32 YEARS AFTER THE BLUES BROTHERS STARTED DEMOLITION ON THE DIXIE SQUARE MALL, THE BULLDOZERS ARE FINISHING IT.
THE BLUES BROTHERS HELPED IN THE DEMOLITION OF THE DIXIE SQUARE MALL.
The mall was already abandoned when the film's producer had a need to demolish a shopping mall, which was done for the classic movie - THE BLUES BROTHERS. The original tenants were asked to come back, and the film's producer asked the former tenants to rebuild their store fronts. The producer wanted the chase scene to look as realistic as possible.
I recently heard on the radio that the demolition was going to start, on Wednesday Jan 25, 2012 (after many false starts, over the decades.) I had to get some pictures of the iconic shopping mall. I was originally planning on going to the mall prior to the arrival of the bulldozers. Unfortunately, the weekend that I had planned on going to the mall (Sat. Jan 21 & Sun Jan. 22) there had just been a fairly large snow storm, and I didn't want the clean snow to mask the ugly mall appearance. I decided to attempt to get down there on a weekday. Hopefully the snow would melt by then.
I had forgotten about my trip, and then I accidently took a route to a south suburb of Chicago, without even thinking about the mall being on my path. As I was driving along attempting to get to that southern suburb, I looked over to my left, and a "BEAUTIFUL" sight hit my eyes. It was the DIXIE SQUARE MALL, which is located in the lower middle income town of Harvey, Illinois.
I had to finish my business first, and then I rushed back to get some pictures. The Harvey P.D. is located next door to the mall, and cops being cops, they were very nosey. I guess they solved all of the crime in Harvey, which would mean they needed to investigate the suspicious "OLD FART" taking pictures of a dilapidated shopping mall. My eyeballs still roll back into my skull every time I think about it. I guess the donut shops were closed that day.
Posted below are the pictures that I took. I have also posted a movie clip of the chase scene in the mall parking lot. You will be able to see the JC Penny department store, and the Jewel grocery store. The Toys R Us store is between those two stores. In reality, the Toys R Us store was never a part of the mall. It was pure Hollywood fiction. The JC Penny & Jewel stores are very distinctive, and you will be able to compare the video clip with the still pictures.
The car supposedly enters the mall at the Toys R Us location, which is between the Jewel & JC Penny stores. You only see the Bluesmobile after it has already entered the toy store. The Bluesmobile exits the mall from the front entrance of JC Penny. The still picture of JC Penny shows the entrance on the southeast facing wall, which faces the parking lot that the Bluesmobile drove around.
I hope you enjoy it.
JC PENNY SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST WALL (LEFT) SOUTHEAST FACING WALL & PARKING LOT (RIGHT)
SOUTHEAST FACING JC PENNY WALL & JEWEL GROCERY (BLUESMOBILE DRIVES AROUND THE LOT)
JEWEL FOOD STORE TO THE RIGHT & TOYS R US (LEFT SIDE) BLUESMOBILE SUPPOSED ENTRANCE
MOVIE LOCATION WHERE BLUESMOBILE DRIVES AROUND PARKING LOT.
POSTED BELOW IS A SATELLITE IMAGE OF THE MALL
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY THE MAKING OF THE MOVIE VIDEO
THE DIRECTOR TALKING ABOUT SECURITY GUARDS STEALING
UPDATE:
I REVISITED THE MALL ON APRIL 22, 2012.
THE J.C. PENNY STORE IS THE ONLY BUILDING LEFT.
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The mall was already abandoned when the film's producer had a need to demolish a shopping mall, which was done for the classic movie - THE BLUES BROTHERS. The original tenants were asked to come back, and the film's producer asked the former tenants to rebuild their store fronts. The producer wanted the chase scene to look as realistic as possible.
I recently heard on the radio that the demolition was going to start, on Wednesday Jan 25, 2012 (after many false starts, over the decades.) I had to get some pictures of the iconic shopping mall. I was originally planning on going to the mall prior to the arrival of the bulldozers. Unfortunately, the weekend that I had planned on going to the mall (Sat. Jan 21 & Sun Jan. 22) there had just been a fairly large snow storm, and I didn't want the clean snow to mask the ugly mall appearance. I decided to attempt to get down there on a weekday. Hopefully the snow would melt by then.
I had forgotten about my trip, and then I accidently took a route to a south suburb of Chicago, without even thinking about the mall being on my path. As I was driving along attempting to get to that southern suburb, I looked over to my left, and a "BEAUTIFUL" sight hit my eyes. It was the DIXIE SQUARE MALL, which is located in the lower middle income town of Harvey, Illinois.
I had to finish my business first, and then I rushed back to get some pictures. The Harvey P.D. is located next door to the mall, and cops being cops, they were very nosey. I guess they solved all of the crime in Harvey, which would mean they needed to investigate the suspicious "OLD FART" taking pictures of a dilapidated shopping mall. My eyeballs still roll back into my skull every time I think about it. I guess the donut shops were closed that day.
Posted below are the pictures that I took. I have also posted a movie clip of the chase scene in the mall parking lot. You will be able to see the JC Penny department store, and the Jewel grocery store. The Toys R Us store is between those two stores. In reality, the Toys R Us store was never a part of the mall. It was pure Hollywood fiction. The JC Penny & Jewel stores are very distinctive, and you will be able to compare the video clip with the still pictures.
The car supposedly enters the mall at the Toys R Us location, which is between the Jewel & JC Penny stores. You only see the Bluesmobile after it has already entered the toy store. The Bluesmobile exits the mall from the front entrance of JC Penny. The still picture of JC Penny shows the entrance on the southeast facing wall, which faces the parking lot that the Bluesmobile drove around.
I hope you enjoy it.
JC PENNY SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST WALL (LEFT) SOUTHEAST FACING WALL & PARKING LOT (RIGHT)
SOUTHEAST FACING JC PENNY WALL & JEWEL GROCERY (BLUESMOBILE DRIVES AROUND THE LOT)
JEWEL FOOD STORE TO THE RIGHT & TOYS R US (LEFT SIDE) BLUESMOBILE SUPPOSED ENTRANCE
MOVIE LOCATION WHERE BLUESMOBILE DRIVES AROUND PARKING LOT.
POSTED BELOW IS A SATELLITE IMAGE OF THE MALL
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY THE MAKING OF THE MOVIE VIDEO
THE DIRECTOR TALKING ABOUT SECURITY GUARDS STEALING
UPDATE:
I REVISITED THE MALL ON APRIL 22, 2012.
THE J.C. PENNY STORE IS THE ONLY BUILDING LEFT.
Tweet
Posted by Ron D at 1/29/2012 10:30 PM 
Categories: Pop Culture, Classic Movie, Movie Location
Tags: Pop Culture nostalgic classic movie Chicago companies trivia Chicagoland Harvey Illinois Dixie Square Mall Blues Brothers Jewel grocery JC Penny Toys R Us Bluesmobile John Belushi Dan Ackroyd Illinois State Police
Categories: Pop Culture, Classic Movie, Movie Location
Tags: Pop Culture nostalgic classic movie Chicago companies trivia Chicagoland Harvey Illinois Dixie Square Mall Blues Brothers Jewel grocery JC Penny Toys R Us Bluesmobile John Belushi Dan Ackroyd Illinois State Police
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