Joliet, Illinois - 1981
Interior 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.Mall history: 1975 - 2006 (redeveloped)
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."
Current website: n/a
Current aerial view: n/a
Info from Wikipedia
Previous entries: none
Too bad this place is gone. Sounds like it would have been fun.
ReplyDeleteI remember the Jefferson mall, met a lot of girls there in my younger years, I hated to se it torn down
ReplyDeleteI'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.
ReplyDeleteJolietjake, did the girls get torn down as well?
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with you about the natural over upscale, Dean.
No the girls didn't get torn down but must got married and many are divorced...well yes they did get torn down.lol
ReplyDeleteIt was a great place. A lot of great memories there as I grew up. I miss it a lot.
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