Comments on: Dixie Square Mall; Harvey, Illinois

By: Dave Fidlin

Dave Fidlin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:42:31 +0000

Thanks for sharing your insight, Mike. As a kid I also was interested in large, abandoned buildings, what their original purpose was and how they got to be that way.

I’ve long been interested in dead malls, but oddly hadn’t heard of Dixie Square until a friend mentioned it to me in May. I ventured there a month later and was shocked by the true disheveled state of the complex!

Since the visit, I’ve read extensively on this place. I have a few questions and am wondering if anyone has any insight on them:

* Does anyone know how many store spaces were at Dixie Square after the 1970 addition of Turn Style? I came across this ad someone posted (link here: http://www.uer.ca/locations/viewgal.asp?picid=218528) that presumably was in the mall’s later years when it was simply renamed “Dixie.” The ad states Dixie had 33 stores at that point, which I’m sure was a major decline from the height of the mall’s popularity.

* Were there any interior stores that remained open at Dixie Square throughout the mall’s entire run — 1966 to 1978? Walgreens and Jewel, the last two holdouts, I guess would two obvious retailers, although they technically aren’t “interior stores” since they could be accessed from outside. Were there any interior stores?

* Numerous reports state the Dixie Mall had 20 stores at the beginning of 1978. I’m guessing that number continued to dwindle leading up to the mall’s closure in November of that year. Does anyone know what stores were in the mall during its last days?

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 19:51:32 +0000

I spoke with my grandfather, and it’s the Montgomery Wards building that we could see directly in front of us. He said that he used to go to Ward’s all the time and even had an account (something that was a big deal).

He also agreed that the desire to shop at the newer, bigger mall in a safer neighborhood is what killed Dixie Square.

And according to him, the mall was really nice in its hey-day. Then according to my aunt, toward the later 70’s not much was there anymore and it was pretty barren.

What I wouldn’t give to walk that mall back in its booming era, AND when it was well into its decline.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 04:42:18 +0000

My grandfather and some of his relatives owned the pallet company that was directly across Dixie Hwy from the mall.

I was born in 82′ and visited him at that shop since I could remember.

As a kid, everything is mystified and made wonderfully fascinating; so that big, old, eerie, curious structure sitting across the street from us was always an object of wonder for me. I would sit out in front of my granddad’s shop on a milk-crate or a pallet and just stare at that thing.

I wondered what it was once, what it was then, why did it look like it did, and what happened to it. I was completely consumed by curiosity. All my grandfather ever said was it was an old mall that had ‘run down’. And yes, I always asked if he ever shopped there, did he remember it, and would he take me over to see it up close…and I’d ask over and over again each visit. lol

I came across these postings because I was searching for Evergreen Plaza…which I had been told was torn down. After finding out it hadn’t been…I read about some of the old demolished parts of it, and I wanted to see pictures. Before I got to that, I googled Ford City to see if maybe my source had mixed the 2 malls up. I saw it was still standing and memories streamed through my mind.

At Evergreen, I remember that statue of some guy on a horse…it was in front or by a beauty salon. Of course, the last time I saw that had to be back in maybe very early 90’s…I moved from Chicago in 95′, so…

ANYWAY!!! I got stuck on Dixie Square’s name…I thought ‘could this be that strip mall across from the shop?!?!?’ YES!! And after finding out there was so much to the place than that little strip that I could see, I have spent approximately 4 1/2 hours reading and looking at pics. I am entranced. (is that how u spell that?)

And now after seeing so many pics and the google satellite shot of it, I think what I could see from the old shop might be one of the police department buildings, no??? The shop I’m speaking of was named Blackhawk Pallets…and I don’t know if it is still there or not (I’ll call my grandfather this weekend, you best be sure!)

Could someone clarify for me? If you know the shop’s proximity to the mall across Dixie Hwy, WHAT PART OF THE MALL WAS I LOOKING AT?! All those thoughts as a child while staring at that place…man. I do remember arches… Does that help?

Finally, I’d like to admit my fascination with abandoned places…ESPECIALLY ones that I remember from my youth in some way or another. And the bigger and busier the place was at one time, the more intriguing.

Awesome history, folks! Thank you so much for taking me down memory lane.

By: Curtrx7

Curtrx7 — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:00:46 +0000

Does anyone have information on William Goodwyn? He was the 28 year old male who was murdured outside Montgomery Wards, did the case ever get solved?

By: PinkCap

PinkCap — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:20:21 +0000

I live in Chicago but one of the big stories at the time of the Blues Brothers movie was that the mall was never reimbursed for the destruction created during the filming. Not sure how true it is but it was stated that the producers of the Blues Brothers agreed to pay for a certain restoration after the film. Thing actually went downhill afterwards. The mall never came back to it potential and that was in 1977

By: Joe

Joe — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 02:53:36 +0000

When I was 6 we moved to Harvey in 1969, I used to ride my bike up to Dixie Square (till the bike was stolen!) I rode that bike everywhere, Harvey used to have a VERY nice public pool towards downtown Harvey, I rode my bike there too (got chased on the way to and from the pool, to take that bike!). We used to go into Dixie Square to buy records, JCPenney had records, and there was a Musicland in the mall. I bought my TI-30 for high school from the JCPenney, They used to have these neat ‘waterfalls’ kinda like those cheesy lamps with the oil falling down the strings, down by the Wards. Dixie Square had a ’self serve’ Post Office it was on one of the islands in the parking lot, you just drove up and bought stamps from the machines. I remember when they built TurnStyle my mom used to go there for school supplies. There was a Walgreens there too, it was next to the Jewel food store. During the holidays, Woolworth used to have a glass craftsman at the entrance making figurines… and there was a Hickory Farms store not just a stand, and a camera shop. When Wards closed, that part of the mall deteriorated quickly I think they put a security office at the info desk by Wards, at the intersection of the two arms of the mall was the Woolworth and there was a Currency Exchange. There was also a place called #1Fun, it was an arcade. I think it was next to the Radio Shack (don’t forget the ‘battery of the month club’) It was a cool place to hang around when I didn’t have a car, but as soon as I got a license I went to Orland Square. I do remember Armands, I think my oldest sister was a waitress there. And there was a store down on the Wards end called ‘Imports of Intrigue’ Oh, my wife just told me her parents car was stolen from there when she was a kid. The whole Blues Brothers thing was on the hush, we just thought it was funny that JCPenney and Jewel signs were put back up, and there were hundreds of cars in the parking lot. Got to see them film then end of the chase scene. Just some of my memories….

By: Sharon

Sharon — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 04:21:45 +0000

Well im not too far away. About 20mins from this mall.

By: Russ

Russ — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 04:39:50 +0000

Allan, go to Deadmalls DOT com. It’s there with many recent photo’s. Wow, it does look pretty bad. Click on Dead Mall Features then select GA and you will see it. Dixie Square on the other hand, a documentary should be done on this one. BAD. Really Bad. I wrote DeadMalls and they have an entery in there about it. I wrote them and explained they need to do a documentary on this one and I never heard back. I’m not even from Harvey or even close, and I find this mall extemely interesting.

By: Brian

Brian — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:25:16 +0000

Laura,
Harvey has been rife with political problems and issues surrounding this property. At one point it was given over to the city, they had plans to redevelop the site but sold it to avoid the costs themselves. From there it has been from one shady owner to another. As time goes on the costs to ready the site for new development actually get higher because of asbestos and toxic/environmental reasons I imagine. The city took the last owner to court. No idea if they have plans to do so with the current owner. Again it’s curious that some clear arson occurs with a building in this state. If the property becomes a loss to the owner through fire, it could be an easy way to get rid of the problem site and collect a nice insurance check.

Ugh.. motto: never, ever buy a mall of any sort!

By: Laura

Laura — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:11:53 +0000

So you guys got me going down a huge time sink reading about t his mall – thanks a LOT! Fascinating stuff, interesting pictures, and now we have brass knuckles to boot!

Here is a dumb question, why do these malls stand as a public nuisance for 20+ years? Surely this violates some kind of building code and the city can demo the property then bill the owner. If the owner does not pay they can take out a lien against the property.

I am guessing that the city does not have the up-front cash to demo it, or even loan a developer the cash to tear down the property and remove the debris, but you would think that you could appeal for grants or state funding or SOMETHING, especially with the property itself as collateral. They have had several years now to get this figured out.

I realize that this is a complex situation but to me it just looks like insanity.