Dixie Square Mall was an enclosed shopping mall located in Harvey, Illinois, United States, at the junction of 151st Street and the Dixie Highway. It stood vacant for over 30 years, more than twice as long as it was in business. It was famous for having been used, both inside and out, for the mall chase scene in the movie The Blues Brothers. More recently, it achieved notoriety because of a growing Internet cult following (including local urban exploration groups) dedicated to covering the mall's deteriorating condition. Like other "dead malls," it had been characterized by high vacancy rates and low patronage, which led to its closure. However, while other dead malls were redeveloped or demolished, Dixie Square stood out due to its extensive neglect, vandalism damage, and storied history.
Since the mall closed, various plans had been made to demolish or redevelop the property, though most never came to fruition. The first plan to demolish the mall was developed in the late 1970s, but the filming of The Blues Brothers prevented this from happening. The mall was then left to decay, due in no small part to a lack of funds (the blighted town of Harvey owned the property itself for the greater part of the last 25 years). For some time, the only parts of the mall that had been fully demolished were the central energy plant, the former Woolworth anchor, and the former Montgomery Ward building. Final demolition began in February 2012, and was completed in May.
Famous quotes containing the words square and/or mall:
“O for a man who is a man, and, as my neighbor says, has a bone in his back which you cannot pass your hand through! Our statistics are at fault: the population has been returned too large. How many men are there to a square thousand miles in this country? Hardly one.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“A father ... knows exactly what those boys at the mall have in their depraved little minds because he once owned such a depraved little mind himself. In fact, if he thinks enough about the plans that he used to have for young girls, the father not only will support his wife in keeping their daughter home but he might even run over to the mall and have a few of those boys arrested.”
—Bill Cosby (20th century)