The high crime rate and other factors common to the indoor mall format[which?]
It became a dead mall in the mid-1990s but the doors remained open for over ten more years, despite the lack of retailers.
In 2011, it was given a new green and gold paint scheme, replacing the mauve and teal colors added during a major update done in the mid-1980s that included new canopies at the entrances highlighted with chrome, glass brick and neon, and inside the mall were new indirect lighting replacing the large 1970s era light sculpture chandeliers, revised planters, benches and fountains in the revised design and color scheme.
Before the original mall was shuttered in 2001, Dillard's left the mall first in 1997, followed by JCPenney later that year due to an under-performing store, and finally Montgomery Ward in early 2001 (due to national chain's bankruptcy) with other retailers shuttered that year.
Some the mall's unique aspects were its many fountains; many nearly flush at floor level without guardrails (barriers were added in the 1980s face lift), a full-sized inside walking maze on the bottom floor and a large seasonal "talking Christmas tree" where children could relate their Christmas wishes to the interactive tree (via intercom nestled inside the limbs).