Despite the arctic blast that sank the metro Denver area into a deep freeze Thursday, last-minute holiday shoppers came out in force to indoor retailers at Park Meadows and Cherry Creek shopping centers.

Downtown Denver’s 16th Street Mall and Denver Pavilions? Not so much.

Pam Kelly, senior general manager for Park Meadows, said that Dec. 22 was expected to be a significant day for traffic at the shopping center prior to knowing about any bomb cyclone storms. Park Meadows displays over more than $1 million dollars in holiday decor to help shoppers get in the spirit of the holidays, according to Kelly.

Park Meadows opened at 10 a.m., and while there was less traffic at that time, by 11 a.m. to noon shoppers started to show up in higher numbers. She expected that the amount of shoppers would slow down toward the end of the day around 7 p.m. but the center will remain open until 9 p.m.

The parking lots were cleared at Park Meadows for customers to be able to park, and being a shopping center that is enclosed, people could wander between stores in the protection of central heating.

“Traffic is very brisk,” Kelly said. “Right now its much busier than it was yesterday and very much at what we expected it to be today or maybe even a little bit above.”

Closer to downtown Denver, Cherry Creek Shopping Center always expects a robust shopping crowd during the holiday season according to General Manager Jeramy Burkinshaw. The last two weekends have seen high traffic,  which is expected to continue until 6 p.m. on Saturday when the center closes. There is not one sector or category outperforming the other based on observation, according to Burkinshaw, but there is a steady flow of foot traffic throughout.

“As you would expect after a snow storm and temperatures around -15 [degrees], traffic was a little bit light this morning but we’re pleased to see the traffic is up to normal levels and the shoppers are having a great experience in the shopping center,” Burkinshaw said.

Like Park Meadows, Cherry Creek is enclosed — which provided protection from the bone-chilling cold. By comparison, 16th Street Mall seemed sparsely populated with shoppers. Many stores along the mall, and at the Denver Pavilions, had “closed” signs on them — almost unheard of with three shopping days until Christmas Sunday.

It didn’t help that many businesses closed Thursday, or let employees work remotely.

A Denver Pavilions official did not return a call and email seeking comment.

The Christkindlmarket was forced to close Thursday, and will close at 5 p.m. on Friday instead of 9 p.m. because of the sub-zero temperatures. Friday is the last day for the outdoor German-themed market at Civic Center Park.

Denver Gazette editor Dennis Huspeni contributed to this report.