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jonrev.com
the jonrev projects
@jonrev.com
720 followers 110 following 1.7K 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
"Everybody remember, we're parked under the Sunsphere"

The voyage home - August 2025
Photograph. jonrev's Pontiac Fiero in Knoxville, Tennesee with the Sunsphere from the 1982 World's Fair towering in the background Photograph. A trailer carrying USPS Next Generation Delivery Vehicles mail trucks viewed from a moving vehicle Photograph. jonrev's Pontiac Fiero. Buc-ee's sign in the background. Sun is setting. Richmond, Kentucky.
January 12, 2026 at 8:46 AM
jonrev.com
Tail of the Dragon, August 2025
Photograph. Small sunflowers against a series of hills in the mountains of Tennessee, Photograph. jonrev's Pontiac Fiero Formula at the start of the Tail of the Dragon -- a large dragon sculpture with its tail coiled around a motorcycle in the background, covered in stickers. Photograph. jonrev's Pontiac Fiero Formula at a pull-off along US-129, a winding road in the background disappears into dense tree growth.
January 12, 2026 at 4:14 AM
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Marquee update.
ABOLISH ICE ♥️ NEXT SHOW TIMES FOLLOW US ON FB & IG @BELVIDERECINEMA OUR 60TH YEAR BELVIDERE CINEMA GALLERY LET'S CELEBRATE IT TOGETHER!
January 12, 2026 at 1:53 AM
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Cold reception

Signal Hill Mall - Statesville, North Carolina
#deadmalls #abandoned #retail #NC #photography
B&W photograph. jonrev's Pontiac Fiero in center, parked under a concrete arch structure facing a vast, empty parking lot. Trash cans on either side of the columns. B&W photograph. A tall concrete canopy structure marks the entrance to the former Signal Hill Mall. Overcast skies, above. Photograph. Interior of an enclosed shopping mall that has been gutted to the bare structure. Only dead planters, a fountain and directional signage to JCPenney remain as any indicators this was once a mall.
January 11, 2026 at 9:26 PM
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Pizza helpers (feat. Oliver)
January 11, 2026 at 12:07 AM
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It's 2026 and people on Flickr are still weird.
Screenshot. Email notification from Flickr. "pornismyvice69 (Lawrence McNair) is following you!". The dozenth or so instance from this individual.
January 10, 2026 at 10:50 PM
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Little more than a year since Hudson's Bay Co. - themselves heading toward liquidation - spun off its American assets to form Saks Global: bankruptcy is imminent for the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Off 5th and Horchow as luxury retail collapses.
Photograph. Atrium of an enclosed, bilevel luxury shopping center anchored at the far end by Saks Fifth Avenue department store. Luxury retailers line both sides of the mall. A fountain, seating, trees, and escalators down the middle. Glass skylight and exposed trusswork, overhead. Somerset Collection - Troy, Michigan Photograph. Marble wall warmly illuminated by a skylight out of frame -- also casting shadows across the wall. Signage for Neiman Marcus department store. Bench seat, below. Parkay wood floor. Northbrook Court - Northbrook, Illinois
January 9, 2026 at 4:57 PM
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The only other one on the list I've visited is Pittsburgh Mills -- a mall which never found success. Beyond a closeout warehouse in its old Sears Grand, Macy's is its last anchor and the mall is nearly-empty.

Both Marley Station and Pittsburgh Mills are victims of known slumlords, Namdar Realty.
Photograph. A series of upside-down tulip lamps hanging over an enclosed shopping mall's atrium. No stores are open. Photograph. An empty food court in an empty shopping mall. No eateries are open. Tables and chairs are sparsely scattered during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lighting is dim and architecture reflects post-Y2K tastes. Photograph. Cartoonish, flower-shaped structures loom overhead at the foot of a children's play area inside an empty shopping mall.
January 9, 2026 at 5:00 AM
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14 Macy's stores will close in the latest culling announced today that will definitely be the final nail in several malls' coffins.

📷 among those, Marley Station store - Glen Burnie, Maryland
#macys #retail #storeclosing #deadmalls #photography
Photograph. A Macy's store (former Hecht's) anchoring the dead Marley Station Mall; a spacious bilevel atrium with exposed trusses framed with neon accents. Escalators to the left (one broken) along with a vending machine.
January 9, 2026 at 4:07 AM
jonrev.com
Also of geographical note... Video Vendor, Inc. was a Chicago-based company.
Screenshot from (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxBdG3BvhdA) showing the display screen of a Video Vendor machine, listing the Video Vendor, Inc. company located in Chicago, Illinois. A finger points specifically to this line of text.
January 7, 2026 at 4:45 AM
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If you have the space, means and collection: a northern Texas warehouse full of proto-Redbox VHS vending machines from the mid-1980s is being evicted. The machines are free and whatever isn't taken will imminently be scrapped.

www.facebook.com/commerce/lis...
Photograph. A large woodgrain-lined cabinet designed to hold and vend videotapes. On the right is the CRT screen interface and cash/coin insert. Instructional and "VIDEO VENDOR" signage overhead.
January 7, 2026 at 4:38 AM
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Last December marked 12 years since Safeway finished running the 72-store Dominick's grocery chain into the ground and pulled the plug. While competitors acquired many of their stores (and Safeway, itself) in the dozen years since: this location in Buffalo Grove still stands in mothballs.
Photograph. A weathered vinyl cling promotes the Dominick's App for iPhone on a glass entry door to a vacant Dominick's supermarket. Reflection of jonrev from the neck-down in the glass. Photograph. Interior of a 12-year vacant Dominick's supermarket. Dirt on the tiled floor marks where checkouts and store fixtures once stood. The store is still lit and preserved since the closure of the brand in late-2013. Photograph. Brick building at the end of a salt and snow-covered parking lot on an overcast day. Former Dominick's supermarket in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
January 5, 2026 at 8:13 PM
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"hot! hot! hot!"

Polaroid 669 triple-exposure using some rescued Musicland neon
Photograph of a Polaroid 669-type picture against a gray/yellow grid surface, weighted by a metal lever. The picture is a triple-exposure of a lighted neon tube bent to read "hot!". Film is nearly 20-years expired causing the color shift. Photograph. The aforementioned Polaroid 669-type picture with the Polaroid 195 Land Camera used to take it. A DIY cable release is attached to the shutter release.
January 5, 2026 at 7:42 PM
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25 years ago today: Montgomery Ward throws in the towel, announces its final liquidation.

#retail #wards #electricave #IL #mediumformat #filmphotography #photography
Photograph. A brick building at the end of an empty parking lot. Red stripe signage underscoring the labelscar for Montgomery Ward signage. A metal awning over a double-door entry. Former Wards store in Southfield, Michigan - partially abandoned since 2001. Photograph. Abandoned pair of 18-wheeler trailers -- one branded as Electric Ave. at Montgomery Ward. Snow covers the ground. Trees and plant overgrowth surround the trailers. Dwight, Illinois.
December 28, 2025 at 10:28 PM
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I so very much wanted to visit this grocery store that's more/less stuck in the early half of the 20th century, but they're closed Sundays.
Photograph. Red brick building with white window frames. Retail storefront on the ground houses the Conrad & Hinkle Food Market. Coca-Cola privilege sign over the red awning. Painted pig statue to the right.
December 26, 2025 at 6:18 PM
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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
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junior claus
Photograph. Black cat under a Christmas tree. Murder mitts in standby.
December 23, 2025 at 7:44 AM
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An identical, albeit larger building - dated to 1982 - also stands at 550 N. Lake St. in Mundelien.

Previously it was signed as offices for Highland Park Hospital, then much later as part of Advocate. Currently it houses a vein clinic.
Photograph. A trapezoidal-shaped, white concrete building with a circular entrance, identical to the Libertyville building. Signage for a vascular vein clinic. Streetlight in front. Photograph from an older realtor listing, the same building minus vein clinic signage. 1990s-period vehicles pass by. Large trees in front of the building, since cut down.
December 23, 2025 at 4:59 AM
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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
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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
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
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My list is a bloodbath. I wish I made it to the Ohio sooner; missed Rolling Acres entirely and wish I shot more of Chapel Hill.
Atrium at the Thompson Center* Century III*^ Charlestowne Mall Chesterfield Mall* Concord Mall (Indiana)* Crossroads Mall (Iowa) Deerbrook Mall (Illinois)*^ Dixie Square Mall*^ Forest Fair Village* Forest Mall*^ Jamestown Mall*^ Lakeforest* Lakehurst* Lakeside Lincoln Mall (Illinois)* Marquette Mall Mid-Cities Mall*^ Northland Center*^ Northridge Mall (Wisconsin)*^ Regency Mall/Pritchard Park Mall 2/3* Randhurst* Richmond Town Square* Sandburg Mall^ Spring Hill Mall* Stratford Square* Tri-County Mall Upper Valley Mall* Washington Crown Center* *demolished or significantly altered since visit ^abandoned at time of visit
December 17, 2025 at 3:15 PM
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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
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Wow, a surviving Spiegel sign
Brick building. Multiple cars parked facing forward. White script lettering spells "Spiegel", a former catalog retailer.
December 17, 2025 at 3:41 AM
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There was no "sealed basement" at Dixie Square btw, only the sub contained to the management offices. The mall's only escalators were between levels 1-2 in JCPenney and they were never walled-off.
Photograph. Rust-covered, scrapper-pillaged escalator viewed from the ground level. A destroyed drop ceiling and other wreckage surrounds the escalator. Photograph. Top of a destroyed escalator looking toward the ground level. Ice-covered pit of doom at the bottom. 1970s-funky blue-striped wallpaper surrounds the escalator well, some has fallen away.
December 15, 2025 at 7:55 PM