oh my god, the colored tiles in the food court. That's identical to how it ever was. They used solid materials when they built this. I remember the floors having a very distinct hard tap when you walked. They didn't feel like trash flooring at all. The problem is crime. It's just not a great or even safe place to shop, and businesses are pretty uneasy about opening a shop there.

I literally grew up, in River Oaks. I remember when they enclosed it; I was 10. I got my 2nd ear piercing at the Claire's, by Penny's, for my 13th bday. Sears was my 1st job, in 02. I moved out the area in 02 and Orland Square became the mall my kid grew up in. It's been sad to see the decline of what once was a beloved mall to us 80s babies. I couldn't pay me to step foot in that shit hole, now, or in the last 10 years. Just so sad how far it's fallen. I'm amazed that it's still open.

I shopped here regularly for Christmas and birthday gifts after the mall was enclosed in '94 and near its peak in the late '90s. It was surprisingly nice given how the surrounding community was already well into decline. They did have some specialty higher-end retailers; I bought my mother a purse and wallet from a Coach shop in the mall one Christmas. While Sears was the big anchor store on the northeastern end of the mall, Sears Automotive was in a separate building at the east end of the property. (And yes, both Sears and especially Marshall Field's were huge and easy to get lost in. One time I stumbled into Field's fur coat section where coats were retailing for up to $50,000.) As other posters have mentioned, there was a 10-story or so office tower attached to the mall near the southeastern food court entrance, easily visible from the I-80/94 expressway about a mile and a half to the south of the mall. You could still go through the glass doors and down the stairs into the smaller shopping area, tailored more toward the people who worked in the office building rather than the people who visited the mall. They did, however, have a barber shop that I used once, run by an absolutely adorable and super-sweet older Swedish (IIRC) woman who came to the U.S. shortly after WWII. Sadly, she's probably long since dead. She lamented that she got nowhere near the traffic in the '90s that she did when the office building was packed back in the '70s and '80s. As Illinois' taxes went up, the taxes in nearby and neighboring Indiana went down, so a number of businesses in that area relocated across the state line, especially after the year 2000. People moved, too, and the tax base and average income of the area around River Oaks fell. River Oaks' movie theaters lost a lot of traffic when Showplace 12 and Showplace 16 opened up in nearby Schererville, Indiana in the mid-to-late 1990s. Since 2010, especially, all of the higher-end stores have fled the area, leaving River Oaks with an overabundance of kiosks and stores selling cell phone accessories and discount body jewelry. Last time I was there was in early 2020, a few weeks before Illinois locked everything down for the pandemic in mid-March of that year, and nearly a third of the shops were empty. As others have mentioned, Calumet is pronounced "CAL - you - MET". The Chicago area is full of place names that were originally French, still spelled using the French spelling, but pronounced by English rules. Example: the town of Des Plaines, Illinois is pronounced "Dess Playnz". Don't even get us started on the correct pronunciation of Bourbonnais. A lot of people say "Bourbon - AY", but a lot of old-timers from the town itself call it "Bur - BONE - iss".

That Macy’s reminds me of the one I saw at Fox Valley, also an old Marshall Field’s. Also like the fountain and skylights there. If I make it to Chicagoland ever again, I’ll have to check this mall out. Great video.

If you didn’t get shot, you’re ahead of the game

It’s now no longer. A great piece of my childhood

In the not to distant future this mall will be just like Lincoln Mall in Matteson Illinois NO MORE!

River oaks mall had movies theaters in the mall itself and around it. They were torn down about 6 years ago

That arcade urban legend is wild .

Thanks Doomie, nice video as always

My mom and dad took me and my sisters to River Oaks the day after it opened. I remember going there in the winter while the frigid winds whipped around the buildings. Green lake is north of it and I remember a number of cars that were leaving the mall would somehow end up in the lake with some drowning. They installed steel barriers then. By late 70's car thefts at River Oaks were notable. Mom took me many times to Kresge to buy models to build.

This mall used to be solid mall, but now its just ghetto. Stores like Rainbow, Black Queen, and Jimmy Jazz.... yeah no thanks

Wonderful Video!!!! Love the Fountains!!! F+L, Corey

I was in Macy's a few years ago but haven't shopped the mall in over a decade. When I was growing up it was an outdoor mall. Most people seemed to love it that way especially in the winter because of the Christmas decorations and actual snow. I recall a lot of people disgruntled when they announced it would be closed in. Trying to recall some of the stores from yesteryear.. Of course Sears was the anchor store. It had it's own cafe. I do recall Kresge's.. Red Cross Shoes, Herman's Sports, County Seat (denim/jeans) Carson Pirrie Scott, Magic Pan restaurant. Marshall Field's had it's own cafe on the lower level. I think there may have been a Woolworth's in there as well. Later there was Crown Books, K&B Toys, Spencer's Gifts, .. restaurants- Tavern In The Oaks, Giappo's Pizza, Siam Marina (Thai). The only out-buildings I recall were the Sears Auto Center on the southeast corner(which I believe was demolished) and the movie theater in the far southwest corner just off Torrence and the river. It was a big twin theater owned by Cineplexodeon. Also, there were smaller theaters in River Oaks West that were owned by Plitt. (They closed once Loews built an 8 screen theater on the other side of the river in Lansing).

Back in November 2022, there was a robbery and murder there. The only time you hear about that mall (even as a local myself) is something horrible that occurred

Still looks ok!

ITS amazing its still open , could the problem be theft ?? Happy to be long gone from that area. PEACE

It is pronounced Calumet like get.

Thought I'd share some of my memories. Sad to see how empty it is. I was a little kid at the time but I vaguley remember what it was like before they put the roof on it. 7:40 The wall you're staring at used to be a McDonald's. KB Toys was in that vicinity as well. Middle of the mall had a Disney store in it as well and a candy store, Sweet Tooth I think. Can't believe how empty the food court is. Used to be a Baskin Robbins there and across from it a kiosk for a "Galaxie Cunstruction" that was there seemed like forever. The was a Spencer's Gifts there at one point going toward Auntie Anne's which I'm surprised is still there. Fye used to be Record Town and across from it was a GNC (General Nutrition Center). In the JC Penny's area was an EB Games that I frequented during my teens back in the 2000s which used to be Walden Software back in the 90s. Somewhere in there was a Walden Books as well but I don't remember where.

At 8:53 or something I believe that is where a person would enter what I guess used to be Westwood College I remember ppl going in there 20 years ago with books and backpacks

Old Orchard Mall resisted the enclosure stuff, and I'm guessing it probably worked out okay for them that they didn't enclose.

As much as I love Chicago, it has never been known to be safe. I mean there were murders that lead to closing Dixie Square Mall the OG dead mall in 1978.

nice big mall

I use to work there.

What's your beef with "Chicagoland"?

I went to Bath and Body Works yesterday and I purchased the new Gingham Gorgeous Body Cream, the Black Cherry Merlot liquid hand soap and the new Iced Lemon Pound Cake foaming soap. WOW! they are absolutely amazing. I highly recommend buying it on your next trip to BBW's.

P.S. Namdar Reality Group......doesn't seem to care about a few of the Mall Properties they own a Whole lot 😅

Namdar????? Can you say Kohan or Moonbeam???????

I remember a pizza place many years ago.

Not counting a few things, I really like this mall. I usually hate white malls but for some reason I kind of like it for once. I also really like the fountain. Super cute.💚😊⛲

1st. It looks like a nice mall. Not as dead as most of your malls.

Pronounced Cal-u-MET like the NY baseball team. Used to be some decent strip clubs off Torrance back in the day.

Filthy fingerprints all over the glass on entrance doors.

Just over 6 minutes in before sbeing the 1st white person. Imagine what it must look like post 5 PM when the natives of the surrounding area wake up.

It’s Chicago’s way of defunding the police. Makes crime go up and business leave.