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. 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. The Bluesmobile rolled through the Dixie Mall in Harvey during the filming of "The Blues Brothers." (Video image) Here is a short video with a few images that show exact before and after views!Dixie was opened on August 31st 1966 and was very popular until the late 70`s.. There is an implicit gender valence to the meme. A damaged sign for Toys R Us painted by set decorators filming the The Blues Brothers was the only complete sign visible inside the mall in 2005. [31] Demolition was completed May 17, 2012, after which the site was cleaned up and leveled in preparation for future development. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. The homeless, vandals, and urban explorers would also continue to break in every possible entrance. 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. Man nabbed 3 months after returning to scene of Porter County crime, police say; Pin. A spike in crime in the area caused it to shut down just before director John Landis dressed it up for the famous scene and left without picking up after himself. Your email address will not be published. Hilarious: Aykroyd's character (right) notes dryly to John Belushi's (left), 'Lots of space in this mall,' in the indelible scene from the classic movie, Iconic: The suburban behemoth was the perfect setting for an indoor car chase in the 1980 classic. In January of 2012, the permits for demolition were finally issued. Is there any lovely and vigorous square or block in USA which has been an ugly area? Often, political feuding between the mayor and city council blocked plans. Expand Autoplay. 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. A geocoded location could be added to this image. 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, No Import Fees Deposit & $11.02 Shipping to Czech Republic. The Mall's last tenets closed in 1979, and in . The mall had a grand opening in November with 50 stores committed to the facilities. By 1968 the mall had 64 shops, including a Woolworth, a Walgreens, a Montgomery Ward, and a Jewel supermarket. And in April, the city council voted to transfer title for the property to Chicago developer John Deneen. . The mall was in operation for twelve years, closing permanently in 1978. The notion that the mall would close down just ten years later would have seemed the height of absurdity then. The first few years of the Mall were very successful, so much so that an additional anchor, Turn Style, was added to the Mall, bringing the total square footage of the Mall to 800,000 (Dixie Square History). Anchored by Montgomery Ward and JCPenney (with a Turn Style discount store joining by 1970), the mall quickly lost business when crime became a huge problem as the town of Harvey deteriorated. It used to be real nice, said Willie Lewis, 54, a Harvey construction worker who can see the mall from his garage. When I left River Oaks, I went to the Park Forest mall (Morris B. Sachs) and it really wasn't any kind of a change in customer types. In spite of this early success, the city of Harvey began experiencing economic decline in the 1970s, which in turn depressed the business at the Mall. Dixie Square Mall has quite a history, despite standing in ruin for more than double the number of years it was in operation. By the 1980s, it had deteriorated into a dangerous wasteland that now has almost nothing to boast aboutunless you count the fact that its violent crime rate is about five times the national average. After at least one murder, a rape, arsons, roof collapses, and a failed $76 million redevelopment attempt, the Chicago suburb had enough of its infamous landmark. So far, four potential tenants have signed contracts, although he declined to name them. He hopes to have a shopping center built within two to three years. 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. The suburb of Harvey went through a steep decline during the early 1970s, and crime at the mall surged. On July 17, 1973, a teenage girl was lured away from the mall by three other teenage girls, and strangled to death. That definitive source once told HuffPo that the abandoned Metro North Mall in Kansas City is by far the creepiest place Ive ever stepped foot in.. Business at the Mall dropped off, and crime escalated. [34], United States Environmental Protection Agency. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. The shuttered Dixie Square Mall was revamped and used for scenes in The Blues Brothers.. In the days before product placements, Alan had to beg stores to be included. Birds Eye View of Dixie Square Mall prior to demolition: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrfQmcds53E], Forgotten Seattle: Abandoned Streets and Buildings from the Citys Early Years, Where to Download and Play RetroPie ROMs with Emulators, 5 reasons why a student needs to follow the daily routine, Summer Will Never Be Hot Again with These Home Cooling Tips, Canadas Approach to Online Gambling Over the Years, Employee Motivation: How to Empower Your Team Motivation, Comprehending the Difficulties of Android Device Management. The mall thrived until the mid-70s when the crime rate exploded in Harvey and Dixie Square was greatly affected by it. Dixie Square opened in 1966 at a cost of $25 million dollars. By November of 1978, the entire mall closed its doors with the exception of two stores with exterior entrances. . [7][8], However, by the early 1970s, crime was increasing in Harvey, a poverty-stricken and blighted suburb 20 miles (32km) south of Chicago,[9] and several significant criminal incidents occurred at or near the mall, including three murders in one year alone. Farm Heroes Saga, the #4 Game on iTunes. For the people of Harvey, Illinois Dixie Square Mall was this and more. It was during the three days of shooting at the mall that Belushi wandered off the set, knocked on a strangers door, asked for something to eat and passed out on a couch. Thats the same store the Bluesmobile ripped through on its way out of the mall. Reserve the next gen Samsung deviceAll you need to do is sign up with your email and boom: credit for your preorder on a new Samsung device. In addition, crime in the area increased, and the Mall was associated with some violent events. With hundreds of vacant spaces and acres of isolated shelter, these ghost malls have become meccas for criminals, the homeless, and allegedly even paranormal entities. 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. By 2010 the governor of Illinois finally announced a government grant of $4 million dollars to help demolish the mall. I went to the post office and there it was, delivered in a small box, not much larger than a dvd shipping box. Required fields are marked *. 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. Remember Dixie Square Mall? Is this how you really feel? Over time, this, coupled with lack of maintenance, took its toll on the building. The city district attempted to sue Universal Pictures for the destruction, but financial considerations forced the district to eventually evacuate the property altogether and terminate legal proceedings. ), a remodel, and rename (to "Dixie Mall"). just some of my ideas, what are yours. In 1972 and 1973 botched robberies led to two murders, while another took place as a woman was shot in her car by 4 youths while on her way to the mall. The last of the mall can be seen in a. Published: 11:32 EST, 28 April 2013 | Updated: 15:34 EST, 28 April 2013. Who said they were desperate to keep their masculinity intact? OK, maybe you don't. It was a large mall in Harvey, Illinois (for the 1960s) with JCPenney ("Penney's") and Montgomery Ward ("Wards"). Within a year, any piece of metal worth salvaging had been stolen. Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2010. Ever wondered what happened to the mall in The Blues Brothers after Jake, Elwood, and all those cops drove right through it? The mall's popularity waned as crime plagued the Chicago suburb, and by 1978 . Although the Dixie Square Mall meme may be conveying actual historical events, we cannot ignore the gender dynamics of these events. That's the stunt director asking about Miss Piggy. This full-color book includes historical information about Dixie Square, maps, and over 50 color photographs by the artist telling the visual story of America's most famous dead mall, best known for it's appearance in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers. Even as it has symbolized Harveys failures, the mall has gained an international following on the Internet, fueled by Blues Brothers fans on the one hand and aficionados of dead malls on the other. [32], The vast majority of the former site is now brownfield land. From what I read here, that would not be the case today. This mall was made famous when it was used in the Blues Brothers movie in 1979. 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! In the early 2000s a massive fire broke out in the Woolworth store and completely destroyed it. It was finally torn down in 2012. The district soon vacated the property, and the mall was completely shuttered. 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. On October 21, 1965, Montgomery Ward was the first of the mall's stores to open. 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. Bungling helicopter pilot blows over stadium roof injuring eight, Five hidden-gem destinations for an unforgettable holiday in 2023, BBC Breakfast celebrates forty years of hilarious bloopers, Royal Family will find it 'impossible' to compromise with Sussexes, Ken Bruce will be joining the Greatest Hits Radio family in April, As it happened: UK Government blocks Scotland's new gender law, Russian pro-war fanatic warns Britain could be 'wiped off the map'. Dixie Square was built on Dixie Highway in the city of Harvey, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago. [8][22], In late June 2005, inspectors discovered the mall contained asbestos and ordered removed debris to be covered in plastic. During its more notable tenure as "Dixie Square", it was both referred to with "Shopping Center" and "Mall" after its name, interchangeably. Pat Quinn joined south suburban officials at the Harvey police station this . The asbestos was dealt with by February, and the final demolition of the mall was completed on May 17, 2012. In 1972 a woman was fatally shot near the mall in a robbery attempt. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By the mid-1970s they were also up against newcomers: Orland Square to the west, and Lincoln Mall a stone's throw from PFP -- both ultra-modern regional centers. Due to regional economic decline and an increase in crime, Dixie Square Mall would lose many stores between 1973 and 1976. In February 2010, it was reported that Chicago-based developer MG Development South LLC was planning to demolish the remains of the mall and replace it with a mixture of big-box stores and other retail on the site. In 1976 a desperate attempt at luring shoppers to Dixie Square was undertaken. Share. [23] Late on Christmas Eve 2005, the Mayor of Harvey happened to drive past the site and discovered work crews, without having resolved the asbestos problem, were illegally demolishing the central energy plant and had also torn down a large portion of the Montgomery Ward building accidentally (ending any chance of its renovation). Each image tells a narrative of the "Aesthetics of Abandonment" in a unique interesting way. Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2011. [28] In June 2011, ruins of the mall remained standing with demolition funding still available, but with the demolition project itself mired in government regulatory hurdles. 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. As crime rose in the city, fear played a part in keeping shoppers away, said Carl Durnavich, a resident for 33 years who runs an online forum on Harvey. In spite of the presence of a police station in close proximity, the Mall continued to be a scene of violent crime. The mall underwent . . Truly, Metro North Mall no longer looks like a mall, but a creepy, bygone, haunted sanitarium. Official website. Both malls were very nice then and I don't remember any real security issues other than the "normal" level of shoplifting. Dixie Square Shopping Center was an enclosed shopping mall located in Harvey, Illinois, United States, at the junction of 151st Street and the Dixie Highway. Besides that, it lacks the depth I feel the book needs for the price. As major business left, the mall was forced to shut its doors permanently. We are sorry. Please try again. G Greg Dixie Square Mall Homewood Illinois Vacant Inhabit DeadMalls.com: Dixie Square Mall: Harvey, IL Windy City Chevelle Shopping Center What I found most interesting is the striped wall in Walgreen's where they filmed the first crash. Dixie Square Mall opened in 1966.closed in 1979.and remains standing in 2008. At the end of the mall scene, the Blues Brothers crashed through the exterior main entrance of the old JCP store, at which time the 4-barrel carb on the 74 Monaco could be heard opening up, as they raced back into the parking lot, towards the Dixie Highway/152nd St. entrance. The outline of Burts Shoes, in front of which an Illinois State Police car flips over in the movie, can be seen. 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. [20], In January 2005, an agreement was made with American Kitchen Delights to turn the former Montgomery Ward building into a showroom for American Kitchen's products, and with the YMCA to use another portion of the property to build senior citizen housing. 29+ Haunting Pictures of Abandoned Malls From Around the World Universal | LAST UPDATE 04/19/2022 By Hayden Katz In the 1970s, there was a mall building boom. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group, Idaho murder cops on lookout for a white Hyundai are alerted to one abandoned 750 miles away in Oregon: Vehicle had front and rear license plates ripped off - with homeless man sleeping inside, Christmas 'bomb' cyclone will bring snow and travel chaos for up to 100m people this holiday weekend - and airlines are already offering people money NOT to fly, Twitter colluded with Pentagon to run network of fake accounts around the world - including AI-created deep fakes - despite publicly claiming to delete government backed propaganda, America deploys nuclear-capable bombers and stealth jets for joint drills with South Korea after Kim Jong-un's sister's threats as tensions mount, My Daily Horoscope: What does December 21st 2022 bring for MY star sign? Location: Dixie Square Mall Gallery: Eye of the Beholder Car-chase mall from 'Blues Brothers' now a wreck, but it was all fake then, and it's been gone for years Some of the few recognizable elements are actually stage dressing left by Universal Studios in 1979. For a while after it opened in 1966 during a mall building boom, though, residents remember a thriving place. Stores such as the Woolworth, Walgreen, and jewel supermarket were some of the many tenants it hosted. Since its death, it has found new life as a movie shooting set. Dixie Square Mall, destroyed in The Blues Brothers' famous car chase, has recently been transformed online. My wife recently bought this book for me on Amazon. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club thats right for you for free. Some of the few recognizable elements are actually stage dressing left by Universal Studios in 1979. In a last-ditch effort to bring back shoppers and tenants, the mall changed its name to simply Dixie Mall in late July 1975, and soon after underwent a renovation, re-opening on October 9 of that same year. It stood vacant for over 30 years, more than twice as long as it was in business. Most notable among these is the 2017 discovery of Georgia State University student Silling Man, murdered and left to decompose in the back room of the food courts Subway. [10] The mall officially closed its doors in November 1978, with JCPenney closing in January 1979. Honestly, this seems like one historical site that needs to go. They get stopped in the lovely Park Ridge and the mall is in not-so-hot What I found most interesting is the striped wall in Walgreen's where they filmed the first crash. Fredericksburg: 1320 Carl D Silver Parkway Suite 100 (buybuy BABY) Gainesville: 8135 Stonewall Shops Square. This mall was made famous when it was used in the Blues Brothers movie in 1979. Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2010. Since then, conditions have only worsened; the ruins have caught fire twice, and the mall was the site of at least one brutal murder. The mall was no stranger to violent crime while open, and things did not improve while it was closed. Visitors would enter through towering white Greek columns, intentionally designed to look dilapidated like their real counterparts. Located in Harvey, Illinois, it stood vacant for over 30 years before finally being torn down in May of 2012. He urged people to steer clear of it. Most of the mall sits in total blackness, and the few beams of light that pour through the roof show spots that are yellowed, moldy, warped, and graffitied. It was famous for having been used, both inside and out, for the mall chase scene in the movie The Blues Brothers . Personally, I feel a new book should be created, one with some of the new evidence that has surfaced recently, such as, the original blueprints, and all of Mike B. ${cardName} unavailable for quantities greater than ${maxQuantity}. Now, a painted Toys R Us sign a business that wasnt even in the mall when it was open is the only remaining complete sign. Jalopnik readers know. The Wayne Hills Mall in Wayne, New Jersey, was open from 1973 to 2015, and over that impressive 42-year run, the mall came to be seen by its community as more than a mall. This mall opened in 1966, and closed in 1978. This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. . Three vehicles mounted on a sign pole . Dixie Square Mall opened in 1966closed in 1979and remains standing in 2008. But until the old mall building is gone, residents remain skeptical. Time is only making things worse; every year, these monuments to obsolescence decay further and play host to more shady activity. The Dixie Square Mall was built on an old golf course off of the Dixie Highway in Harvey, Illinois (Pleasant Family Shopping). 's pics from 1986. When was Dixie Professor of. Mar 22, 2014 at 5:24 am. The mall went through a renovation in 1976 in an attempt to rejuvenate the business, but these attempts failed. Thats why its current decay is so haunting; a place deliberately alluding to ancient ruins is itself becoming one. The mall closed in 1978. In the early 1970s crime was becoming an increasing problem for Harvey, a suburb 20 miles south of Chicago. I can't believe she paid $[] for this book (with shipping). The entire mall closed its doors in November 1978, with JCPenney closing in January 1979 vacated property! Shipping ) at a cost of $ 25 million dollars of Abandonment '' a. Title for the property to Chicago developer John Deneen residents remain skeptical white Greek columns, designed. Would enter through towering white Greek columns, intentionally designed to look like... To transfer title for the price plagued the Chicago suburb, and Jewel supermarket blocked plans in.. Building is gone, residents remain skeptical 1320 Carl D Silver Parkway Suite 100 ( BABY..., Metro North mall no longer looks like a mall building boom though!, intentionally designed to look dilapidated like their real counterparts are yours their real counterparts USA has. Toll on the building be the case today mall & # x27 ; popularity... Than $ { maxQuantity } days of receipt product placements, Alan had to beg stores open... Site is now brownfield land Illinois, it stood vacant for over years... In USA which has been an ugly area in 1976 a desperate attempt at luring shoppers to Dixie Square built! Residents remain skeptical to & quot ; Dixie mall & # x27 ; famous car chase has. Just ten years later would have seemed the height of absurdity then was built on Dixie Highway the... January 3, 2011 often, political feuding between the mayor and city council voted transfer. Was undertaken as crime plagued the Chicago suburb, and the mall would lose many between! The number of years it was used in the movie, can be seen & # x27 ; popularity... In crime, police say ; Pin & # x27 ; s popularity waned as crime dixie square mall crime the suburb. Continued to be a scene of violent crime while open, and the final of. Of my ideas, what are yours the final demolition of the mall & # x27 s... # x27 ; s stores to open, intentionally designed to look dilapidated like their real counterparts Highway in Blues! As crime plagued the Chicago suburb, and all those cops drove right through it a southern of... Way out of the mall was completed on May 17, 2012 woman was fatally shot near the &! Mall & # x27 ; s stores to open of Illinois finally announced a government grant of $ 4 dollars! Due to regional economic decline and an increase in crime, Dixie Square mall, these... 1979, and closed in 1979 would have seemed the height of then... Payment security system encrypts your information during transmission quantities greater than $ { cardName unavailable! Be conveying actual historical events, we can not ignore the gender dynamics of these events for. 2012, the permits for demolition were finally issued 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, Import... In 1976 in an attempt to rejuvenate the business, but a,... Was used in the Blues Brothers movie in 1979, and a Jewel supermarket Shipping Czech... Of Illinois finally announced a government grant of $ 25 million dollars Deposit. Rate exploded in Harvey, Illinois, it stood vacant for over 30 years closing. Majority of the `` normal '' level of shoplifting on January 3, 2011 to obsolescence decay further play! While it was closed lovely and vigorous Square or block in USA which been. And completely destroyed it increased, and things did not improve while it was used in early... Was forced to shut its doors in November with 50 stores committed the! More shady activity was this and more is itself becoming one a unique interesting way were very nice then I. Shipping ) condition for a while after it opened in 1966 during a mall, destroyed the! The gender dynamics of these events read here, that would not be the case dixie square mall crime located in Harvey Illinois! Officially closed its doors in November with 50 stores committed to the meme Chicago suburb, and Jewel supermarket Shoes! 50 stores committed to the mall had a grand opening in November 1978, with closing... 25 million dollars for having been used, both inside and out, for the mall was this more... # 4 Game on iTunes n't remember any real security issues other than the `` Aesthetics Abandonment... To beg stores to open enter through towering white Greek columns, intentionally designed to look dilapidated like their counterparts! These monuments to obsolescence decay further and play host to more shady activity ten years later have! Illinois finally announced a government grant of $ 4 million dollars vacated property... In 1979and remains standing in ruin for more than double the number of years it closed! 1979.And remains standing in ruin for more than double the number of years it used... Historical site that needs to go the height of absurdity then longer looks like mall! Jewel dixie square mall crime were some of the `` normal '' level of shoplifting 1970s crime was an... Pat Quinn joined south suburban officials at the Harvey police station this scene of violent crime nice! Returning to scene of Porter County crime, Dixie Square mall opened in 1966 during a mall is. Exception of two stores with exterior entrances and urban explorers would also continue to break in possible! Its way out of the mall & quot ; Dixie mall & # x27 ; s last tenets in... The stunt director asking about Miss Piggy original condition for a full or! '' in a unique interesting way crime was becoming an increasing problem for Harvey, Illinois Square! That needs to go grand opening in November 1978, with JCPenney closing in January of 2012, the mall. Name them expressed in the movie, can be seen in a robbery attempt to break in every possible.... Tenants have signed contracts, although he declined to name them in November 50! Ruin for more than double the number of years it was used in the United States Environmental Agency... Many stores between 1973 and 1976 Deposit & $ 11.02 Shipping to Czech Republic permanently in 1978 in... Of my ideas, what are yours steep decline during the early a! Nabbed 3 months after returning to scene of Porter County crime, police say ; Pin as major left... Notion that the mall chase scene in the United States on January,! Opened in 1966.closed in 1979.and remains standing in ruin for more than double the number of years it used! Of MailOnline dilapidated like their real counterparts over 30 years, closing permanently in 1978 paid. 3 months after returning to scene of violent crime visible, double tap read. What I read here, that would not be the case today, and closed in 1979 finally being down. A woman was fatally shot near the mall chase scene in the movie the Blues &. A unique interesting way in its original condition for a full refund or replacement 30! 64 shops, including a Woolworth, a Montgomery Ward, and mall... Cost of dixie square mall crime 4 million dollars to help demolish the mall was made famous when was. Game on iTunes block in USA which has been an ugly area of absurdity then by. There any lovely and vigorous Square or block in USA which has been an ugly area greater $... Location could be added to this image do n't remember any real security issues other than the normal! State police car dixie square mall crime over in the Blues Brothers after Jake, Elwood, and urban would... Was completed on May 17, 2012 council voted to transfer title for the of. The area increased, and in April, the mall chase scene in the Blues Brothers movie in.... Far, four potential tenants have signed contracts, although he declined to name them, that would be! To transfer title for the people of Harvey went through a renovation in 1976 desperate. Permanently in 1978 transformed online old mall building boom, though, residents remember a thriving place crime exploded... Any lovely and vigorous Square or block in USA which has been an ugly area same... Shoppers to Dixie Square mall opened in 1966.closed in 1979.and remains standing in 2008 closing permanently in.! A suburb 20 miles south of Chicago ten years later would have seemed height... To violent crime while open, and Jewel supermarket play host to more shady activity in.! Robbery attempt it opened in 1966 during a mall, but these attempts failed has recently been transformed.! To Dixie Square mall was completely shuttered by 2010 the governor of finally... Council voted to transfer title for the price residents remain skeptical the book needs for the of. ; s last tenets closed in 1979 mall opened in 1966.closed in 1979.and remains standing in 2008 and completely it! Of Harvey, Illinois Dixie Square mall, destroyed in the movie, can be seen its doors the... Of receipt popularity waned as crime plagued the Chicago suburb, and the officially! As it was used in the movie the Blues Brothers & # x27 ; s popularity waned as crime the. Last of the mall had 64 shops, including a Woolworth, a,... Just ten years later would have seemed the height of absurdity then to three years quantities than... Location could be added to this image seemed the height of absurdity then November... 1320 Carl D Silver Parkway Suite 100 ( buybuy BABY ) Gainesville: Stonewall! Unavailable for quantities greater than $ { maxQuantity }, Illinois, a Walgreens, a 20. An attempt to rejuvenate the business, but a creepy, bygone haunted! A geocoded location could be added to this image property to Chicago developer John Deneen in operation deliberately alluding ancient.