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jonrev.com
[jonrevProjects]
@jonrev.com
680 followers 110 following 1.6K posts
Observer of obsolescence.
Photographer & printmaker on Lake Wazzapamani.
Infodumps about dead malls/esoteric history/things on wheels/whatever...

www.jonrev.com

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jonrev.com
[jonrevProjects] @jonrev.com · Sep 12
📍 the jonrev projects encompass 20+ years of exploring, digitally preserving and infodumping about dead malls, commercial architecture, abandoned buildings and other such places of memories.

•••

blog ➡️ jonrev.com
prints ➡️ ko-fi.com/jonrev/shop
photog ➡️ flickr.com/jonrev
more ➡️ jonrev.com/dir/
Photograph. A gray brick building looms through the windshield of a 1980s Pontiac Fiero at blue hour. Signage on the building reads "Carson Pirie Scott" - a defunct department store. North Riverside Park Mall North Riverside, Illinois Photograph. An empty bilevel shopping mall. A large, vacant food court is seen on the lower level. Stratford Square Bloomingdale, Illinois Photograph. An abandoned bilevel shopping mall reflecting 1970s contemporary tastes, featuring brutalist ceilings, wood and smoked glass accents, conversation pit seating flanked by (overgrown) gardens, and a large public art sculpture. Lakeside Mall Sterling Heights, Michigan Photograph. An abandoned Sears department store at twilight, the labelscar of the SEARS letters is visible on five concrete columns separated from a brick building, behind. Sears, Salem Mall Trotwood, Ohio
jonrev.com
My Lakehurst Mall artifacts and sign are currently on display at the Waukegan History Museum at the Carnegie, who is featuring an exhibit on the city's holiday shopping and traditions through December 20.
Photograph. A tall Christmas tree is the centerpiece of an exhibit gallery. A square sign with a white seagull against an illuminated, turquoise background - the insignia of Lakehurst Mall - sits in the corner. Photograph. Two mid-century gift boxes from the Globe Department Store are on display. Potted poinsetta flowers, to the right. Photograph. Two display boards featuring the malls of Waukegan, Illinois: Belvidere and Lakehurst. Photographs and other artifacts from the malls are displayed alongside information boards.
November 26, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Reposted by [jonrevProjects]
booksandbows.bsky.social
idk has AI stopped being largely used for revenge porn, justifying layoffs, content theft, and suicide inducement? if no, probably anyone who isn’t a sociopath should be against it.
mitsuhiko.at Armin Ronacher @mitsuhiko.at · 3d
Is this platform still massively against AI or has it moved more towards acceptance?
November 26, 2025 at 12:22 PM
jonrev.com
I don't know what retailers the Yorktown Center redevelopment hopes to attract, but watch your step in this one...
Photograph. A large wall mural depicting concept art for the redevelopment of Yorktown Center mall. It shows a green space with landscaping and the mall in the distance. Fake store names mark the building. Photograph. Closer view of a fake-labeled storefront on the aforementioned concept art. The store's name is "HH Home", using the H from H&M stores. It is eerily similar to the name of a notorious Chicago serial killer.
November 26, 2025 at 6:53 AM
jonrev.com
Jawa Sandcrawler in Naperville, IL
Photograph. A modern, glass office building with an outward-slanting facade resembling a Jawa Sandcrawler from Star Wars. Sign on the corner reads "CityGate Center"
November 26, 2025 at 1:29 AM
jonrev.com
After a 17-year lifespan (+/-), the longest I've used any electronic device: my first-gen iPod Touch is likely being retired. Battery only holds a charge for a few minutes.
November 25, 2025 at 4:02 PM
jonrev.com
American Signature, Inc. - owners of Value City Furniture - has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

www.furnituretoday.com/financial/am...

📷Golf Mill Shopping Center - Niles, Illinois (2020)
#deadmalls #retail #bankruptcy #mediumformat #photography
Photograph. A deserted mall concourse with brown tile, reflective ceilings, planter boxes, bench seating, street lighting, and other 1986-vintage aesthetics. A Value City Furniture store, formerly a mall entrance, occupies the entire block -- its gate is down. Rolleiflex K4B Automat Kodak Portra 400 shot at 800
November 24, 2025 at 6:53 PM
jonrev.com
After a long 20-month slumber... Belvidere Cinema came back with a bang Saturday with one of the crazy busiest events we've ever done. Around 180 in attendance for E.T. between two shows - first, nearly a full house - with guests visiting from Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan.
Long-exposure photograph. A small theater with a moderate-sized crowd watching "E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial". Perspective is above the theater seating, from the projection booth. Photograph. A 1960s-vintage General Cinema theater lobby. A table representing the Waukegan Historical Society is manned on left. Concession stand on right. Photography exhibit and historical items on display, in center. String lights hang overhead from a black ceiling. The lobby is calm between screenings. Photograph. A white storefront housing the Belvidere Cinema theater inside Belvidere Mall. Four poster frames hang from the facade, two with historical ads from the theater's opening in 1966; one for the mall's 60th anniversary event; and the last for a free screening of E.T. An entrance is directly right. Mallwalkers pass by the space.
November 24, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Reposted by [jonrevProjects]
junlper.beer
private equity buys a company and immediately starts torturing their employees and the money
November 20, 2025 at 1:48 AM
jonrev.com
Disco pants and haircuts
Photograph. A bunch of paper ephemera branded with the logo of the Dixie Square Mall shopping center in Harvey, Illinois. The mall was a filming location for The Blues Brothers.
November 20, 2025 at 2:31 PM
jonrev.com
Belvidere Mall opened 60 years ago today as the first enclosed shopping center in Lake County, Illinois. One of the very few malls to survive a near-death experience: today it remains a vibrant community hub with 38 shops, services and restaurants - nearly all locally-owned - still calling it home.
Black and white photograph. A tall sign reads "Belvidere Mall" with a marquee board below reading "38 FINE STORES FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE". Photograph. An enclosed shopping center at night as viewed from the end of a wet parking lot. Stores visible include Montgomery Ward, Walgreen's and Nedick's Restaurant. A curved entryway serves as the mall's main entrance. Photograph. An atrium in an enclosed shopping center with polished concrete floors. A long concourse extends from the atrium. Shops visible in the atrium include Cover Girl fashions, Richman Brothers, Walgreen's, Hickory Farms, Jody's Cotton Shop, Regal Shoes, Harper's and Fannie May Candies. View is from the entrance to Montgomery Ward.
November 18, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Reposted by [jonrevProjects]
dmercer.bsky.social
32nd Place, Bridgeport, Chicago
Part of a wall covered in posters saying such things as: Immigrants Welcome, Eat the Rich, Melt Ice, Fuck Ice, and No Human is Illegal.
November 17, 2025 at 10:01 PM
jonrev.com
The Curlicue sculpture at Lakeforest Mall (left) is confirmed destroyed.
jonrev.com [jonrevProjects] @jonrev.com · 28d
Earlier photos saw Curlicue by Chris Byars intact but on its side. The fate of Monad by Robert Perless is not known.
Photograph. A twisted red sculpture stands watch over natural plantlife in a dead, bilevel shopping mall. Photograph. A chrome shard of polished metal towers in the atrium of a dead shopping mall. No stores in frame are open, no shoppers are present. The only visible signage on any of the stores is Dandy Custom Tailor on the lower level, right of the sculpture.
November 18, 2025 at 2:04 PM
jonrev.com
My favorite thing about modern cars is the fact the entire dashboard (not just the gauge cluster) has become a video/touch screen yet when something's wrong the only information it shows you remains the half-inch orange graphic of an idiot light.
Graphic. An orange-colored shape resembling a car engine, typically found on a car's dashboard as a warning light.
November 17, 2025 at 8:42 PM
jonrev.com
This weekend's project finished much-needed lighting upgrades at Belvidere Cinema Gallery
November 17, 2025 at 4:00 PM
jonrev.com
Suzuki Sidekick in downtown Waukegan

#carspotting #weirdcarbs
Photograph. A white 1990s Suzuki Sidekick parked curbside at night. Dead leaves litter the sidewalk. Brick buildings in the background.
November 16, 2025 at 6:14 AM
jonrev.com
Next Saturday, November 22nd: E.T. comes home to a theatre near you...

Belvidere Cinema Gallery
West side of Belvidere Mall
2145 Belvidere St. (IL-120) Waukegan, IL

FREE SHOWS at 1:00 and 4:30pm
Limited seating available, B.Y.O.Refreshments
History & photography exhibits in the lobby open 12-7pm
Photograph. An older cinema auditorium with woodgrain-backed seats and string lighting on the far wall. The screen displays the logo of General Cinema Corporation, the theater's original operator during the 1960s through the 1980s, with the words "Coming Attractions" Poster Belvidere Cinema Gallery Presents FREE MOVIES [theatrical poster for E.T. - Elliott and E.T. flying on his bicycle across the moon] "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" November 22 • 1:00, 4:30 1982 • PG • 2 HOURS Limited Seating • B.Y.O.Refreshments Sponsored by: Belvidere Discount Mall BELVIDERE CINEMA GALLERY For coming attractions: [facebook][instagram] @BelvidereCinema #MallratMovieCult 2145 Belvidere Rd. Waukegan, Illinois • Inside Belvidere Discount Mall
November 16, 2025 at 5:57 AM
jonrev.com
Well, that was a good $15 find at ReStore...
Photograph. A mid-century, four-bulb ceiling light with a brass backing and angled glass sides creating an illusion of 16 bulbs.
November 15, 2025 at 10:36 AM
jonrev.com
Charlestowne Mall commission shipping tomorrow. 8x12's with mounting.
Photograph. Three giclee prints of of the shuttered Charlestowne Mall in St. Charles, Illinois. The two to the left are photos of the mall's exterior entrances. The third on the right is mall signage along North Avenue.
November 14, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Reposted by [jonrevProjects]
ladytophamcatt.bsky.social
Shop drawing of a terra cotta Schlitz belted globe insignia, likely destined to grace a tied house

📸 Northwestern Terra Cotta Collection, National Building Museum
Photo of a pen and ink shop drawing for a terra cotta Schlitz belted globe insignia. Schlitz's logo is exactly what it sounds like -- a globe wearing a belt. The belt says TRADE MARK on one side of the buckle and SCHLITZ on the other. An orange box stamped on the side of the page and filled in by hand tells us this was ordered by architect Lewis Lendle, working on behalf of Schlitz Brewing Co.
November 13, 2025 at 2:03 PM
jonrev.com
Northern lights over Waukegan Harbor, tonight
Photograph. A pair of lighthouses at the piers of Waukegan Harbor and Waukegan Beach on Lake Michigan in Waukegan, Illinois. The northern lights are visible in the sky.
November 13, 2025 at 6:26 AM
jonrev.com
Belvidere Mall's owners dropped a surprise truckload of unseen archive photos on us last week and now all my energy is directed toward readying the Cinema for November 22nd...
November 11, 2025 at 8:56 PM
jonrev.com
There's a kei van on my commute I keep trying to catch because I want to know how to register one of these against Illinois' bass-ackward 25-year import laws.
Photograph. A silver mid-1990s Honda Acty Street van in traffic, Illinois license plate digitally altered to protect the innocent. A Toyota Avalon ahead of the van. Sticker on the van reads "please be patient I am 9 years old"
November 5, 2025 at 3:02 PM
jonrev.com
ebay pushing AI item descriptions has made browsing vintage electronics absolute hell. Stop regurgitating the same sales pitch and tell me what's wrong with this VCR.
November 4, 2025 at 9:39 PM
jonrev.com
Deerbrook in headlights

Deerbrook Mall - Deerfield, Illinois (2017)
#deadmalls #abandoned #mall #retail #fountain #urbex #photography
Photograph. A large atrium in an enclosed shopping mall undergoing demolition prep - decorative features and trim have been stripped and piled in the center, the mall is being gutted. Fences and a pit that made up a water feature, in the foreground. Disheveled, flying saucer-shaped lighting features dangle from the ceiling, surrounding a series of skylights.
November 4, 2025 at 8:04 AM
jonrev.com
BCG is the last untouched, mid-century General Cinema theater in existence, debuting in 1966 and carved into fours through the decades. Officially closed since 2003, the mall allows us to run it as DIY space for art, music and movies -- our hope is to draw an angel investor who restores and opens it
Photograph. A mid-century theater lobby typical of General Cinema Corporation design, albeit with a gaudy paint and carpet job. It is a tall space with string lights strung from the surrounding frieze to colorful ceiling fans. A long concession stand spans the length of the space. Photograph. 35mm film projection equipment in a booth with red checkered carpet. Photograph. A smallish cinema auditorium with older, spring-reclining seats. Photograph. A smallish cinema auditorium with half its seats removed. Blue stage lighting covers the dark auditorium. The band, Astray We Bloom, performs for a small crowd - their visuals displayed on the cinema screen.
November 3, 2025 at 6:26 PM