page_title: Dixie Square Mall
section_title: Complications
hierarchical_section_title: Dixie Square Mall / Demolition and redevelopment plans / Complications
caption_attribution_description: Movie Location (Dixie Square Mall)
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: In late June 2005, inspectors discovered the mall contained asbestos and ordered removed debris to be covered in plastic. They also discovered that the demolition company had been working without a permit. On July 3, 2005, the site renovation/demolition project was ordered halted until the asbestos issue could be properly resolved. 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).
  On February 16, 2006, the entire mall property was sold to developer John Deneen of the Emerald Property Group. The remainder of the Montgomery Ward building was torn down March 1 in a widely publicized PR campaign, but no progress was made to demolish the rest of the mall afterwards. After the news crews left, so did the demolition companies. Within several months of the Montgomery Ward demolition, liens were placed against the mall by several invested companies. Deneen threatened the owner of one of these companies with brass knuckles and a firearm (as a result, he pleaded guilty in 2008 to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon). Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan also filed lawsuits against Deneen and several prior developers for failing to remove the asbestos in accordance with state law.
  On July 20, 2009, a fire of unknown origin broke out in the entrance to Block C during the late afternoon. The fire damaged the Block C entrance to the point where its roof collapsed within a month, and left scorch marks on the exterior of the former J. C. Penney building.
caption: Former J. C. Penney and Jewel buildings in 2009
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