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jonrev.com
[jonrevProjects]
@jonrev.com
670 followers 110 following 1.6K posts
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
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
jonrev.com
BCG is the last untouched, mid-century General Cinema theater in existence, debuting in 1966 and carved into fours through the decades. Officially closed since 2003, the mall allows us to run it as DIY space for art, music and movies -- our hope is to draw an angel investor who restores and opens it
Photograph. A mid-century theater lobby typical of General Cinema Corporation design, albeit with a gaudy paint and carpet job. It is a tall space with string lights strung from the surrounding frieze to colorful ceiling fans. A long concession stand spans the length of the space. Photograph. 35mm film projection equipment in a booth with red checkered carpet. Photograph. A smallish cinema auditorium with older, spring-reclining seats. Photograph. A smallish cinema auditorium with half its seats removed. Blue stage lighting covers the dark auditorium. The band, Astray We Bloom, performs for a small crowd - their visuals displayed on the cinema screen.
November 3, 2025 at 6:26 PM
jonrev.com
Festivities in the mall start at noon with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, family activities and live entertainment all day. Cinema exhibits all-day feature the Waukegan History Museum promoting an upcoming exhibit and a display of my photography.

2107-2145 Belvidere St. (IL-120) at Lewis Ave.
Poster Belvidere Cinema Gallery presents FREE MOVIES [poster for E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, the iconic image of Elliot and E.T. flying on a 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 [FB][IG] @BelvidereCinema #MallratMovieCult 2145 Belvidere Rd. • Waukegan, Illinois • Inside Belvidere Discount Mall Belvidere Mall Celebrates 60 YEARS Saturday, November 22nd 12PM - 6PM Ribbon Cutting • Live Entertainment • Family Activities 2107 Belvidere Rd, Waukegan, IL 60085
November 3, 2025 at 5:11 PM
jonrev.com
Join us in #Waukegan for a day of art, history and movies in support of small businesses on November 22nd, 2025 - Belvidere Cinema Gallery awakens from an 18-month hiatus as part of Belvidere Mall's 60-Year celebration!

Doors at noon.
Free screenings of "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" @ 1:00 & 4:30
Flyer in the style of a newspaper advert for General Cinema Theatres showtimes. Belvidere Cinema Gallery Waukegan's Finest D.I.Y. Arts & Entertainment 2145 Belvidere Street • Waukegan, IL INSIDE BELVIDERE DISCOUNT MALL "MOVIES AT THE MALL SINCE 1966" [promotional imagery for E.T. the Extra Terrestrial] FREE SCREENING NOVEMBER 22 1:00, 4:30 PM LIMITED SEATING B.Y.O. REFRESHMENTS (Light Refreshments Available) "CELEBRATING 60 YEARS OF BELVIDERE MALL" [logo for Waukegan Historical Society] [logo for the jonrev projects photography exhibit] SEE THE ART & HISTORY EXHIBITS IN OUR LOBBY • 12:00 - 7:00 PM "FOLLOW US FOR FUTURE SCREENINGS" [facebook][instagram] @belviderecinema Photograph. A mid-century cinema lobby with a concession stand and art gallery. Photography displays flank both sides of frame. Photograph. A building at night from a very low angle. An inward-curved roof with a glass wall entrance in the center -- signage reads "BELVIDERE DISCOUNT MALL". The centerpiece is flanked by retail space on each side, reflecting more 90s architecture with quarter-circle awnings made of corrugated steel.
November 3, 2025 at 5:11 PM
jonrev.com
Halloweencompacto
Photograph. A giant masterpiece for all the greatest world newspaper nerds. (jonrev in a Max Headroom Halloween mask like the one worn by the perpetrator of the 1987 Max Headroom pirating incident riding a Honda Motocompacto)
November 1, 2025 at 6:04 AM
jonrev.com
Less than 24 hours later... Marley Station is under threat of seizure and being sold in a sheriff's auction within 90 days to repay debt owed by Namdar Realty, well-known real estate ghouls. Letters were posted at the mall entrances this morning.
Photograph. Letter from Anne Arundel County Sheriff posted on the doors of Marley Station mall. Summarized: mall owners owe a debt and the mall is under threat of being seized and sold at auction by the sheriff's office within 90 days to repay the debt.
October 30, 2025 at 8:38 PM
jonrev.com
Earlier photos saw Curlicue by Chris Byars intact but on its side. The fate of Monad by Robert Perless is not known.
Photograph. A twisted red sculpture stands watch over natural plantlife in a dead, bilevel shopping mall. Photograph. A chrome shard of polished metal towers in the atrium of a dead shopping mall. No stores in frame are open, no shoppers are present. The only visible signage on any of the stores is Dandy Custom Tailor on the lower level, right of the sculpture.
October 30, 2025 at 2:36 PM
jonrev.com
Sad news this morning out of Lakeforest in Gaitherburg, Maryland. With internal demolition underway, a recent infiltration found at least two of the mall's public art installations destroyed among piles of scrap now filling the mall's concourses.

• Gap by Buky Schwartz
• Zipper by William Crovello
Photograph. A towering, slanted red beam with a break in the center, extends floor to ceiling in the concourse of a bilevel shopping center. The mall is dead, no stores are open. Two friends chat at a set of tables on the lower level. Polaroid photograph scan. A zig-zagged metal sculpture rises toward a ceiling with hexagonal-shaped skylights.
October 30, 2025 at 2:36 PM
jonrev.com
As days get shorter, I cannot stress enough to see this one at night while you can -- at the rate it's emptying out, it may not make it to the next winter.
Photograph. Detail view of a skylight overhead a mall atrium. The glass ceiling is broken by sections of metal roofing, and oversized trusses featuring illuminated pink neon triangle inserts.
October 29, 2025 at 5:05 PM
jonrev.com
"It's too bad she won't live. But then again, who does?"

Marley Station - Glen Burnie, Maryland
#deadmalls #mall #neon #MD #photography
Photograph. A dark atrium in a bilevel shopping center. A vacant department store anchors the end, no retailers are open in this frame. A pair of nonworking escalators with a central staircase to the right. An empty conversation pit, below. A large skylight overhead features oversized support trusses, accented by pink neon inserts. Blue hour outside.
October 29, 2025 at 5:05 PM
jonrev.com
Come sail away...

Marley Station -- Glen Burnie, Maryland
#deadmalls #mall #neon #photography
Photograph. A bilevel shopping mall's center court -- it has a postmodern pod elevator with the car on the upper level, and an amphitheater stage at its base. Most of the retail shops on both level are dark except for Finish Line. The ceiling features skylights and oversized trusses, which are accented by triangular-shaped blue neon designed tor resemble sailboats on the horizon. Solid-colored flags hang from the balcony. Photograph. Ceiling detail over the center court of a shopping mall. The ceiling features skylights and oversized trusses, which are accented by triangular-shaped blue neon designed tor resemble sailboats on the horizon. Warmer lighting accents the soffits, below. Photograph. An elevator in motion in the center court of a bilevel shopping mall. Perspective is low to the ground in the amphitheater which surrounds the elevator -- handrails rise on either side in the foreground.
October 28, 2025 at 7:32 PM
jonrev.com
"Bias Warp" by Ted Jonsson

Marley Station - Glen Burnie, Maryland
#deadmalls #mall #publicart #MD #photography
Photograph. A large, polished metal sculpture in a dead, enclosed shopping mall. The sculpture consists of four steel tubes -- two curved tubes wrapping around two straight tubes -- angled at 45-degrees. The sculpture is mounted to a black marble pedestal surrounded by terrazzo tiles. Empty retail storefronts are visible in the background.
October 27, 2025 at 2:36 PM
jonrev.com
If this flag offends you, I'll help you pack.

Marley Station - Glen Burnie, Maryland
#deadmalls #neon #MD #photography
Photograph. Three pairs of white and blue neon tubes against a brushed stainless steel panel. The neon is shaped as waves or a stylized letter "M".
October 27, 2025 at 5:23 AM
jonrev.com
Gone however is what remained of the original Child World facade, which resembled a toy castle in its prime (complete with turrets). Brick has been painted, arches removed, and windows filled-in.
Photograph. A brown brick commercial building originally built for Child World, a defunct toy store chain. There are three white arches surrounding windows with a central doorway serving as the store entrance. The building stands at the end of a crumbling parking lot under overcast skies. A single light pole looms overhead, left of center.
October 24, 2025 at 4:07 PM
jonrev.com
The long-abandoned Child World in Waukegan is being renovated after 30+ years of sporadic use since the chain went under in 1992. Pickleball Kingdom will open later this year

Waukegan was store #80, opening in 1981 on the ring road which once served Lakehurst Mall (1971-2001).

#retail #photography
Black and white photograph. Three semi-circular windows allow light into a dark big box retail store. The window shapes were a distinct architectural feature of Child World and Children's Palace, a defunct chain of toy stores whose storefronts were designed to resemble a castle. Water puddles on the concrete floor mirror the image.
October 24, 2025 at 3:39 PM
jonrev.com
Expect the worst, he always was a philistine.
"Developer Scraps Bonwit Sculptures" - New York Times June 6, 1980 (Robert D. McFadden)
October 24, 2025 at 3:32 AM
jonrev.com
Schfifty-five

Van's Camera - Canton, Ohio (2021)
#bleedingneon #neon #polaroid #fp100c #filmphotography #photography
Photograph. Scanned Fujifilm FP100C instant print (same as peel-apart Polaroid film). Neon sign in a retail storefront window reads "QUALITY 55 MINUTE PHOTOS" in red and white. Blur effect from the neon streaks across the entire frame -- created in-camera by physically pulling the film negative across the focal plane with the shutter still open.
October 23, 2025 at 2:13 PM
jonrev.com
The Jackson 5 never played here

Gary, Indiana (2018)
#abandoned #IN #mediumformat #filmphotography #photography
Photograph. A brick-faced building with terracotta features, boards covering windows painted to look like real windows. A theatre marquee juts outward, crowned with the letters "PALACE" above a blank marquee board. The structure is abandoned. • Polaroid 600SE • CineStill 800t
October 22, 2025 at 3:39 PM
jonrev.com
The toaster someone threw away... switches for the heating elements were just dirty.
Photograph. A 1970s General Electric 4-slice toaster styled in chrome and fake woodgrain.
October 22, 2025 at 6:06 AM
jonrev.com
Louie and Junior approve of my toaster repair
October 22, 2025 at 6:06 AM
jonrev.com
Belvidere Mall in Waukegan turns 60 next month. Once pulled back from death's door by the city's Spanish-speaking communities; it holds ground today hosting family-owned shops and services, events and cultural festivals. A 60th anniversary bash is slated for November 22nd.

#mall #IL #photography
Photograph. A building at night from a very low angle. An inward-curved roof with a glass wall entrance in the center -- signage reads "BELVIDERE DISCOUNT MALL". The centerpiece is flanked by retail space on each side, reflecting more 90s architecture with quarter-circle awnings made of corrugated steel. Photograph. A double-pylon sign at the entrance to a shopping center. It is capped at the top with a red block with a white "B" insignia. Sign panel below reads "Belvidere Mall Open 7 Days A Week ENTRANCE". A car show is happening in the distance. Photograph. A round clothing fixture stuffed with dresses. Two child-sized mannequins stand atop, dressed formal. A clothing shop is visible in the retail space, behind. Photograph. A group of pinatas in both traditional style and IP's on display in an enclosed mall concourse. Large frames and gift baskets are also seen to the right.
October 21, 2025 at 7:07 PM