Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, Il

Most of you are familiar with "The Blues Brothers" movie and the famous car chase scene through the mall. What you may not be familiar with is the story behind that. The scene was shot at Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, IL. The mall was built in 1966, expanded a few years later, and closed circa 1979. After the mall closed, director John Landis leased the mall in order to shoot the car chase scenes. Many of the mall's fomer tenants refused to be shown in the movie--Dixie Square had no car dealership, nor a Toys-R-Us, and the "Jewel" was moved to a different location for the shoot.

After filming was done, the mall was boarded up and left to rot ever since. Plans have come and gone for its demolition, etc. So 28 years after the movie, Dixie Square Mall just sits there abandoned. Here is an amazing video in which a film crew and stunt driver re-create the famous scene in the now abandoned mall. Notice how much more gingerly the stunt driver has to drive.

One note of caution though, should you ever want to see this mall. The Harvey Police Department is located on the outlot of Dixie Square Mall and if you attempt to drive into the mall's parking lot, you will likely be stopped by them. You need to get permission from the City of Harvey to be on the property and even that's not likely granted.