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jonrev.com
[jonrevProjects]
@jonrev.com
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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
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
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
perch
Photograph. A floofy Eleanor on a white countertop
November 25, 2025 at 11:44 PM
jonrev.com
contrast (feat. Penny)
Photograph. A black cat on a gray checkered blanket. A gray tux on a black star-pattern blanket
November 25, 2025 at 11:41 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
jonrev.com
I finished a mounted Dixie Square Mall print last night. My printer may need service and to help with the expense these will be auctioned sometime soon.
Photograph. A Giclee photo print of Dixie Square Mall, an abandoned and since-demolished shopping center in Harvey, Illinois. Next to the print are various paperstuffs recovered from the mall's ruins. The items rest on a green cutting mat with white gridlines.
November 20, 2025 at 4:36 PM
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
Bozo visits a very packed Belvidere Mall - likely 1966.

Grand Gardens, under construction, is on a 1968 store list but I'm not sure of the opening date.
Photograph. An enclosed mall interior lined with stores and filled with people dressed in mid-century fashions, standing shoulder-to-shoulder to meet Bozo the Clown - a television icon in Chicago. Montgomery Wards is visible at the far end of the mall. Other stores visible are Kinney Shoes, Stuart's Fashions, Burton's Shoes, and Printer's Ink. Grand Gardens is under construction behind a temporary wall.
November 18, 2025 at 9:44 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
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
Part of Belvidere Mall's 60th Anniversary celebration!
Poster. Belvidere Mall Celebrates 60 YEARS Saturday, November 22nd [2025] [four vintage photographs of Belvidere Mall] 12PM-6PM RIBBON CUTTING • LIVE ENTERTAINMENT • FAMILY ACTIVITIES 2107 BELVIDERE RD, WAUKEGAN, IL 60085
November 16, 2025 at 5:57 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
Tore it down and gave the wood a quick refinishing, then cleaned and reassembled everything. Now after seeing it lit up, I kind of want to move it somewhere more prominent than our back door.
Photograph. A dirty, mid-century, four-lamp ceiling light with brass backing and angled glass sides resting upside-down on a workbench. Photograph. A dirty, mid-century, four-lamp ceiling light with wood trim and angled glass sides resting on a workbench. Wires sticking up the top.
November 15, 2025 at 10:36 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 operated from 1991-2017, never really seeing prosperity in an oversaturated retail market. Currently it still stands in mothballs, locked down tight with full-time security on site, while developers and the city of St. Charles play charades figuring out what to do with it.
Photograph. POV is looking through the glass entrance to a dead and partially-abandoned shopping center from a Carson Pirie Scott department store - their store hours sticker seen in reverse. A crude paper sign taped to the glass reads "Due to Mall construction, Carsons will no longer have entrance to and from the mall. Photograph. A glass skylight with semicircular latticework and brass accents. It's a partly-cloudy day beyond the glass ceiling. Photograph. A dead shopping mall's upper level food court, a glass ceiling hangs overhead extending full-length of the concourse. The mall reflects early-1990s tastes with green and light tan paint, brass accents, and tiled floors colored in pinks and grays. A dumpster cart is abandoned in the concourse, a few tables and chairs beyond which. Two gawkers are seen taking pictures to the left. In the far distance an American flag with an elevator structure, and Von Maur department store entrance at the end.
November 14, 2025 at 8:25 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
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
It's the place to "B"...
Poster. Belvidere Mall Celebrates 60 YEARS Saturday, November 22nd [2025] [four vintage photographs of Belvidere Mall] 12PM-6PM RIBBON CUTTING • LIVE ENTERTAINMENT • FAMILY ACTIVITIES 2107 BELVIDERE RD, WAUKEGAN, IL 60085 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 Poster. the jonrev projects observer of obsolescence [several dead mall photographs by jonrev] AT BELVIDERE MALL "Belvidere Cinema Gallery" inside the mall 2145 Belvidere St. (IL-120) Waukegan, Illinois JONREV.COM FOR SHOWTIMES Photography exhibits about: places of memories, lost history, dead malls, liminal spaces, urban exploration, night lurkings & other crimes of knowledge
November 11, 2025 at 8:56 PM
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
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