WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — Sikes Senter Mall has gone through numerous ownership transitions since opening in 1974, survived the ups and downs of the oil industry, weathered the 1979 tornado and more recently the effects of the pandemic.

Now with yet another ownership change, can it move forward into a new era in which malls are the go-to shopping source for fewer and fewer people?

The mall was the dream of Glenna Sikes, wife of Louis Sikes, and construction began before 1973. The Sikes lived in the house now known as the Sikes, or president’s house, on the MSU Texas campus.

The original anchor stores were JC Penney, Dillard’s and Perkins. When Perkins closed, Dillard’s took that space for an additional store.

The mall was expanded to include Sears in 1991, and they stayed until 2015 and At Home moved in that space in 2015.

Another major tenant, Bealls closed in 2011.

In its second century of business, while many malls were closing around the nation, occupancy in Sikes Senter stayed higher than the national average.

Now a company that targets malls in financial trouble will see if it can bring Sikes Senter back to some of its past glory.

Click here to hear from shoppers reacting to the sale.