Gary Nelson "Gary's World" Published Sept. 2, 2005

A forgotten part of 'The Blues Brothers'

It's hard for me to believe that it's been 25 years since the release of "The Blues Brothers," the comedy movie that was based on a "Saturday Night Live" skit that John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd developed in the early '70s. The movie has become a legendary classic that was filmed in Chicago.

It is packed full of soul and blues music, comedy, sarcasm, dancing and stunts. It was directed by John Landis.

The movie starred John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as music-loving brothers who find themselves "on a mission from God," trying to raise funds to pay back taxes on the orphanage in which they were raised.

Not only was the cult classic movie a smash hit in the summer of 1980, it affected music trends, the then almost non-existent filming industry in Chicago and the movie highlighted musical legends such as John Lee Hooker, Cab Calloway, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles.

Believe me, in the late '70s and early '80s disco-saturated pop music era, not too many people were listening to blues and soul music - especially in the Chicago area. As a 16-year-old growing up in the Chicago area, the revival of this type of music was quite refreshing.

As a teen in my errant, mispent youth, seeing this movie that was chock-full of sarcasm, speeding cars, car chases and crashes and my two favorite "Saturday Night Live" not ready for prime time players was just what the doctor ordered.

Just about any teen at the time would agree that the "Blues Brothers" was THE movie to see. Since the movie has been launched into the lexicon it has become, seldom do I ever get to see the original, uncut version.

We have an entire generation living among us who has never seen the original, uncut version. All they have seen is the edited for TV version. Not that I'm on a quest to expose people to unruly behavior and foul language, it's just that the original, uncensored version adds a grit and sincerity to the movie that most younger people have never seen.

To mark the film's 25th anniversary, Universal Studios Home Entertainment is releasing a DVD, including an extended director's cut and a documentary explaining how the band was assembled. I can't wait to see it!

Although John Belushi died in 1982, Dan Aykroyd's connections to the blues remain strong. He starred in a Landis-directed sequel, "Blues Brothers 2000," is a founding director of the House of Blues chain, hosts a weekly syndicated blues radio show, and still occasionally plays live shows as Elwood Blues, partnered now with Jim Belushi, John's younger brother.

All this has even made the movie a much bigger, celebrated piece of work. However, there is one aspect or casualty from the movie that most fans or viewers do not know.

The shopping mall that was used as a movie set to film the infamous chase scene remains to this day, abandonded and standing in ruins.

The Dixie Square Mall on Dixie Hwy. in Harvey, IL, a south suburb of Chicago, was one of the first enclosed shopping malls in the country. It opened in 1966 and for the first few years it was an economic success bringing in millions of dollars into a sagging economy. I grew up about 20 miles from that mall.

I can remember actually going to that mall as a child and shopping with my father on a few occasions. Due to rising crime rates in the area and a gradual decline of tenants and newer shopping malls, Dixie Square closed in 1978. Due to thefts and other losses and losses of tenants, the owners of the mall could not make up the revenue to pay the back taxes that were due and it closed.

The mall was then given to the Harvey, IL school district providing it pay the $800,000 in delinquent taxes. The school system used the mall as a temporary school for one year while building a new school.

In 1979 the mall was leased to Universal Pictures for Landis' film "The Blues Brothers."

A deal was made with retail companies and the mall was refurbished enough to the point to make it look like an open and operating, active shopping mall. A deal was also made between the school district and Universal Pictures that the mall was to be returned to its original condition after filming.

As a result of the mall chase scene in the "Blues Brothers," the school district reported that nearly $100,000 in structural damage was done to the facility and was never replaced or repaired. The school district filed a lawsuit and I believe it was eventually settled out of court.

Since 1981 the Dixie Square Mall has sat empty and gradually declining. Vandals and thieves have smashed out all windows and stolen fixtures and anything of value inside the facility that was once heralded as the "Crown Jewel" of the Chicago suburbs.

Over the past 20 years, there have been numerous fires in the facilty and it has become infested with rats and other varments. Off and on various developers have shown interest in the property, but nothing has evolved. To this day, the mall stands in ruins, overgrown with weeds and decay from neglect. It is often a part of the "Blues Brothers" saga that is overlooked.

To the officials with the city of Harvey, IL, the "Blues Brothers" may be a celebrated classic, but it brings up bitter memories of the past that the citizens are faced to look at every day.

An independent film producer is currently filming a documentary movie about the Dixie Square Mall and it is scheduled to be released in 2006. There is also a Web site with pictures of the ruins and the mall's history at www.dixiesquare.com.

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Gary Nelson is a Chronicle staffwriter. His column appears periodically in the Crossville Chronicle. He can be reached by e-mail at gnelson@crossville-chronicle.com.