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HISTORY Constructed in 1965-1966 at the cost of $ 25 million, Dixie Square opened in August 1966 on the site of a former Golf Course . It had sixty-four shops at its peak, including JCPenney and Montgomery Ward department stores as its Anchors . Montgomery Ward was the first to open in late summer 1965, with JCPenney opening later the same year. The JCPenney and Wards stores were considered cutting-edge at the time, complete with Psychedelic wallpaper and fixtures. The mall enjoyed four years of success, until around the time the Turn Style department store was added in 1970. At this point, crime began to plague the town of Harvey, a failing suburb 20 miles (32 km) south of Chicago . Many of the stores, including the anchors, renovated their stores several times in the 1970s to keep up with the times in the ailing mall. The mall itself went through a renovation in 1976. From 1973 to 1976, Dixie lost many stores, including Montgomery Ward in late 1977. By 1978, it was down to its last twenty stores, with JCPenney closing on January 25. The mall closed in November 1978. However, Walgreens and Jewel food store stayed open until 1979, when they moved out. On January 25 , 1979 , a full year after closing, JCPenney briefly reopened and held what they called "Dixie's Last Gasp", in which they sold off outdated merchandise, mannequins, and display cases. Jewel supermarket was the last to leave, closing in June 1979. Only months after Jewel closed, director John Landis rented the vacant mall for eight weeks to film '' The Blues Brothers ''. The filmmakers left the mall in bad condition, as it was used for the famous car chase scene where Elwood and Jake destroy much of the mall while being chased by Illinois state troopers. Following the movie shoot, the mall was boarded up once again. It stayed in the same state until 1984, when vandals broke in and effectively destroyed the mall. By the next year, any piece of metal of worth was removed. Weather was harsh on the mall, and the mall sat decomposing, decaying, and deteriorating more each day. By the 1990s, there were full-grown trees in the parking lot and cave-ins of the roof. On December 26 , 2005 , demolition started at Dixie Square, starting with the mall's central energy plant next to Montgomery Ward. Part of the Montgomery Ward building was accidentally demolished as well. ''The Blues Brothers'' In 1979, shortly after being closed for business, the mall was rented for eight weeks for filming of a scene in the movie ''The Blues Brothers'' . Police cars were driven through the mall, destroying parts of it; afterwards, the mall was boarded back up. Some of the mall's former tenants refused to be seen in the film, such as Hickory Farms and Walgreens, so they were either "dressed-up" as other stores (such as the Walgreens becoming a Toys "R" Us ) or not featured at all. The fake wall the cars crashed through in Toys "R" Us at the beginning of the scene was still there until about the mid 80's. Montgomery Ward renovation In January 2005, an agreement was made with American Kitchen Delights to turn the former Montgomery Ward building into a showroom for American Kitchen's products. Just days after the agreement was made, work on the store began. First, all debris was removed from the floors, which included years of fallen ceiling tiles which had turned to a thick mush. Attention then turned to the store itself, which included removing all of the store's original decor and signage. However, it was found that the store contained asbestos; the debris being pushed out the store's mall entrance was covered in Plastic . The renovation was put to a halt in late June 2005. It was also found that the company had gutted the old store without a permit. On December 26, 2005, during demolition of the mall's central energy plant, part of the building was accidentally demolished, further reducing the chance of a renovation. CURRENT CONDITION AND FUTURE In the early 1990s, the Harvey Police Department moved their headquarters from 15320 Broadway Avenue near downtown Harvey to the southwest corner of the lot the mall still stands on. A juvenile court was built on the far west end of the parking lot. The current site of the mall itself is wide open, even after numerous attempts to board it up. Vandalism is the primary cause, but many homeless people have turned the former mall site into makeshift living quarters. There has been much debate on what to do with the site. On April 14 , 2005, a plan was set in motion to demolish the remnants of Dixie Square and bring top-level retailers to the former mall site, including Costco , Kohl's , and Old Navy . This plan hopes to bring over 1,000 jobs to Harvey, which has one of the highest unemployment rates in Cook County . As of July 3 , 2005, the site renovation project was put on hold until a contractor can be brought in to remove the asbestos in the current building. Plans by the YMCA to build low-income senior housing are not affected by the asbestos and are continuing as planned. On February 16 , 2006, the entire mall property was sold to developer John Deneen of the Emerald Property Group . Demolition occurred soon after, as a new retail center, believed to consist of several big box stores and other stores, is set to be constructed in the mall's place. CHRONOLOGY 1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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