Dixie Square Mall (Chicago, Harvey: high crime, income, roofing)

[blakduc]

I was just wondering, if any one who lives in harvey or use to live in harvey, wouldnt mind sharing what you would like to see happen ( wether built up or torn down) to the old dixie mall. I was thinking it would be a great place to initiate an urban center or a community health center, or a local market center ,etc. just some of my ideas, what are yours

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by blakduc

I was just wondering, if any one who lives in harvey or use to live in harvey, wouldnt mind sharing what you would like to see happen ( wether built up or torn down) to the old dixie mall. I was thinking it would be a great place to initiate an urban center or a community health center, or a local market center ,etc. just some of my ideas, what are yours

My recollections tell me that Dixie Square did have an urban life center added onto it back in the mid '70s and it was called "Turnstyle" I think. Then there was also a night club called "City Life" but thanks to all the gang bangers and thugs that would frequent the mall, mall owners said, "The hell with it" and closed the mall's doors in '78. So basically some of your ideas have been tried over there, but because of the high crime, they didn't work.

There is no hope for that mall anymore other than to completely demolish it and start from scratch at the very best. The mall has been exposed to the elements now for over 20 years, pipes have froze and burst, support beams have been soaked for years now and their integrity has been compromized, the concrete has mold and moss growing all over it and is crumbling away, and there are actually trees growing out of the roof in many parts of the mall, so there is no hope for the structure anymore. It will have to be demolished.

http://vintagemalls.com/images/malls...dir_inside.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AcUdTl7Aq-...+plan_1974.jpg

[Opkl]

I think the mall will just fall down before the city of Harvey can try to fix it up again. Like NYrules said, I don't think it could be reused in the future because of all the mold, ect. Chicagoland60432 (or something like that ) is from that area. Maybe he could tell us something.

[blakduc]

thank you guys for your much valued responses, i'm honestly after somthing that could be done to the mall that would benifit the communtiy, or activate community involvment, as well as generate income, and not to sound like a smart ass, but there are defintely parts of the mall that are still "structurally sound", regardless of the mold and tree's growing in there, take bridges for example, they take a lot off abuse from outdoor elements, as well as various dynamic forces acting upon them (trucks, cars, buses, rain, freeze-thaw effect, etc) yet people drive across them with out a second thought.

[Opkl]

I think the reason why your thread didn't get many posters is because you have it in the wrong forum. Ask a MOD to move it to the Chicago Suburbs.

[css9450]

Originally Posted by blakduc

...there are defintely parts of the mall that are still "structurally sound", regardless of the mold and tree's growing in there, take bridges for example, they take a lot off abuse from outdoor elements, as well as various dynamic forces acting upon them (trucks, cars, buses, rain, freeze-thaw effect, etc) yet people drive across them with out a second thought.

True, there may be some sections that could be saved; they could scrap the roofing and maybe save some of the steel columns if they aren't rusted too badly. Most of the exterior walls might be OK too. Generally, though, the metal roof decking is pretty much ruined, as well as the metal decking/concrete topping slab that makes up the second floor of JC Penney. I've been inside the mall twice, and each time we noticed many areas where the floor slabs are cracked, buckled, heaved or settled due to the underlying soils freezing and thawing. Had the building been left heated all these past 30 years, the floors would still probably be OK.

Originally Posted by NYrules

My recollections tell me that Dixie Square did have an urban life center added onto it back in the mid '70s and it was called "Turnstyle" I think.

Turnstyle was a department store, similar to K-Mart.