Max Headroom WTTW Pirating Incident - 11/22/87 (Subtitled) jonrev 2026-09-20 | Max Headroom WTTW Pirating Incident - 11/22/87 (Subtitled)
Closing of Stratford Square Mall | April 21, 2024 jonrev 2024-04-23 | On its final day of operation, hundreds gathered at Bloomingdale, Illinois' Stratford Square Mall - devoid of any stores for a week - to bid farewell and reminisce on its 43-years of service and memories.The Village of Bloomingdale has acquired all of the mall buildings, with intent of razing the shopping center in favor of a mixed-use redevelopment.jonrev.com
Abandoned Waukegan Johnson Motors Factory (2016) jonrev 2024-01-02 | Archived and previously-unreleased urban exploration footage of Johnson Outboards in Waukegan, Illinois -- later known as OMC-1 (Outboard Marine Corporation Plant No. 1) and BRP Waukegan -- filmed on a stormy July morning in 2016. The construction of this massive facility at 200 E. Sea Horse Drive dates to 1926, with multiple expansions added through the decades. Johnson and Evinrude outboard motors were built here until the early-1980s, when the plant was repurposed for a number of corporate, training, tech service, product testing and R&D functions for parent company: Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC). The plant shuttered when the company declared bankruptcy right before Christmas 2000. Bombardier acquired the OMC assets and quickly re-opened the aging facility with long-term plans of relocating to Wisconsin, which ultimately didn’t happen until 2012 when the building was literally falling apart.Waukegan purchased the abandoned campus in the first half of 2016 and it was being prepared for demolition at the time of this visit - my second of three. This video is a complete tour of all buildings, parts have previously only been shown in a short I made titled youtube.com/watch?v=7oPZnqC0BRM, and an excellent documentary on the history of this plant made by Nick Brnot ( youtu.be/-IbWu-AMAJo?si ). Demolition began weeks after this was filmed, with the final piece - a water tower - surviving until late 2023. The site remains undeveloped.Blog, prints & more: jonrev.comEverything else: https://linktr.ee/jonrev
Abandoned Gary Ambassador Apartments (2015) jonrev 2024-01-02 | Archived and mostly-unreleased urban exploration footage of the former Ambassador Apartments in Gary, Indiana. Built in 1928 as posh accommodations for US Steel employees, the building was already neglected for nearly 20 years by the time its last resident moved out in 1985, when it was condemned by the city. It was demolished shortly after this was filmed, the site is still undeveloped at time of upload.This is a second, more thorough video tour showing some of the amazing graffiti this place accumulated, as well as how dangerous of condition this spot was toward the end. Pardon the shakycam and annoying click throughout... this footage was shot (and originally released in part) with intent to dub music over.Blog, prints & more: jonrev.comEverything else: https://linktr.ee/jonrev
Abandoned Gary Methodist Church (2011) jonrev 2024-01-02 | Archived and previously-unreleased urban exploration footage of City Methodist in Gary, Indiana. This was a thorough walkthrough of the complex I filmed in 2011; including the sanctuary, attached school, Seaman Hall auditorium, rooftop gym and retail spaces. Didn't bother with the basement due to my camcorder's limitations. This spot is still standing and one of the best-known abandoned buildings in the midwest, however much of what you see here has been further destroyed between nature and stupid people.Blog, prints & more: jonrev.comEverything else: https://linktr.ee/jonrev
Abandoned Mid-Cities Mall (2011) jonrev 2024-01-01 | Archived urban exploration footage of the Mid-Cities Mall (later known as the Lakeview Centre) in Manitowoc, WI. This mall opened in 1968 with JCPenney and Montgomery Ward as anchors, supplemented by Osco Drug, Woolworth, a grocery store and a handful of smaller shops and services. A second mall, Edgewater Plaza, hoped to compliment Mid-Cities' success when it opened directly adjacent in 1979.Montgomery Ward left Mid-Cities in 1983 amid the recession, it saw brief reuse as a store called Pierquet’s between 1988-1990 and was never occupied again. A full-service Hardee's restaurant (with drive-thru) was grafted onto an existing mall entrance in 1986; I believe at this point the mall underwent the rebrand as Lakeview Centre and was given the gaudy "Barbie's Dream Mall" makeover.Economic development shifted toward the interstate in the 1990s, opposite this side of town. The two malls never had a chance, especially after Walmart opened. Lakeview Centre shuttered in 2000 with JCPenney soldiering alone into 2011 -- closing the day this video was filmed, an intensely-cold January evening. Lakeview Centre was entirely razed four years later and remains undeveloped. Edgewater Plaza (renamed Lakeshore Mall) survived on life support until 2018 and remains abandoned.Blog, prints & more: jonrev.comEverything else: https://linktr.ee/jonrevLet's chat about dead malls: discord.gg/89qe9YQTtv
Abandoned West Bend Airport Hoarder House (2010) jonrev 2024-01-01 | Archived urban exploration footage of a long-abandoned and severely overgrown hoarder house with everything left inside. The West Bend Municipal Airport owns the land and demolished the house shortly after this visit in March 2010.Blog, prints & more: jonrev.comEverything else: https://linktr.ee/jonrev
Abandoned Chicago Brachs Candy Factory (2010) jonrev 2024-01-01 | Archived urban exploration footage of my first visit to Brach's on the west side of Chicago. This location was demolished in 2014 and has been a truck parking lot for years.Apologies for the rapid zooms... unfavorable experiment.Blog, prints & more: jonrev.comEverything else: https://linktr.ee/jonrev
Abandoned Gary Screw & Bolt Factory (2010) jonrev 2024-01-01 | Archived urban exploration footage of the Screw and Bolt Factory in Gary, Indiana. This location is still abandoned at time of upload.Blog, prints & more: jonrev.comEverything else: https://linktr.ee/jonrev
Abandoned Gary Ambassador Apartments (2010) jonrev 2024-01-01 | Archived urban exploration footage of the former Ambassador Apartments in Gary, Indiana. Built in 1928 as posh accommodations for US Steel employees, the building was already neglected for nearly 20 years by the time its last resident moved out in 1985, when it was condemned by the city. It took another three decades to finally demolish it, the site remains undeveloped at press time.Blog, prints & more: jonrev.comEverything else: https://linktr.ee/jonrev
Abandoned Gary Methodist Church (2010) jonrev 2024-01-01 | Archived urban exploration footage of City Methodist in Gary, Indiana. Filmed on a hot July afternoon in 2010, this location is still standing but looking much worse for wear.Blog, prints & more: jonrev.comEverything else: https://linktr.ee/jonrev
Northridge Mall Walkthrough | July 24, 2022 jonrev 2023-09-06 | All malls go to hell.Unedited B-roll footage of a July 2022 walkthrough.00:00 Mall concourse walk proceeding from Skyridge Cafes food court to the lower west end15:38 Abort, exterior footage of Boston Store and Skyridge Cafes food court17:05 Mall management corridors, fire damage20:49 Former Bachrach's22:02 Former Kay Bee Toy & Hobby23:14 Upper level, west side shops (Spencer Gifts, Radio Shack, Sam Goody, Mr. Bulky, etc.)27:45 Lower level walk from west to east34:45 Upper level walk from east to west, includes Skyridge Cafes48:38 Former McDonald's restaurantwww.jonrev.comlinktr.ee/jonrevJRP-DMC 2023
Northridge | film photography in an abandoned mall on Black Friday jonrev 2023-01-31 | A routine photo-docu visit to the 20-year abandoned Northridge Mall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on what is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year. Formerly Milwaukee's largest shopping center, in operation from 1972-2002: Northridge is a location I've documented extensively in the years since its use for a 2017 viral video. Today the mall stands in an extreme state of decay, condemned and buried in red tape as city leadership wrestles for control of the property from a Chinese entity, who only seems to exist via their lawyer.This video serves as a pilot for sharing photography work on YouTube... may do more of these where conditions allow. I used a (fussy) Mamiya C330f twin-lens reflex camera and CineStill 400D 120 film for this shoot.www.jonrev.com
General Cinema jonrev 2020-11-17 | In a shuttered movie theatre... I made it do the thing.Belvidere Mall CinemaWaukegan, Illinois
Schlitz globe jonrev 2020-04-03 | Circa 1968, restored in-house March 2020. Painted and polished plastic, metal bits. LED bulb swap.NFSwww.jonrev.com
ｇｏｏｓｅｗａｖｅ jonrev 2019-12-28 | come for the dead malls, stay for the wildlife...Filmed at the nearly-empty Forest Fair Mall near Cincinnati, May 2019
JCPenney sign jonrev 2019-04-14 | Vintage sign recovered from the former JCPenney at Northridge Mall in Milwaukee. This was over the upper-level store entrance and was removed with permission. These signs were made by Federal; they date to around the mid-1970s and are still rather common at stores that were open back then.This one just needed new fluorescent tubes and I spliced in a line cord to get it working, again. Also vacuumed out 18 years worth of dead wasps, which were probably in there when the store closed in 2000 and might explain why the JCPenney lettering was spray painted over. I was able to revive the letter panel by simply scratching the paint off with a quarter. The opposite side is still painted over.www.jonrev.com
Skyridge Cafes - 80s mall neon sign jonrev 2019-04-10 | Preserved neon sign from the 1988 renovation of Northridge Mall in Milwaukee, WI which saw the addition of the "Skyridge Cafes" food court. Beat the vandals to this one... the mall has been abandoned since 2003, recently condemned and ordered demolished by the city of Milwaukee.See Northridge in its prime (and this sign) via historic photos also recovered from the mall: jonrev.com/2018/10/05/nm-neon-years
Dixies Last Gasp jonrev 2019-03-02 | Testing a Muzak speaker that survived in the abandoned JCPenney at Dixie Square Mall. This is the first time it's played anything in 40 years... thought I'd make it count."Dixie's Last Gasp" was the infamous fire sale held at JCPenney in January 1979, a full year after the store had originally closed down, meant to liquidate fixtures, mannequins and outdated junk they didn't want to leave behind or move to Orland Square. At the time, the rest of the mall had already closed, save for a few holdouts with exterior entrances. Soon after, The Blues Brothers came to town, and the rest is history.www.jonrev.com
Mall Kittens jonrev 2018-08-24 | In a return visit to the abandoned Lincoln Mall (Matteson, IL), we came across a days-old litter of SEVEN kittens tucked-away in a walled-off store-turned-storage area for the mall's Carson Pirie Scott department store.Normally we'd have left them for the mother to relocate, but with the mall under demolition at the time, the kittens were in immediate danger. After finding and consulting a nearby Humane Society, the decision was made to evacuate them. The area these cats were in was demolished in the days that followed, had we not intervened it is likely they would've been killed.The mother was briefly spotted at one point but regrettably we were unable to catch her. Checking in about a month or so later, I was told this litter survived in the care of a surrogate and all were adopted out to loving homes.Special thanks to photog and friend, nitram242; and the South Suburban Humane Society for their assistance that day.www.jonrev.com
Max Headroom Bicycle Incident jonrev 2018-04-08 | A leisurely bike ride in an abandoned shopping mall... but it's dirty.- https://linktr.ee/jonrev- jonrev.comMusic: "Football Head" by Flamingosis:flamingosis1.bandcamp.com/album/pleasure-paletteJRP-DMC 2018
Sauter Building (Sterns) | Waukegan, IL jonrev 2018-04-03 | 4:30 AM in an abandoned, historic apartment block in downtown Waukegan - mere days before it was demolished in 2014. Hope you have a strong stomach...A complete history and photo tour: jonrev.com/2016/01/30/sauterPresented raw, with minimal editing. This was a very difficult location to film due to the populated area (the Lake County Jail is practically across the street from here), the gear we were running at the time, and the idiotically-dangerous method of entry. Late-nights were the only option, here.Never in my life have I encountered this level of "pigeon hell"... pigeon crap, pigeon corpses, severed pigeon body parts. You name it. The exterior of this place, though... the fact it was demolished so carelessly absolutely stands as the worst crime against architecture in Waukegan history.We did explore Stern's about two years prior, but did not think to film it at the time.www.jonrev.com@jonrev everywhere but Twitter
Return to Lincoln Mall | Matteson, IL jonrev 2018-03-29 | After two years of abandonment: Lincoln Mall eats it in the summer of 2017.CHAPTER SELECTION:2:18 Lower level11:08 Upper level18:05 70's McDonald's and Mall Offices21:05 Ashley Stewart ruinsFor a more complete history, watch the other video first:youtube.com/watch?v=-qJrAaXfo3oPresented raw, with minimal editing. Includes a couple areas missed in the other video (namely the ancient Fat Ron's and mall offices). This was the last time we bothered filming here, I used my Nikon D3100 but lack of a stabilizer and decent lighting didn't make this footage too usable for anything else.www.jonrev.com@jonrev everywhere but Twitter
Lincoln Mall | Matteson, IL jonrev 2018-03-28 | The abandoned Lincoln Mall. All of it.We are back.CHAPTER SELECTION:-0:00 Introduction-3:55 Mall lower level-12:12 MW wing ruins (lower: Foot Locker, Kaybee Toys, ruins of Aladdin's Castle)-19:20 Sears-31:27 Mall upper level-33:53 MW wing ruins (upper; Payless, Merry-Go-Round)-42:05 Carson's forgotten display boneyard-48:00 Departure (spooked by unknown van)-51:19 DrivearoundBuilt in 1973, Lincoln Mall was the average four-anchor, two level regional suburban shopping mall of the Chicago Southland, located in Matteson, Illinois. Although it dropped an anchor store to bankruptcy for a while (eventually filling it, again), the mall fared quite well for the first 25 or so years of its life - being, in fact, a nail in the coffin for nearby Dixie Square Mall. The turn of the millennium saw the loss of two anchor stores back-to-back, beginning its slow and tragic descent into chaos and malaise following a botched revitalization effort that fell victim to the Great Recession. The mall finally shuttered due to obvious safety hazards in January 2015, and was demolished two years, later.Presented raw, with minimal editing. This is a complete walkthrough of the mall which includes some of the cool stuff left behind in the stores. Unfortunately this was shot several months after it got blown-up to WGN, when literally everyone and their mom started coming here. The vandalism was so bad at this point that the village hired a sleazy private security company to patrol the place until demolition began... who never showed up until the afternoon. Here's a protip... never leave your daily logbook and stuff in a spot where I can get to them. Thanks for the flashlights.Couple notes, here... this was the last video shot using our old Dixie Square-era rig (now nine years old). The lighting also sucks. We've since upgraded both camera and lighting to something a little more presentable, but figured this footage should still be put out there. We filmed another round during demolition, using the DSLR, and will be releasing that video soon.www.jonrev.com@jonrev everywhere but Twitter
Highland Park Theater | Highland Park, IL jonrev 2018-03-26 | Call this a test screening...1920s vaudeville theater carved into four cinema screens in the mid-60s. After being picked-up by the city, it was closed in 2012 for violations against their own building code. It has since been sold to make way for a retail/condo redevelopment. At the time of filming, the power was still on for most of the theater; fans in each of the auditoriums spinning away for nobody in the dead, frigid-cold Chicago winter.Presented raw, with minimal editing. Originally released with location info redacted, but with its impending demolition I've since-changed the title.Pardon the craptastic lighting, I've since bought a real flashlight.www.jonrev.com
Pinsetter POV jonrev 2017-05-18 | Back in 2012 I hollowed-out a bowling pin and stuck one of those cheap, gum-sized spy cameras inside, then turned it loose in one of the pinsetters for a few laps (intervening periodically to make sure it somewhat faced the lane when set). I had the machine in diagnostics and nobody was bowling on it. These were Deer Park's old GS-92's, which were scrapped and replaced with their current GSX's a few months after this was filmed.I'm still yet to actually bowl with it, and I've since left Deer Park because five years later I could no-longer stand the cult of Tom Shannon. Any non-BAMF A2 centers in Chicagoland want to run this through a few times, I'm available...
Catch the Wave? jonrev 2016-11-23 | On this 29th anniversary of the Max Headroom Pirating Incident: we await yet another giant masterpiece for all the greatest world newspaper nerds to spread the message of fading love and who's better than Chuck Swirsky...
OMC XVI jonrev 2016-08-11 | Johnson Outboards (OMC Plant #1) - July 2016, a week before asbestos abatement began. Parts of this facility date to 1928; it is now in demo.Song is "Dick Jones" by Local H. They're touring, support them...www.jonrev.comfacebook.com/jonrevJRP
Gary Sheraton rooftop jonrev 2014-10-12 | A mild breeze? Let me play you the song of my people.......A now-extinct view of downtown Gary, IN; from arguably the city's biggest eyesore. Opened as a Holiday Inn in 1968, and already dead by 1972; it was revived in 1978 as the Sheraton, but tanked again - ceasing reservations in the early 80s while leaving the bar/restaurant open (funded by the city of Gary) until 1985. It was never occupied again, and is now (finally) in demo.
Max Headroom Urbex Incident jonrev 2014-10-03 | I found a Max Headroom mask. Then did stuff..."...your love is faaading!!"
Randhurst Mall Closing Day 9/30/2008 jonrev 2014-04-29 | From the archives: roaming the mostly-empty shell of the original Randhurst Mall in Mount Prospect, IL on its final day of business. I met some strange people that night - but thank you again to the guy who had extra batteries in his car! As a heads up: I filmed this with a point/shoot camera back before I really did any half-serious video work; don't watch if you're prone to seizures or anything, it's really shaky.The Randhurst Center (named after its location at the intersections of Rand and Elmhurst Roads) was one of the first regional shopping malls to land in the northern Chicago suburbs, opening in 1962. Its original anchor stores were Montgomery Ward (operating under "The Fair", a chain purchased by Wards in the late-50s, and converted to the MW name only a few years later), and local chains Carson Pirie Scott & Company, and Wieboldt's. A masterpiece of architect Victor Gruen, it fared well in its first three decades of operation before succumbing to drastically-changing retail trends of the 21st century, plus fierce competition from Woodfield and other area malls. By 2008 the mall had been significantly modified from its original design, and was mostly-empty except for its anchor stores - now Carson's (in the ex-Wieboldt's building), Costco (on the site of the original Carson's, which was later occupied by JCPenney and demolished in the 2000s), and Bed Bath & Beyond occupying part of what was once a Joseph Spiess department store (added in the 1980s). Montgomery Ward closed amid the chain's bankruptcy and was later mostly-demolished for a "promenade entrance" that never amounted to anything beyond a short-lived Applebee's. The central mall area was closed on September 29, 2008, demolished the following year, and redeveloped into an outdoor lifestyle center known as Randhurst Village - retaining only the anchors of the original mall. Carson's at Randhurst Village is the only original 1962-built structure remaining, however as of 2019 it has closed with the bankruptcy of The Bon-Ton Stores.
Dixie Square Mall Demolition 4/30/12 jonrev 2014-01-11 | Taking one final look at the carcass of Dixie Square Mall on a rainy, miserable spring day. By this point, all that stood was the naked, iron skeleton of JCPenney, which was finished off just a month or so later. I drove around the site a bit before the rain stopped, and went about my business on the ladder, afterward. A friendly security guard let me briefly walk around near 151st, by the loading ramps toward the end, to achieve some of the angles for this vid. If he sees this, thanks!I drove by the site early last year... it's like it never existed.Today, January 11, 2014 marks the 5th anniversary of my first visit to Dixie Square - and now puts my entire video archive from the mall online. Thank you to everyone who followed me through this crazy place! More fun stuff is yet to come... "like" the Facebook page for future updates.
Dixie Square Mall Demolition 3/19/2012 jonrev 2013-12-18 | The ultimate "Going Out Of Business Sale" continues at the former Blues Brothers mall! At this point, all that stands is Penneys, Jewel, part of Walgreens, and the concourse for blocks B and C. TurnStyle, City Life, and the Wonderfalls are nothing but an afterthought.I took a ladder again, and literally just plugged my tripod center stalk into the tops of the fence posts - made for incredibly steady footage! The only action going on was the demo of the Walgreens stockroom.
Dixie Square Mall Demolition 2/18/2012 jonrev 2013-11-29 | Happy Black Friday? Stay home and let's watch a different breed of shoppers destroy a mall...Demolition of Dixie Square began about a month prior to shooting this - by the time I got here, almost the entire 1970 expansion had been completely wiped out. This perimeter-walkaround went almost without a hitch (I actually ran into a Flickr contact by-chance and let him warm-up in my car), however in the end I was sadly reminded of how economically depressed Harvey is when a man from a block or so over approached me and started begging for a job. I had brought a step ladder to see over the fence with the cameras, and at the time I happened to be positioned next to a sign for the demolition contractor; who he thought I was taking pictures for. I politely kept informing him I wasn't working for the demolition company and told him about the sign at the 6:10 mark, but he refused to walk over there without me. I didn't want to leave, or let him in my car for safety concerns (I was shooting across the street from Cooper Park and the security booth was by Penneys Auto Center; a 5 minute walk), so I finally bailed after he walked away.
Dixie Square Mall 11/26/2011 jonrev 2013-10-16 | The 10th and final run through Dixie Square was an odd sort of "therapy" after working a 1-10AM Black Friday shift at Macy's the day before. It proved to be Dixie's last Christmas season, as demolition got underway with the arrival of 2012.The day started by getting onto Dixie Highway from Sibley, and immediately U-turning to chase a rogue Pontiac Fiero I saw (you'll understand why in the last few mins of the video) - he got away, but actually led me to a second Fiero parked a bit north, behind a storage place's fence. On return to the mall, I had the entire place to myself for the next several hours on a fittingly-depressing cold and overcast day. Unlike previous visits, which mostly focused on documentation, I went with a more artistic approach - lighting up some of the darkest areas of the mall, highlighting some excellent graffiti, and capturing the overall vibe of the place one last time, as I didn't know when I'd be back - little did I know this would truly be the end.
Dixie Square Mall 6/26/2011 jonrev 2013-09-13 | This video is from the 9th visit, and it is a bit of an oddity. Despite its short length, it is the only footage I recorded using my Nikon D3100 - some of the exposures may be off, but it's true high definition! Most of it is never before seen footage meant for the aborted "Blues Brothers then and now" video. I got the camera angles as close as possible to the movie, so you should be able to pause this video alongside stills from the movie and compare the 1979 view to then.
Dixie Square Mall 10/16/2010 jonrev 2013-08-28 | Raw, unedited footage from the eighth visit to Dixie Square Mall -- one of the longest and most-detailed shoots. Bravo if you actually watch the whole thing, sleep-deprived narrations and all...The day started by getting busted parking my car on the site of Woolworth, thanks to a Harvey cop sitting and bullshitting with the fire department on the southwest end of the parking lot. After getting frisked and showing him the camera, we went about our business without a second thought.Later I met up with fellow photog Brian Ulrich, and his assistant, and we raided the stash of documents above the crappers in City Life - the only surviving area of the old mall offices.A couple of weeks prior, I put up a request for questions, which I would answer on-location. In the process of answering them, I filmed a total walkthrough of the mall, and a second one highlighting storefronts seen in The Blues Brothers. Some of the questions I answered on-camera in Walgreens.Finally we finished by driving my Fiero into the mall for a quick photo shoot. I didn't want to risk a flat, and it was late in the day, so I didn't really move it beyond the center court.Oh, and apologies to the legit graffiti writers I took shots at - my thoughts on graff have changed significantly since this was filmed.
Dixie Square Mall 8/22/10 jonrev 2013-07-29 | Welcome to probably my most-embarrassing video... after the 7 minute mark, this sucks. Don't ever film your first "solo" exploration, even if it's at a place you know your way around like you live there.This trip kind of came on the fly; the Paw Filmworks guys were going for their last visit to the mall, so I tagged along. After they left, I stuck-around to try another walkthrough that got botched by dogs in Penneys, and fear of what you can say turned out to be my own shadow. Ugh.
Dixie Square Mall 7/18/10 jonrev 2013-06-24 | Another month, another slaphappy teenage narration of an abandoned and severely derelict mall.Other than some new roof collapse and things that had been freshly-looted, there wasn't really anything new to check out on this trip. The 6th venture into Dixie Square was just the start of a long and ridiculously hot summer day of exploration; from here we went on to hit a few spots in downtown Gary.
Dixie Square Mall 2/28/10 jonrev 2013-05-14 | Under the belief that the mall's demolition was in the immediate future, we rushed back to the mall to conduct a final shoot; and a looting mission. Despite the foot or two of snow, the place proved to be quite busy throughout the day; having crossed paths with two other flickr members during the visit (one by-invite, the other by-surprise).I didn't try a "guided tour" this time as most of this trip was spent photographing each storefront; one exterior and a few or so inside. For video I mostly just shot interesting angles and unseen parts of the mall. We did get lost in the Penneys offices on the second floor, again - but with better lighting, this time.After packing-up cameras and such, we relocated the Thom McAn sign from the stock room in Burt's Shoes to the loading docks of Turn Style. The dock door, amazingly, still functioned like new, and made it easy to run the letters through the deep snow to our van. Unfortunately I didn't shoot video of that.
Dixie Square Mall 1/2/2010 jonrev 2013-04-28 | Yet another try at a "tour of le mall"... this time in frigid temps with the entire floor iced-over. Looking back, I don't care much for some of my on-the-fly narration (like I was gonna rehearse anything, OTOH), and laziness in that I didn't get some of the deeper nooks and crannies on film. I guess that's why the original uploads were, ultimately, in "music video" form.If vulgar language offends you, you've come to the wrong channel...
Dixie Square Mall 8/23/2009 jonrev 2013-03-17 | On the third visit we break-in a brand new camcorder, and you get to hear why I would always dub music over my semi-coherent ramblings and narratives. I'm repetitive as shit.Onto the video...It was a warm, sunny, summer afternoon; my friend and I had just come from a car show in Yorkville, which is far-enough south that Dixie was just a slide over to the east. This visit was kind of spontaneous and we had no agenda other than just being there. I'm pretty sure this was an unfinished attempt at a tour of the mall; we never did make it to Jewel/City Life. Sorry about the Thom McAn charade, also... at the time it was still in the mall, and we would not gone back for recovery until another two visits later.I also forgot to unload these from the camcorder in widescreen format. Oops...
Dixie Square Mall 3/14/2009 jonrev 2013-02-09 | Raw footage dump from my second excursion through Dixie Square Mall; Harvey, IL. A bit warmer than the first trip, but still very icy and a good twenty degrees cooler. The sun made for some fantastic light ray photos unlike anything I have ever seen before... and since.It was also this trip in which the Thom McAn sign was removed and stashed in Burt's Shoes for later rescue. We found a ladder in Penneys on the previous trip and brought tools to go at it a second round (attempts to pry it off with 2x4's were unsuccessful, last time). Unfortunately, I only shot video of the aftermath.This footage, and the first upload, comprised the two "unused footage" videos. It was the last time I used the digicam's video function (for obvious reasons).Oh, and don't mind the random telemarketer call that shows up early in this...PHOTOS:http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonrev/sets/72157615203566309
Dixie Square Mall 1/11/2009 jonrev 2013-01-11 | THANKS FOR 1,000 SUBSCRIBERS!All 30 or so minutes of footage from the very first Dixie Square Mall visit, which took place four years ago today! It was cold, snowy, icy inside, and all this was shot on a point-and-shoot camera in video mode; but it was all an experience I will never forget! I also consider this the beginning of my photography gig; it was the first time I had used a camera with manual features.PHOTOS:http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonrev/sets/72157612420818525All footage from the second visit will be dumped next month. I'm going this route in place of the "Blues Brothers side-by-side" video that's been in developmental and production hell for years. YouTube also pulled the original "Abandoned Paradise" video long-ago due to Pink Floyd music, so I wanted to finally get this stuff back online.
DIXIE SQUARE - Lost Footage circa 2004 jonrev 2012-01-31 | Old Dixie Square video I've had on various computers since early 2005. I do not know much about it other than the name of the person who filmed this was "Eddie" (thanks Chuck and Paul), and it appears to be from mid-late 2004. If the OP sees this and can provide some insight, or wishes this video be removed, please let me know.This video provides rare footage from inside the now-demolished Montgomery Ward, Block A entrance, and Woolworth still freshly-ravaged by fire. This was before any sort of demolition work took place inside.The mall, abandoned since 1979, is only now starting to come down (again).
This places got everything... jonrev 2012-01-02 | I don't believe it, it's that shitbox Pontiac again!
Q101 - Paul the Perv jonrev 2011-07-19 | Paul the Perv was a character on the Sherman & Tingle morning show in the final years of Q101 on WKQX-FM, Chicago. He'd read traffic reports and end his segment by sharing some insane kink or fantasy. This is a compilation of those sign-offs, snagged from the old Q101 website before they went off the air in 2011. Thanks for nothing, Randy Michaels.
DIXIE SQUARE MALL Alone jonrev 2009-04-24 | Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, Illinois... famously destroyed in The Blues Brothers and left to rot over the last 30 years.Filmed 1/11/09 and 3/14/09.Music: "Everybody's Alone" -- Neil Young#TheDeadMallsOfDiscord
Space Shuttle America jonrev 2008-05-03 | Space Shuttle America was a motion simulator ride at Six Flags Great America which operated from 1994-2007. Set in a future where NASA Space Shuttles ferry passengers to the Moon base, Armstrong City; you're diverted to investigate and destroy an asteroid on an impact course for Earth. The film was produced by special effects house, Dream Quest Images, who would later go on to work on the 1998 film, "Armageddon" following similar plot lines.The bench seating gave a pretty lame ride experience for motion sim standards - even for 1994 - but where Space Shuttle America really shined and warrants nostalgia was its production value and incredible attention to theming detail. Yes, this ride featured a 1:1 scale Space Shuttle orbiter parked outside, and while it was never actually capable of flight it's alleged that it was covered in real thermal tiles.I shot this during the 2006 season with a trash-quality Nikon point and shoot, and threw this together as a tribute following the demise of the ride. This was one of the first amusement rides I can remember, back in 1997 on my first visit to Six Flags, and it it remained a favorite to the end. The building and Shuttle replica were eventually demolished to make way for Hurricane Harbor waterpark expansion.
