Sunday, April 08, 2007

Jefferson Square Mall


Joliet, Illinois - 1981

I
nterior view of the now defunct, Jefferson Square Mall, as it looked back in 1981, which is pretty snazzy, I must say! Here's a small snippet from the shopping center's entry over at Dead Malls, where you can read an excellent history of the place if you're interested in all the details (I mainly just like looking at pretty pictures myself, lol):
"Built in 1975 as the first enclosed mall in Joliet, Illinois, a city about 45 miles southwest of Chicago's Loop, Jefferson Square Mall boasted 65 stores, Walgreen's, Woolworth's, Wieboldt's, and Montgomery Ward. The mall was built such that the central court had four branches off it.

The central court was oriented such that the north and east wings branched off at the northeast end, and the south and west wings branched off at the southwest end. At the northeast end of the court was a bandshell with a water feature around it, and at the southwest end was a kiosk with four shops. Between was open space."
Mall history: 1975 - 2006 (redeveloped)
Current website: n/a
Current aerial view: n/a
Info from Wikipedia
Previous entries: none

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6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Too bad this place is gone. Sounds like it would have been fun.

Mon Apr 09, 10:25:00 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I remember the Jefferson mall, met a lot of girls there in my younger years, I hated to se it torn down

Tue Apr 10, 07:57:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'd love to see this one in color. Despite the single level and the flat ceiling, the designers did a lot to bring a dynamic quality to the place by introducing those angles in the storefronts, planters and ceiling. I really like the strip of "natural" plantings that many of these malls had from this period. I prefer it over the "urban" and "upscale" qualities that are emphasized today.

Tue Apr 10, 02:50:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jolietjake, did the girls get torn down as well?

Totally agree with you about the natural over upscale, Dean.

Wed Apr 11, 10:50:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

No the girls didn't get torn down but must got married and many are divorced...well yes they did get torn down.lol

Fri Feb 22, 01:41:00 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

It was a great place. A lot of great memories there as I grew up. I miss it a lot.

Sat Jun 29, 08:46:00 PM  

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