DIXIE SQUARE -- The Blues Brothers: "A Mall with Everything"

Chase from "The Blues Brothers" filmed at, and inside Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, IL.

In 1979, two years after Dixie Square closed, the mall would be remodeled to appear like an operational shopping center, and later trashed by the Bluesmobile and two Illinois State Police cars for the 1980 Universal Pictures' cult favorite "The Blues Brothers".

You will notice a few differences in the mall's appearance between the movie and Dixie's days as an active shopping center:

-Most notably, the Walgreens Drug Store was dressed as a Toys R Us toy store. Walgreens was one of many stores that refused to be seen in the movie (guess they didnt want to take the "Drive-Thru Pharmacy" to the next level). These stores would be dressed as local businesses or not seen at all.

-JEWEL is seen with a mall entrance, however there was never an actual mall entrance to the grocery store. The entrance used was the former JCPenney. The fruit stands hit by the IL Trooper car are still inside Penneys against the northwest wall.

-Penney's is seen with newer "JCPenney" signage. When the store was open it never used the JCPenney signage.

-Woolworth was dressed-up as the Depatso Oldsmobile dealership for the movie.

Not seen in the movie are:
Block D
Turn*Style
Block A
Montgomery Ward

When I visited Dixie Square in January, some artifacts dating back to the mall's days as a Hollywood set were still there. Many, however, have been stolen or destroyed.

-The window display frame for Frank's Drum Shop that was not hit by the BluMo is still intact.

-Some of the red banners hanging from the cieling are still there, however most have been burned.

-Some of the colorful wallpaper inside Toys R Us is still intact, however the painted "Toys R Us" signs featuring Geoffrey the Giraffe were either destroyed or stolen over the years.

-Finally the foundations for the art tent are still there, though vandalized.

After eight weeks of filming, the mall was somewhat cleaned up and later Harvey-Dixmoor school district would use the building as a temporary school in the very early 1980s while a new elementary school was under construction. This is why a basketball hoop is inside Turn*Style. The district attempted to sue director John Landis and Universal for unrepaired damages to the mall, though the suit was dismissed.

This would be the last use of the building, as it was sealed once the school was complete. The mall would begin to suffer from theft and vandalism by the late 1980s and early 1990s.

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CONTENT IS OWNED BY NBC/UNIVERSAL, HOWEVER IT IS BEING POSTED FOR EDUCATIONAL AND RESEARCH PURPOSES OF DIXIE SQUARE SHOPPING CENTER UNDER FAIR USE. I WILL DISPUTE THE CLAIM IF THIS VIDEO IS BLOCKED.

http://copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

"Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research."

I will note that I am not profitting in any way, shape, or form on the use of the footage, and that the use will actually help promote the film. Dixie Square is what made me first see The Blues Brothers and I loved the movie. I am sure it will work the same way for others

BUY THE DVD
http://www.google.com/products?q=The%20Blues%20Brothers&oe=utf-8&rls=...

Category:

Education

Tags:

• dixie
• square
• mall
• harvey
• illinois
• abandoned
• shopping
• center
• lost
• forgotten
• urban
• exploration
• movie
• feature
• film
• the
• blues
• brothers
• 1980

[CommissarTom]

They demolished the mall....I mean now like today, the mall has been demolished.

[jonrev]

@CommissarTom Only Turnstyle and Block D had been demolished as of last week, asbestos removal is still going on in the rest of the building. This won't be a here today-gone tomorrow project by any means.

[husqvarna5]

at 4:06 the caption says that one of the signs is still there in 2010 when the video was posted in july 2009 FAIL

[jonrev]

@husqvarna5 Probably because the annotations were added a year after it was uploaded, genius.

[jasong146]

The mall was demolished today

[jonrev]

@jasong146 They officially started today, but they've got a LONG way to go

[BACasey81]

who comes here to the blues brothers and thumbs down!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jonrev]

@luke4090 Probably because this content is owned by Universal; a long time ago they took this video down briefly, but I disputed it due to Dixie Square's history being the main reason for its upload.

[Blackroo1967]

@1:19 Damn! Talk about sticklers for details!

[LordWindson]

R.I.P. John Belushi

30 years today

*24/01/1949

†05/03/1982

[mcneal78]

Good job posting! But you left out just ONE classic line. Well, it's classic to me! That was "I'm gonna catch that sucka, if it's the last thing i EVER do!"

[saturnday]

Say hey if you came here from the Sky City group on Facebook! (EF)

[sitenne]

hai fatto un gran lavoro, bravo! :)

[ChristopherLynnShow]

Well Jonrev, looks like it was lucky you finished all your filming last year like you said

[ScrumpyJack1234]

@BACasey81 The Illnois Nazi's, duh!