[8][10], In mid-1979, director John Landis rented the vacant mall for eight weeks to film a scene in the movie The Blues Brothers. The one-time 64-store galleria then stood vacant for years, a spectacular and perilous ruin. Ever wondered what happened to the mall in The Blues Brothers after Jake, Elwood, and all those cops drove right through it? I purchased this book being a fan of the history Dixie Square and Harvey Ill. The mall had closed a year earlier after just 13 years in operation. There have been many unsuccessful attempts to raze or rehab the abandoned building, but on September 23, 2010 it was reported that Harvey had obtained a $4 million federal grant to demolish the Mall (Bowean, 2010). We dont share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we dont sell your information to others. They showcase the mall two years after its opening, in the exciting early years, before a myriad of problems set in. Another plan announced in 1997 also came to nothing. Jalopnik readers know. It belongs to the Metropolitan City of Messina . I actually tend to get along better with women than men. Since then, it has fared worse than possibly any other ghost mall. There is an implicit gender valence to the meme. In the years after its closure, the mall was featured in multiple national news reports about the level of trespassing, vandalism, and theft within its walls. The mall was no stranger to violent crime while open, and things did not improve while it was closed. Scores of photos of its dismal-looking inside are posted online. [10] The mall officially closed its doors in November 1978, with JCPenney closing in January 1979. of floors: 1 Between 2013 and 2015, just a few short years after its closure in 2009, photographer Johnny Joo took a series of photos showing just how far the mall had fallen. The Dixie Square Mall's time as a retail center was short-lived: After opening in 1966, it closed just 13 years later. Despite such a recent and high-profile use, the mall wasnt able to shake its dark reputation. Left in the 1980s, the mall has been abandoned more than twice as long. Or is this just some project you made for an assignment at some university? In addition to the anchors JC Penny and Montgomery Wards, the Mall housed 50 stores. Yet another proposal resulted in partial demolition, which was halted. Dixie Square Mall has quite a history, despite standing in ruin for more than double the number of years it was in operation. Dixie Square was built on Dixie Highway in the city of Harvey, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago. I grew up in Chicago Heights in the 50s and 60s and in the late 60s, worked at Dixie Square mall (Wards and Karoll's Red Hangar Shop) and also at River Oaks mall (Hirsch Clothing). The mall briefly re-opened as a movie set for the chase scene in the Blues Brothers, then was abandoned again. Often, political feuding between the mayor and city council blocked plans. Abandoned malls are just plain creepy, and this list gathers together ten of the creepiest. After the news crews left, so did the demolition companies. And after Hollywood left it in shambles, they left town without even cleaning it up. [8][22], In late June 2005, inspectors discovered the mall contained asbestos and ordered removed debris to be covered in plastic. In 1972 a woman was fatally shot near the mall in a robbery attempt. To add the following enhancements to your purchase, choose a different seller. Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2015. Raphael at Jalopnik dot com. Each image tells a narrative of the "Aesthetics of Abandonment" in a unique interesting way. Packs of wild dogs have made their home here over the years, as have thousands of rats, and even the homeless. Share. Mrs. Williams told police that she took Kim to the Dixie Square shopping Center tuesday morning so that the girl could shop for a swimming suit. Residents wish the shopping center could have attracted such loyalty when it was in operation. And I dont know any of us who have an issue with people of the female gender participating our only concern are the risks of going into a place like that alone because of the potential of someone bumping into the wrong person, and getting hurt. Yikes. When it held its Grand Opening in November of 1966, it was one of the first enclosed malls in the Chicago area. The remainder of the Montgomery Ward building was torn down March 1 in a widely publicized PR campaign, but no progress was made to demolish the rest of the mall afterwards. Memories of Wayne Hills are warm, fuzzy, and nostalgic. of stores and services: 64 (in 1968) 20 (in 1978) No. Said to be the first suburban mall in the United States, Dixie Square has been abandoned for more than thirty years. Both due to regional economic decline and an increase in crime, Dixie Square Mall would lose many stores between 1973 and 1976. (WE GOT CAUGHT) EXPLORING AN ABANDONED MALL IN MEXICO, Exploring the Abandoned Hawthorne Mall (Used in TV Shows! A large portion of the mall was destroyed during filming of the scene, and when the film crew departed they left much of the mall in complete ruins. Failed: Built in 1966 and closed after only 13 years, Harvey, Illinois's Dixie Square Mall became memorable for good reasons and bad. When I read through this website, all I can think is this person is trying to convince everyone the sky is falling, when its not really falling. Yes, there are lots of nasty guys who do lots of nasty things to women. These networked texts resurrected the Mall as an Internet meme. Besides that, it lacks the depth I feel the book needs for the price. Before its eventual drainage in 2015, the mall had become one deep lake filled with over 3,000 fish. Walls are smashed inward, and windows shattered. crazy videos of cars driving through stuff. Other than knocking down an eyesore, how is this a benefit to Harvey or Illinois? [8] In 1993, a woman was raped and fatally strangled inside the former JCPenney store. If anyone can track down video of that recreation run, send me an e-mail, or let me know in Kinja below. [6] In 1970, Turn Style was added as another anchor. The outline of Burts Shoes, in front of which an Illinois State Police car flips over in the movie, can be seen. Dixie Outlet Mall, also referred to as Dixie Value Mall, is a shopping mall in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located on the south side of the Queen Elizabeth Way highway. It stood vacant for over 30 years, more than twice as long as it was in business. They also discovered that the demolition company had been working without a permit. After several weeks of asbestos abatement, which was completed by early February,[30] crews began to demolish the mall on Wednesday, February 15. Dixie Square Mall, one of the first of many more to come in . Since the filming, Harveys plight has only gotten worse. Were currently living through an apocalypse: the Retail Apocalypse. After the mall closed, the body of another murder victim was discovered there. Dixie Square opened in 1966 at a cost of $25 million dollars. In 1972 a woman was fatally shot near the mall in a robbery attempt. It featured more than 60 stores at one point. Three months later, the final construction . Gov. Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon, Luhar-Trice Publications (November 22, 2008). Trice's photography is indeed the focus and highlight After three years of photographing and another five years of putting the work into book form, Christopher Trice has captured Dixie Square Mall perfectly in Aesthetics of Abandonment: The Dixie Square Project. This logo was first revealed in 1965. . Blues Brothers was filmed there, yet afterwords was left to decay and that's how it sat for the proceeding 30+ years. People tell us cars are for driving on things like "roads" and "highways." Your hatred of maleness is masked only slightly by your overarching veneer of scholarliness. Opened in 1966, the mall featured Montgomery Ward, JCPenney, Woolworth, Walgreens, and Jewel as its anchor stores, with discount store Turn Style joining in 1970. Dixie Square Mall, destroyed in The Blues Brothers' famous car chase, has recently been transformed online. But in the 1970s, in part because of crime concerns, shops started leaving Dixie Square, with Jewel, the last tenant to leave, closing up shop in 1979. After years of false starts and decades of dilapidation, the Dixie Square Mall in Harvey is finally coming down. My interest in this book is in the art of photography itself and Trice's imagery doesn't disappoint. Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout. Dixie Square Mall was an enclosed shopping mall located in Harvey, Illinois, United States, at the junction of 151st Street and the Dixie Highway. Mall destroyed by the Blues Brothers, in the movie "The Blues Brothers" Movie Locations, Retail - Malls Links: en.wikipedia.org By: Dag74. Photo Credits top to bottom: Ian Freimuth, Matt Becker, Ken Fager, Ken Fager again. But due to several well-publicized crime incidents*, it closed in 1978 after only 12 years, even after a third anchor (a huge discount store! Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Dixie Square Mall, which opened to much fanfare in 1966, soon offering more than 60 stores, including this JCPenney. From there, it was a heavy crime magnet, with gang activity and vandalism taking over for the first 20 years until photographers began documenting and exploring its bombed-out shell, starting around 2003 or so. OK, maybe you don't. It was a large mall in Harvey, Illinois (for the 1960s) with JCPenney ("Penney's") and Montgomery Ward ("Wards"). Aug 23, 2016 - Photos of the former Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, Illinois. In all, fans of Dixie Square unfortunately missed a good chance with this one. He urged people to steer clear of it. By 1985 every valuable piece of metal had been stolen, and the canvas over the food court area was removed, further exposing the mall to the elements. In 1973, a man was robbed and shot to death in the Mall parking lot. "Mall Used In 'Blues Brothers' To Be Torn Down." By 2005 the city was finally able to afford to demolish the mall, but the discovery of asbestos early during demolition halted the plans. In 1973 a 13-year-old girl was strangled after being dropped off at the mall. The mall was in operation for twelve years, closing permanently in 1978. Born and raised in Calumet Park. [10] From 1973 to 1978, Dixie lost many stores, including the Montgomery Ward anchor, which closed on October 4, 1976 and Turn Style which closed in January 1978. A soft opening took place August 31, 1966, with 36 stores, during which a time capsule was sealed and placed on the property by Mel Torme and Carmelita Pope. We may earn a commission from links on this page. A ripped mattress with some bedding sits next to a teddy bear and large toy car, indications that a family might have recently slept here. Most recently classified as a dead mall (a shopping mall with a high vacancy rate or low consumer traffic), Dixie was perhaps most famous for being the mall used in the chase scene in the movie The Blues Brothers. Over the past 25 years, many plans for the mall have surfaced from a baseball stadium for the White Sox to a 157,000-crypt mausoleum but none have taken root. Flickr photos, groups, and tags related to the "dixiesquaremall" Flickr tag. Dixie Square Mall was an enclosed shopping mall at the junction of 151st Street and the Dixie Highway in the Chicago suburb of Harvey, Illinois, United States. The property was developed by Robert Meyer Corp., Meyer C. Weiner, and Robert E. Fryling, with the firm of Hornbach, Steenwyk, and Thrall serving as architects. [21][23] On July 3, 2005, the site renovation/demolition project was ordered halted until the asbestos issue could be properly resolved. Even more disturbing is a makeshift wooden cross, left where a 25-year-old woman was murdered in 1993 near a JCPenney store. We are well aware that these might be problematic reference points were we doing a traditional historical analysis, but what we offer here is the history of the mall as it is told in the context of the Dixie Square Mall meme. My recollections tell me that Dixie Square did have an urban life center added onto it back in the mid '70s and it was called "Turnstyle" I think. [12] A 1978 article in the Chicago Tribune indicated that two major factors in the mall's closure were shoplifting and theft of merchandise by employees. Unfortunately this also gave rise to the local crime rate, and Dixie Square was not immune. It was finally . Our purpose is to recreate this Internet meme, but view it from a different critical lens. Watch that whole scene frame-by-frame. Dixie Square Mall opened in 1966closed in 1979and remains standing in 2008. Please use a different way to share. That same year, a 13-year-old girl was lured from the Mall by three other adolescent girls, who led her to a nearby abandoned apartment. It stood vacant for 32 years, more than twice as long as it was in business. These crimes were not limited to shoplifting - kidnapping and murder were also committed on the property, including three homicides in one year alone. The now defunct Dixie Square Mall at 15301 Dixie Highway in Harvey, Illinois, was a prominent location in "The Blue Brothers" released 30 years ago. The Mall is made up of many retailer stores and also has a food court. Dad died, all of us kids moved out. The mall underwent . Opened in 1966, the mall featured Montgomery Ward, JCPenney, Woolworth, Walgreens, and Jewel as its anchor stores, with discount store Turn Style joining in 1970. Two years later, a fire caused its roof to cave inward. Dixie Square Mall was an enclosed shopping mall at the junction of 151st Street and the Dixie Highway in the Chicago suburb of Harvey, Illinois, United States.Opened in 1966, the mall featured Montgomery Ward, JCPenney, Woolworth, Walgreens, and Jewel as its major stores, with discount store Turn Style joining in 1970. I went to the post office and there it was, delivered in a small box, not much larger than a My wife recently bought this book for me on Amazon. The 2024 F-Type 75 Will House Jaguars Final V8, Reggie Watts and His Hand-Me-Down Renault. English: Dixie Square Mall was an enclosed shopping mall on the Dixie Highway in Harvey, Illinois. I can't say I have much to argue with in the rest of your post.. In 1976 a desperate attempt at luring shoppers to Dixie Square was undertaken. I was thinking it would be a great place to initiate an urban center or a community health center, or a local market center ,etc. It is Canada's largest enclosed outlet mall. Earlier this year, officials announced they had secured federal grants to build senior housing on a portion of the parking lot. 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