page_title: Dixie Square Mall
section_title: Abandoned, seeking uses
hierarchical_section_title: Dixie Square Mall / Post-closure / Abandoned, seeking uses
caption_attribution_description: English: Image of "Block B" of Dixie Square Mall on March 14, 2009.
context_page_description: 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, J. C. Penney, Woolworth, Walgreens, and Jewel as its major stores, with discount store Turn Style joining in 1970. The mall was in operation for twelve years, closing permanently in 1978. After closure, the mall was used for a scene in the film The Blues Brothers and then left abandoned. The mall also achieved notoriety because of a growing internet cult following of urban exploration groups dedicated to covering the mall's deteriorating condition. Like other dead malls, it was characterized by high vacancy rates and low patronage, which led to its closure. However, while many other dead malls were redeveloped or demolished, Dixie Square became notable for its extensive neglect, vandalism damage, and sordid history.
  In the decades after the mall closed, numerous proposals to redevelop the property were announced though none came to fruition.
context_section_description: After the mall's abandonment, it experienced such extensive neglect and damage from vandalism,  the full-time caretaker hired by Harvey to maintain the property was physically unable to repair it. Following the movie shoot and the departure of the school district, the mall sat completely empty while new uses for the property were sought. The city of Harvey did not have the funds to maintain it, and in 1984, vandals broke in for the first time, damaging and looting the mall, and leaving a number of entrances open in the process. Every accessible pane of glass in the mall was soon broken. Within a year, any piece of metal worth salvaging had been stolen. Also, around this time, the large triangular "Dixie" sign, added in the 1976 renovation and seen in the Blues Brothers film, was removed. The canvas covering the JCPenney court area was removed as well, allowing rain and snow to enter into the building. Over time, this, coupled with lack of maintenance, took its toll on the building.
  In approximately 1985, the Wards Auto Service garage in the southwest corner of the mall property was razed, in preparation for construction of a new police station for Harvey. Work was temporarily halted on July 9, 1987 (at about 35% completion) while concerns about the building's foundation were addressed; work on the police station resumed a week later.
  Despite the new Harvey Police station occupying land immediately adjacent, the shuttered mall gained a reputation as a notorious crime magnet during the early 1990s. Gang and drug activities frequently took place inside the former mall. In the early 1990s, a juvenile court was built on the far west end of the parking lot. Despite numerous attempts to board up and secure the mall, it was forced open repeatedly. Vandalism and theft were the primary causes, but many homeless people also turned the former mall site into makeshift living quarters. In 1993, a woman was raped and fatally strangled inside the ruins of the mall.
  By the end of the 1990s, trees had grown throughout the former parking lot. In the mid-2000s, a massive fire broke out inside the Woolworth store and nearly destroyed the building. The fire caused the roof to cave in, and due to that and other structural collapses, saplings started growing inside the building. Another fire broke out in the former City Life lounge, causing minor damage to the abandoned bar.
caption: "Block B" storefronts inside Dixie Square as they appeared in 2009, showing a severe state of decay
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