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jonrev.com
[jonrevProjects]
@jonrev.com
680 followers 110 following 1.6K posts
Observer of obsolescence.
Photographer & printmaker on Lake Wazzapamani.
Musings about retail/design/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
Reposted by [jonrevProjects]
jjvincent.bsky.social
another robot highlight for 2025: man wearing humanoid mocap suit kicks himself in the balls
December 27, 2025 at 5:27 PM
jonrev.com
Lexington, North Carolina (August 2025)
Photograph. Pulled pork smoked and served Lexington-style on a paper tray. Two cups of red dip (sweet and spicy) to the sides. Photograph. jonrev's white Pontiac Fiero at night, lighted sign behind reads "Lexington Barbecue".
December 26, 2025 at 6:13 PM
jonrev.com
From my video collection rescued from the ruins of Northridge Mall: here's B-roll footage of its identical, elder sister - Southridge - at Christmastime in 1990.
Christmas at Southridge Mall (1990)
YouTube video by jonreVHS
www.youtube.com
December 25, 2025 at 5:46 AM
Reposted by [jonrevProjects]
aoife.bsky.social
yellow line
skokie, illinois
photo of the inside of a cta train with a blur of lights outside
December 23, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Reposted by [jonrevProjects]
jonrev.com
I've always loved this concrete building at 326 S. Milwaukee Ave. Libertyville, but don't know any history beyond its construction in 1985. It's currently vacant after housing a bicycle shop for years.
Photograph. Corner of a white, concrete, trapezoidal building at night. Interior is illuminated but empty. Streetlight in the background. Tree shadows against the building. Photograph. Circular entry to a white, trapezoidal building at night. Entryway and interior are illuminated. Concrete stairs lead to the entrance. Monument sign in the lawn. Streetlight in the background. Photograph. South elevation, a white trapezoidal building with a circular entrance right of center, at night. Roofline of an older home peeks from behind. A large lawn in front. Building is illuminated inside but empty. Streetlight to the left.
December 23, 2025 at 4:59 AM
jonrev.com
Pickleball Kingdom has opened in Waukegan's long-abandoned, former Child World store. Thus removes the last piece of post-retail blight from the area which was once home to Lakehurst Mall.
December 23, 2025 at 3:19 PM
jonrev.com
I've always loved this concrete building at 326 S. Milwaukee Ave. Libertyville, but don't know any history beyond its construction in 1985. It's currently vacant after housing a bicycle shop for years.
Photograph. Corner of a white, concrete, trapezoidal building at night. Interior is illuminated but empty. Streetlight in the background. Tree shadows against the building. Photograph. Circular entry to a white, trapezoidal building at night. Entryway and interior are illuminated. Concrete stairs lead to the entrance. Monument sign in the lawn. Streetlight in the background. Photograph. South elevation, a white trapezoidal building with a circular entrance right of center, at night. Roofline of an older home peeks from behind. A large lawn in front. Building is illuminated inside but empty. Streetlight to the left.
December 23, 2025 at 4:59 AM
jonrev.com
Circa December 1965: Dixie Square Mall under construction, with Montgomery Ward in seasonal garb. Harvey, Illinois.

Three-photograph composite stitched from a severely water-damaged cache found in the mall's ruins in 2010.
Panoramic composite photograph created from three separate photo prints. A shopping center is under construction at the end of a freshly-paved parking lot with cars of the era scattered about. An open Montgomery Ward store at the farthest end, right of center. The nearest building under construction - left of center - will become Jewel Foods. The vacant lot on the far left is the future site of JCPenney.
December 22, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Reposted by [jonrevProjects]
sirpaintalot.bsky.social
Sick to death of people claiming Die Hard isn’t a movie. There are several clues that it definitely is:

It’s 130 minutes long and full of actors

It has a beginning a middle and an end

It has a soundtrack

The aspect ratio is consistent of other movies of the era
December 22, 2025 at 8:37 AM
jonrev.com
Savage garden

Pennrose Mall - Reidsville, North Carolina
#deadmalls #mall #retail #NC #photography
Photograph. A greenhouse glass fixture surrounded by red brick inside a shopping mall. Colorful floral displays inside the greenhouse. Concrete floors. Heating vents and dead fluorescent lights, above. Photograph. A Roses department store anchors an empty mall concourse. Kiddie rides and vending machines to the right. Product displayed in front of Roses. Photograph. Three fake trees grow from in-ground planters inside a dead shopping mall; dirty glass window overlooks the empty parking lot. Many ceiling tiles overhead have fallen. Yellow caution tape and a fallen 'wet floor' sign cordons off the area.
December 18, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Reposted by [jonrevProjects]
jonrev.com
Golf Mill Professional Building by Edo Belli (1962)

Golf Mill Shopping Center - Niles, Illinois
#deadmalls #architecture #illinois #filmphotography #photography
Photograph of a cylindrical white office building rising from the base of a brown-brick shopping center flanked by tall trees. Perspective is viewed from the shopping mall's parking lot. Red letter signage on the top reads the beginning and end of "GOLF MILL" Photograph taken within a shopping center, looking up through a ceiling skylight at an attached cylindrical office building rising toward the sky. Photograph of a JCPenney department store exterior with a white cylindrical office building poking over its roofline -- the top of which reads "GOLF MILL" in red letter signage. The perspective is from the JCPenney parking lot.
April 4, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Reposted by [jonrevProjects]
jonrev.com
Make life take the lemons back!

Pennrose Mall - Reidsville, North Carolina
#deadmalls #mall #retail #NC #photography
Photograph. A vacant storefront for Lemons Jewelry in a dead mall. Gate is closed and an assortment of store fixtures are piled in the space. Concrete floors.
December 17, 2025 at 6:35 AM
jonrev.com
Make life take the lemons back!

Pennrose Mall - Reidsville, North Carolina
#deadmalls #mall #retail #NC #photography
Photograph. A vacant storefront for Lemons Jewelry in a dead mall. Gate is closed and an assortment of store fixtures are piled in the space. Concrete floors.
December 17, 2025 at 6:35 AM
jonrev.com
PSA this is your last week to catch "Seasons of Shopping: Waukegan’s Holiday Traditions" at the Carnegie in downtown Waukegan.
jonrev.com [jonrevProjects] @jonrev.com · Nov 26
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.
December 16, 2025 at 6:20 PM
jonrev.com
This clown, again.

PSA: don't steal my content. Don't monetize my content. And definitely don't steal and monetize my content to backdrop blatant lies.
Screenshot from YouTube. Video titled "Disturbing Things Found Inside Abandoned Shopping Malls" by the user MostAmazingTop10. Timestamp 4:34 shows a stolen and monetized b&w image of Dixie Square Mall filmed by jonrev.
December 15, 2025 at 6:10 PM
jonrev.com
Still got work to do but the place dresses nice for the Holidays
Photograph. Belvidere Cinema Gallery from its mall entrance. White-facade with four poster frames. Entrance on right. Garland and candy canes hang from the front. Photograph. Belvidere Cinema Gallery lobby, decorated for Christmas with lights garland and silver trees in a mid-century style. Photograph. Belvidere Cinema Gallery lobby, decorated for Christmas with lights garland and silver trees in a mid-century style. Photograph. Belvidere Cinema Gallery lobby, decorated for Christmas with lights garland and silver trees in a mid-century style.
December 15, 2025 at 12:47 AM
jonrev.com
Hawthorn Center in Vernon Hills - my childhood mall - has two employees who have worked for the center since the 1970s: Gerald - security, and George - chief engineer.

This past week both were kind to loan me their photo collections, which I am wrapping up digitizing and color correcting.
Photograph. 1970s view of Hawthorn Center's central fountain, an illuminated jet that shoots two stories, surrounded by white fencing, globe lighting clusters, and fiberglass planters. Shops line the enclosed mall on both floors; including Florsheim Shoes, Rogers Jewelers, and Hallmark Cards. Directional signage is visible in the foreground. Photo by Gerald Niskanen Photograph. 1970s view of Hawthorn Center, an enclosed mall, with shops lining a brick and terrazzo-floored concourse. Live trees and flowers grow in gardens down the concourse. An escalator in the distance. Photo by Gerald Niskanen Photograph. Santa Claus poses with children at Hawthorn Center, circa-1978. Retail shops visible in the background include So-Fro Fabrics, The Wild Pair, and Jeans West. Animated figures in a large dollhouse, to the right. Photo by George Barth
December 12, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Reposted by [jonrevProjects]
jonrev.com
The printer at work is old as shit and I wish I had stronger Sharpie skills, but here's a Fiero ornament I finished
Photograph. A 3d printed ornament. A white Pontiac Fiero matching jonrev's Fiero irl hauling a Christmas tree on the rear. It's hanging from a paperclip against a white wall. Photograph. A 3d printed ornament. A white Pontiac Fiero matching jonrev's Fiero irl hauling a Christmas tree on the rear. It's hanging from a paperclip against a white wall.
December 10, 2025 at 5:40 PM
jonrev.com
"Hoo-ray for Santy Claus!" Coming up Sunday, December 21st: it's a very campy Christmas at Belvidere Cinema Gallery!

"Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" (1964, NR)
FREE SCREENING @ 4:00 PM

Doors @ 1 PM for art exhibits. Secret show at 1:30!
Holiday Market and FREE pictures with Santa on the mall!
Poster. Belvidere Cinema Gallery presents FREE MOVIES [classic one sheet for "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" depicting various characters and promotional language for the movie] SECRET SHOW 1:30 PM Holiday special! "SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS the MARTIANS" DECEMBER 21 • 4:00 1964 • NR • 1 HOUR, 21 MINUTES LIMITED SEATING • B.Y.O.REFRESHMENTS SPONSORED BY • BELVIDERE DISCOUNT MALL BELVIDERE CINEMA GALLERY FOR COMING ATTRACTIONS [fb][ig] @BelvidereCinema #MallratMovieCult 2145 Belvidere Rd. • Waukegan, Illinois • Inside Belvidere Discount Mall Photograph. Interior view of the west end of the Belvidere Mall shopping center. The Cinema's entrance is shown. Children's coin-operated rides in the foreground. Photograph. An empty cinema auditorium with woodgrain-backed seating and ambient lighting. 1970s-vintage General Cinema "Coming Attractions" bumper on-screen.
December 11, 2025 at 6:38 AM
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harebrained.bsky.social
In our neck of Chicago, there exists an old Taco Bell that was bought by bankruptcy attorney Peter Francis Geraci. I was worried when he started building an addition, but I’m happy to say that he is preserving the integrity of the Mission Revival style of the old Taco Bell! #chicago
December 10, 2025 at 4:56 PM
jonrev.com
The printer at work is old as shit and I wish I had stronger Sharpie skills, but here's a Fiero ornament I finished
Photograph. A 3d printed ornament. A white Pontiac Fiero matching jonrev's Fiero irl hauling a Christmas tree on the rear. It's hanging from a paperclip against a white wall. Photograph. A 3d printed ornament. A white Pontiac Fiero matching jonrev's Fiero irl hauling a Christmas tree on the rear. It's hanging from a paperclip against a white wall.
December 10, 2025 at 5:40 PM
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retailpocalypse.bsky.social
I've often said, all we as New Yorkers gained from having Macy's fall into the hands of Federated, was that the name was kept on. Everything else went right down the drain and is a shallow farce of its former self. Macy's as it was, died in 94.
December 9, 2025 at 5:14 PM
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internethippo.bsky.social
I firmly believe that talking normally to strangers on the internet preserves *my* mental health. If I was on here yelling at people every day my brain would be mashed potatoes by now
December 9, 2025 at 5:42 AM
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stuartp.bsky.social
no idea
December 8, 2025 at 8:43 AM
jonrev.com
Macy's throwing nostalgia goggles on State Street nearly 20 years after then-CEO Terry Lundgren openly mocked Chicagoans pissed about the assimilation of Marshall Field's will never not be weird to me.
Photograph. A large three-story room housing The Walnut Room restaurant within Macy's flagship department store in Chicago. In 2025 the Great Tree is themed after Marshall Field's, the store which preceded Macy's in this space. Photograph. A large department store atrium with towering neoclassical columns rising over the sales floor. Shoppers pass under a Holiday display of green gift boxes and stylish mannequins. The carpet is green opposed to Macy's usual red - more nods to the Marshall Field's aesthetic. Photograph. Alternate angle of the atrium within Macy's flagship store in Chicago. The aforementioned Holiday display rises over the sales floor. Several floors of merchandise and apparel displays are seen beyond the handrails.
December 8, 2025 at 5:40 PM