DANGEROUS, Abandoned, Ugly and Hopeless | Harvey, Illinois

[@ChrisHarden]

See more of what Harvey looks like in this video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/joa1ZIZpl9iYY80 Illinois Playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLkAKbwTlGHeKoOBxconpFSyUSO32NKREy Chicago Suburbs Playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLkAKbwTlGHeILgN75aeaBe0EHvhBHyagP American Hoods Playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLkAKbwTlGHeLYlKLyBm1dGc7MRpNhCBZX Help me grow my other channels! Chris Harden's Travel Archives: www.youtube.com/@chrishardenarchives Nostalgia Tours Radio: www.youtube.com/@Nostalgiatoursradio ==================================================================== EVERYTHING THAT I USE IN THE FIELD: Main Camera: amzn.to/3iS4vvF Side Cameras: amzn.to/2WuCYIs Media Mod for Camera: amzn.to/3j7CMGF Lav Mic: amzn.to/3lsMkz9 Drone: amzn.to/3ITcKBV SD Cards: amzn.to/3C2co9O Camera Mounts: amzn.to/2UXVR6p Cables Required for Longer Recordings: amzn.to/3BYnr3Q Computer: amzn.to/3787b2j External Hard Drive: amzn.to/3lb23Tf WHAT I USE AT HOME: Computer: amzn.to/3rKIdiN Sound Mixer: amzn.to/3C15Ubx Microphone: amzn.to/2VaCjvo Microphone Accessories: amzn.to/3v7A35Z INTERACTIVE MAP that shows you all of the places that I've made videos on: (Doesn't always work on mobile devices. Will always work on PC.) www.google.com/maps/d/u/2/edit?hl=en&mid=1Lhzf04ocimPu-ROkg4cfXEYEvKMNnlI5&ll=34.29834970801405%2C-91.53765609999999&z=5 SOCIAL MEDIA & CONTACT INFO: Email: [e-mail] On Twitter: twitter.com/Chris_Harden55 On Instagram: instagram.com/c_harden7 On Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisHardenYT DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. As an Amazon Associate I do earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. As always, thank you for supporting my channel!

[@chrystallee5528]

You didn't go down their street or mention the Indian population in downtown Harvey that have been buying up the old homes and have rehabbed their little neighborhood. They even have a Mosque there. I hope they eventually buy up the whole city. At least they take care of their neighborhood and look out for each other.

[@pizzaearthpancakesandother2549]

Man it's so terrible I don't think I WANT to see more! I'm not racist but I wouldn't go anywhere near Harvey while driving my BMW 7 Series! (BTW, not to brag but I went to Harvard... fyi)

[@markgolden6265]

@@pizzaearthpancakesandother2549It’s not even like those cars and more expensive cars are not driven through and around Harvey. 😂 It’s still a major transportation area. Plus, plenty of Doctors and medical professionals work at the U of Chicago in Harvey and drive nice cars.

[@BILDEMRICH]

Can you do a review of Sauk Village?

[@cedricliggins7528]

Harvey use to a nice working class blue collar town. Look how it has declined

[@bbrucet3]

I lived in Harvey from 1989 until 2005. I grew up there. Playing in the abandoned mall, riding all over the city in my bike with friends, getting chased by crack heads, renting games from blockbuster video, getting shot at, getting my first job at the police station at 13, friends getting murdered over drugs, finding out my grade school girlfriend was having sex with her brother and a bunch of other dude (not me for some bogus reason), my 5th grade gym teacher became the mayor... a lot of memories in that town. Harvey is truly the toilet of the South Suburbs. I salute you Harvey.

[@allmightygreat1892]

Stay strong.

[@302Mustang13]

Damn that's rough. Hope all is better now.

[@bbrucet3]

@@302Mustang13 I don't live there anymore. That city is worse than ever.

[@DylanDoes490]

is harvey toilet or joilet toliet of the south

[@Ebbie0613]

🥴🥴🥴🥴

[@mnoliberal7335]

I was born there in 1955 and Harvey was a great place to live and work, with good schools and plenty of good jobs. My dad was the Union Shop Steward where he worked, and also served as President of the Harvey Improvement Association around 1960. My sister and I went to Washington School, and there was no abandoned mall behind our house--that site was a golf course. There was a real downtown with businesses lining Main St and 154th (I think) and Mom shopped at the Jewel Tea Store. They were still building new residential housing in Harvey and there was some friction between white/non whites at times relating to unofficial segregation. Our folks sold to the first black family on that stretch of Washington and Mom had to walk us to school due to mailed threats. We walked to the Baptist Church and there were some black people who went there. Never thought to count the races. The Pastor was Brother LaSalle.

[@9chilidog]

Wow, that's crazy the people thought blacks would bring crime, drugs, foreclosures, and overall decline to Harvey. Thank you for selling that house to the first of thousands of black people to enrich Harvey.

[@msully76]

I can't fathom it being s nice town

[@williamhermann6635]

​@@msully76 My parents went on their first date together at Dixie mall back in like 1970.

[@mnoliberal7335]

Must be the rose colored glasses, but it was. Dad worked at Sinclair Oil Research on Sibley and we lived on Winchester, 15300 block, which is still about like when we lived there.

[@AP-lt8fx]

Left Harvey in 82. Was a great town at one time.

[@89128]

Several observations about Harvey. The Mall scene in "Blues Brothers" was filmed at the Dixie Square Mall, as well as scenes at the Harvey Holiday Inn. Here is a little-known fact: According to the Pinkerton Detective Agency which investigated the robbery, around 1926 the last recorded train robbery in the US, took place on an Illinois Central Train in Harvey. Several men boarded the train in Harvey and proceeded to rob the passengers and I believe the mail car. The thieves were tracked to St. Louis where a deadly gun fight broke out, killing both robbers and cops. The Dixie Highway was a heavily travelled route from Chicago to Florida up until the early 1970s when several Interstates were completed down to Florida.

[@jonathonpellegrini5725]

Aye that’s really cool information Thanks for the great history lesson Stay up!

[@ronnieitaquab1008]

Wasn't it Jessie and Frank James and gang that did that heist?

[@89128]

@@ronnieitaquab1008 Jesse died in the 1880s this took place 40 years later.

[@swannoir7949]

Wasn't Dixie HWY a part of historic Route 66?

[@kendalson7100]

​@swannoir7949 no Dixie Hwy. runs north and south to connect Chicago and Florida. Route 66 runs east and west and connects both coasts. I think Lincoln Hwy. was part of Route 66.

[@rutiliotorres9228]

Always enjoy your content! Especially in my area of Chicago suburbs.

[@ocotillo8291]

I have been waiting for this one! Nice content

[@ChrisHarden]

Thanks!

[@robertlee6781]

The south suburbs were a great place 60 years ago. I lived in Chicago Heights back then. Harvey and Hazel Crest were starting their descent in the 70s.

[@AnaSpeirs]

I had two aunts in Hazelcrest in the early to mid 90s. It was still a nice area at that time

[@JRJ0852]

@@AnaSpeirs I left in late 70's. Started to be unsafe then

[@JoeBlow-fp5ng]

Until the whites were run out by THEM.

[@sw1125]

​@JRJ0852 I lived there from 93 to 2020 and it was always peaceful and safe in Hazel Crest

[@laurice8056]

There’s no mention of healthcare in Harvey. Ingall’s Memorial Hospital was founded in 1923 by a wealthy industrialist named Frederick Ingalls. It is now owned by the University of Chicago Health System.

[@kendalson7100]

I think Ingalls closed and moved out to Olympia Fields.

[@markgolden6265]

@@kendalson7100 No it didn’t close and move. Its there open and Wood street is going through a major transition to the U of Chicago Ingalls

[@williamhermann6635]

​​@@kendalson7100 I can assure you its still open and operating. Im a paramedic and just picked up a patient from there a couple weeks back. I was born there too. Both St. James in Chicago Heights and Metro South in Blue Island closed in recent years tho. Olympia Fields has had its own St. James hospital for at least a couple decades. I go there somewhat regularly too.

[@mnoliberal7335]

Born at Ingalls in the mid '50s. My Dad was born there in the '30s. Sure wish it hadn't gone down the sewer.

[@UtoniumJock]

My brother was born at Ingall's in 1966 and our grandmother passed away there in 1997. I miss her. 😢

[@dirkwyse1609]

Your research, reporting, and production are first-rate. Thank you.

[@BrolinBrolinBrolin]

grifting on others hard times

[@chitownkidd33]

@@BrolinBrolinBrolinboohoo sad story

[@paulbrower]

Harvey had the infamous Dixie Square Mall shown in the movie The Blues Brothers in which the Blues Brothers drive through the dead mall. That mall "died" early.

[@coppingtonfarnham7731]

My former boss' parents used to live in Harvey. They sold their home for 27k in the 1980's. They waited too long to sell and prices continued to slide. They bought a mobile home (even farther south suburbs, can't remember where). Couldn't afford anything else with that kind of equity.

[@bullnukeoldman3794]

Chris - I've watched several of your videos. You are a very even-handed commentator relating what you see and find out about those various locations you have visited and don't sugar-coat nor demonize. I grew up in the '50s and '60s in the Midwest - the notorious Springfield, Ohio, and saw the heyday and the decline first hand that mirrors many of your subject cities. Thanks for doing this - for me it brings back fond memories of my youth mixed with sadness and heartache over what once was and now what is.

[@TheMidwestWaterproofing]

Tons of work goes into your videos and it shows. Nice work Chris!

[@Sarmoon1.1]

Major League Baseball Player and MLB Hall of Famer Lou Boudreau grew up in Harvey and went to Thornton Township High School. He ended his career alongside Jack Brickhouse broadcasting Cubs games in the ‘70’s.

[@kenkaczmarz288]

A Major League Baseball record that will NEVER EVER be broken has roots in Harvey, Illinois. Detroit Tigers Pitcher, Denny McClain, who went to Mt. Carmel High school on the South Side of Chicago, won 31 games in 1968. Denny was from Harvey Illinois. Unfortunately, just like Harvey, Denny fell into some rough times of his own

[@spaceghost8995]

McClain was a horrible thief. Pension fund thievery. The lowest of the low.

[@davehawash2255]

I remember when across the street from Best Buy, was a shopping mall called. Washington Square Mall. I watched Boyz n da Hood there

[@edmondlau511]

I bought a Sony Walkman from the Service Merchandise in Washington Square Mall. It was fancy because it had auto reverse so I didn’t even need to pop the tape out 😂

[@kendalson7100]

I remember that mall and movie theater. I saw "The Lonely Lady" there. It was close to the old Washington Park racetrack.

[@chicosworld]

Used to love Washington square mall I remember next to it they used to ride their motorcycles in the trails next to the mall all the time 💯

[@thebackground1707]

In regard of the small Homewood section in the beginning of the video, All those businesses have been there for years, way before Walmart , the creator of this video is making that claim that the store shut down over theft with absolutely no proof , he honestly pulled it out of thin air. Actual residents of the area were actually confused with that Walmart being built their in the first place , there is probably 5 within the 20 miles radius of that area , and it was a super Walmart , its own competition was basically its own chain stores near by, I appreciate the work this KZbinr puts in his videos by mentioning towns no one ever bothers to mention but he always make a lot of dangerous generalizations of the people in those areas.

[@ChrisCosat]

Anything for clicks!

[@jay-vd6rt]

Harvey looks like something out of nightmare on elm street,it’s so bad the mice moved to markham.

[@kendalson7100]

Downtown Harvey went downhill after River Oaks Mall in Calumet City opened in the 1960s. That mall destroyed retail in Harvey and Hammond Indiana.

[@harborside10]

No Harvey, had much bigger issues. Don't kid yourself.

[@kagreen2k]

@@harborside10What issues specifically?

[@truckerkevthepaidtourist]

​@@kagreen2klots and lots of factories closing.

[@kagreen2k]

@@truckerkevthepaidtourist Agreed. That happened to the whole south side and south suburbs.

[@AnaSpeirs]

More retail doesn't hurt existing retail unless the existing retail offers an inferior experience/product. Harvey's retail suffered because residents were losing their jobs as companies moved away and white flight ensued, leading to faster property decline and community degradation. Not that white people are the key to success because this happens to predominantly black middle-class areas also when people that are dependent on government move in (section 8, ebt recipients, etc.) and those middle-class, working class people move away when they see negative changes in their neighborhood

[@KTZed]

I very much enjoyed this video. Your immense research and subtleties are appreciated! Going to check out your video about the super mayor next. I've been following that story closely and am looking forward to having a look around her town. I might even cover her on my channel soon. *hoping for a federal indictment*

[@willgrellosbelts8695]

Being from this area, I love these Calumet region/Thorton Township videos of the south suburbs. For an area with a lot of people, this area doesn't get talked about much unless its crime related or you have a Super Mayor. Maybe do Hammond, IN sometime, or another suburb that managed to stay in decent shape for awhile until recently Lansing.

[@290.preston]

Lansing is really shifting towards becoming another Bellwood where it was nice but now everything is just starting to decline 😒

[@DDFreeman]

WOW Chris !!!! Thank you so much for making this video. I am including a link to it in an important article that I am currently writing and that is how I just found it. I was born in 1959 in Harvey and raised in its at that time all-White Eastern section. Lots more to say ... but just want to thank you here !!!! God bless you !!!! ❤

[@Closs52ant]

If one starts driving on Halsted coming from the north of the city all the way south, it's like driving a time machine, the south of the city it's stuck in the past like 20 or 30 years.

[@tuco86x]

Another interesting and informative video with still so many towns to do. University Park, Richton Park, Sauk Village, Flossmoor, Thornton, Robbins, Hazel Crest, Posen, Blue Island, Crestwood, Markham, Phoenix, Park Forrest, South Holland

[@edmondlau511]

Park Forest would be a very interesting town to cover as it boomed after WWII and had so much retail there with the Centre.

[@truckerkevthepaidtourist]

Don't forget the little Hamlet of Phoenix right next to harvey

[@ttaylor758]

Back in 1989-90 Harvey was a small part of my sales territory. I never went there unless a potential customer called us, per my bosses instructions

[@phillipmarlowe0525]

The casino parking garage is on a site that used to be a Sheraton Inn. But closed because of crime.

[@maureencora1]

As a 1970s Teen I Used to Go to Dixie Square Mall in Harvey, IL.

[@everydayvacaytaj]

How was it?

[@YolandaTaylor-w6u]

It was a great time in Harvey was beautiful and clean kids was bought up well in that time back in the early seventies and during the middle eighties , nineties something ugly got in came in and the rest is history corrupted , destructive just went through it and destroying just about every south suburban neighborhood un freakin believable.

[@tyerker]

Such a cool channel. Well done.

[@Sammydx1]

I enjoyed my time in Harvey as a sheriff police officer. Great people. Few bad apples

[@ericthered1140]

a Few bad apples🤣🤣🤣

[@rainmant5724]

I have very deep DNA to the Harvey area. I was born there and grew up in Markham in the early 70's. My grandparents came to the area from the far south because of the ease of getting a job in Harvey. Harvey has and had many great companies like Whiting (made cranes), Bliss &Laughlin Steel, Perfection Gear, Allied Tube, and many others. I remember in 1986 when a Photon (laser tag) opened and it was a hot place for teens. One thing I blame unions for..They cause the labor pool to become over-priced with demands and dues, that the members end up getting nothing as the company moves somewhere else. The only people that seem to do well is the union representatives. The one great thing about Harvey you should have mentioned..Ingalls Hospital..One of the very best in the state if not the country!

[@sirchan1576]

I agree about Ingalls hospital!

[@AnaSpeirs]

Unions are there for protections. Blame your local politicians for not making the area business friendly. If the workers have to be well paid, the companies deserve a break on taxes for providing jobs and industry.

[@davidamadio4766]

I was born at Ingalls in 1956, grew up in "Da Height's"

[@unclestinky6388]

MLB HOF player/manager/broadcaster Lou Boudreau was from Harvey and Thornton HS

[@williamdavidson3143]

Harvey has been like this for many decades now

[@PeterGreter]

Chris, such a great story. You are a true historian and I thank you for all your knowledge and taking us places we would never visit. Cheers!

[@mrw4724]

Very good video. You are one the best KZbinrs out there!

[@ChrisHarden]

Thank you!

[@meganstevens3318]

My grandparents came to America from Germany and built a house in Harvey. It was a nice place in the 40/50’s from what I understand. People tried to convince gma to get out of the neighborhood at one point, but she ignored them. By the time she sold the house in the 80’s she lost money on it.

[@chrystallee5528]

If she bought the house in the 40s, how could she loose money by selling in the 80s? Even with lowered property values compared to Chicago she had to have made some profit.

[@markgolden6265]

@@chrystallee5528She did! Houses are selling for 100,000 dollars still in Harvey

[@fnihp30]

@@chrystallee5528Because by the time the 80s came, Harvey was bad (and home values started to decline).

[@AnaSpeirs]

​@chrystallee5528 Right. Even with the blight and decline she should have been able to walk away with some profit considering it was built in the 1940s

[@AnaSpeirs]

​@@chrystallee5528 Right, there's no way to lose money unless she gave it away for free. She may not have walked away with much, but there still had to be some profit considering that it was built in the 1940s.

[@Bonzi_Buddy]

Turlington had at least one grandchild that got to see his grandfather's dream turn into a nightmare but several others certainly witnessed the decline.

[@jenrosenberg3276]

I was born at Ingalls Hospital in Harvey in 1971 and lived in Harvey with my family until I was 5. We lived in a duplex on Turlington, upstairs from my dad's parents. My grandpa passed away in 1981 and my grandma refused to leave her house on Turlington, even several years later when a stray bullet hit her front window. Eventually she couldn't care for the large house anymore and we moved her into an apartment in Lansing, IL around 2004.

[@myklallen7184]

I can't believe that the Walmart in Homewood is closed down.. Use to shop there each week until i left in spring of 2018..

[@natalietank]

I left in 2015. That Walmart was doomed frm the start.

[@jonnydanger7181]

Thank you for doing these well narrated and very informative 👍

[@ckgrace6303]

TTHS Class of 1986 here! 86' is in the mix! Good times. :))

[@MsDurant12]

Willie Clark is my brother

[@diamondhumphrey9383]

Class of 2010

[@malnorfleet4925]

1996! 👍🏽

[@williamhermann6635]

My mother was the class of '72. Dad graduated from Thornridge that same year.

[@megashawnx4427]

May you do Robbins, IL next? It's two towns away from Harvey.

[@ChrisHarden]

Robbins coming soon

[@megashawnx4427]

@@ChrisHarden Alright! That's my old hometown!

[@allmightygreat1892]

Be safe bunker down. Thats an old civil war town. ​@@ChrisHarden

[@demetriusrousseau7919]

I grew up out there.

[@johnnyonthespot4375]

I had this momentary thought of getting control of the old Dixie Mall property for redevelopment. Thank you - I no longer have that thought.

[@lloyddavies5587]

A lower score than East St Louis? Did'nt think that was possible... Are you planning on covering Sauk Villiage IL? I used to visit freinds there in the mid 90s..

[@ChrisHarden]

Yeah one day I’ll do Sauk Village

[@kosh2001]

NW Indiana here. The clubs closed at 3 am. in Indiana and a couple clubs in Harvey had 5 am. liquor license on Halsted & maybe 166th.....just north of 294. One was called "Ship Captain & Crew" on the west side of Halsted and the other one was just south of it on the west side too. Both clubs would be packed wall to wall......had a lot of great times there. As soon as the bars/clubs closed at 3 am. on any given Friday or Saturday we'd jump in the cars and head to Harvey back in the mid to late 80's.....seemed like we did it for year. Then if you wanted to after they closed at 5 am. you could head back to Indiana for a drink because in Indiana the bars could open at 5 am. LOL, what a wasted youth I had...............

[@donwilliams5685]

The Blues Brothers was filmed in Dixie Square Mall. They fixed it up just to film the movie, because it had already closed.

[@Harold_Callahan]

Wow I just looked it up, 15151 Dixie HWY and it's nothing but a huge empty lot now. Such a waste.

[@allmightygreat1892]

So impressed by this video. Your playlist looks interesting. New sub. Look forward to your research. Thank you.

[@ChrisHarden]

Thanks!

[@shelbyz1974]

Harvey has some interesting history. I doubt anything productive will happen there in the next 30 years except more people leaving and more blight.

[@ChrisHarden]

Same unfortunately so

[@paulbrower]

Some of these places look as if they must retun to what they ued to be: farmland.

[@takingriskdaily]

The people of Harvey now are planning to reinvest into Harvey.

[@Faltor895]

​@@takingriskdailyWhatever, lol.

[@mnoliberal7335]

Used to have a nice park over by Ingalls Hospital.

[@TariFamily-w8h]

You need to do more research about white flight. Your explanation was severely lacking

[@tpz7618]

All I can remember about Harvey was that they had the Photon arena at the expo center which also housed some really good rave parties back in the late 90's early 2000's.

[@swannoir7949]

I remember Photon. Went there in high school in the 80s when Deep House Music was the thing then.

[@chicosworld]

Had a club called jubilation there in the mid 90s

[@craignovy2090]

Brilliant narrative evaluation tied in with excellent video and awesome (and heartbreaking) drone footage. This is much much more than evaluation of a community that has seen better days. Instead this is a carefully researched and assembled demonstration of what can and does work or not work essentially anywhere! This is not about talking points instead it is or should be a wake up call for everyone. There is so much wisdom here like the importance of good government, schools, public safety, planning etc. Being an old timer I am amazed how well he recaps the history that I remember going through. Chris should be given an honorary PHD in humanities, urban planning or history for his hard and heartfelt illuminating work.

[@skatee99]

A Film & Video alumni of Columbia College Chicago. Want to sincerly thank you for this video. You honestly did great research and, production values. Many who watch KZbin videos casually don't really appreciate the effort & skill it takes to do so. Recording/editing/narration/checking legal rights/double checking your content to make sure you're not going to be pulled, ect. Thanks for the great effort, much success to you.

[@everydayvacaytaj]

Really interesting video, thanks

[@billwilson-es5yn]

I grew up in Hammond where I tuned in an AM Jazz station WBEE that broadcasted from Harvey. Moved to Texas in 1977 since there wasn't any future by staying in the Region once the industries began closing down.

[@JRJ0852]

Same here, Moved to TN

[@markhayden1]

Love the research that you do!

[@jesskeller2518]

Thank you for this video.... born at Ingalls and raised in Harvey.... sucked back then but I was so happy to leave in 1988. So glad you showed that shot of Dixie Square Mall.... LOL.... Blues Brothers still supposedly owe money from them destroying it after they rebuilt part of it... That whole area sucks.... all of it... My high school Thornwood used to be good at one point.... but like the rest of the area... it is crap now.... so glad I got out of there... but was nice watching this for Nostalgia and brought back memories.... Most of my peeps from back then left at about or not too long after me.... Will never go back...

[@Beson4823]

I been living here for 8 years coming from a place like Berwyn IL and I can tell you it’s has been a big downgrade and not to mention the shootings always happening here either at night or day. I don’t feel safe here but we had to move here for the affordable housing back then now i been lowkey regretting that decision for a couple years now

[@billa1870]

@Beson4823 My brother and his family lived in Berwyn. I used to love riding my bike from the northside to their home. Berwyn was so nice and clean. Long story short: They sold just in time and moved to Crest Hill, thinking they could get away from it all. Now most of Crest Hill is a hood.

[@karpfl9237]

I work in the downtown train station that serves Harvey. The people going there are nice, hardworking people…obviously they have jobs so it’s just weird to me how bleak it is…

[@takingriskdaily]

They had horrible mayors the last few years

[@tomriekse]

Impressive Work and research

[@robertpetit57]

I grew up in neighboring Thornton, back then, we went to the Harvey YNCA back then. I shopped at Dixie Square Mall, back when you could. The whole south suburbs have gone in the toilet.

[@MarlinWilliams-ts5ul]

Wow, the entire civilization is unraveling.

[@kennixox262]

What was the industry of that town? Why did the industry leave? Who moved the industry out of the town? That sums up your video with three questions. When you take jobs away what does one think willl happen to a town?

[@truckerkevthepaidtourist]

Steel The big one allied tube & conduit Allis Charmels tractors They were powered by what was known as the Harvey engine

[@juliemackowiak5985]

I worked in Harvey as a teacher from 1990 -2017

[@candacebays6929]

Was it Bryant School? 2nd or 3rd grade class teacher?

[@allmightygreat1892]

First video viewed. Impressed by your research and street views.

[@bojo2770]

Both of my parents were from Harvey. It was much different when they were growing up! The area near 159th & Halsted used to be an old Polish neighborhood. That definitely wasn't the case when my grandpa passed in 2002 and we had to fix and sell his house. I was born at Ingalls Memorial in Harvey also but when I was 3 my parents got us outta there and moved us to DuPage county. I guess things were starting to get bad then! I do remember visiting Dixie Square Mall when I was younger while visiting my grandparents to see the skid marks left in the parking lot from when they were filmed The Blues Brothers. That was pretty cool to a 7 year old like me! I live in Michigan now...We drove through Harvey about 2 yrs ago and it's not a place I really want to visit (or even drive through) again! But it was once beautiful!

[@IOMMIFAN6565]

My mom was born in Harvey and lived just off of 159th & Halsted, it's so different now but I can remember what it looked like in the 70's like it was yesterday. It was indeed a Polish neighborhood and they had some of the best restaurants in that area.

[@santo-rr4uv]

Why does it seem that not just 1 or 2 towns but the entire area south of Chicago is a dump. I’ll include the area of northwest Indiana that borders it also.

[@thomasclark3348]

Because most of the South suburbs were home to factory workers, who worked at plants like the US Steel South Works. Then came the 70s recession and the "Reagan Revolution." The factories closed, the jobs disappeared and "they ain't never comin' back" to quote Bruce Springsteen.

[@chrystallee5528]

​@@thomasclark3348true. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) I believe during the Clinton Administration, took all the middle class blue collars jobs out of America. Sent them overseas to China, Mexico and South America. Jobs went everywhere except America. Leaving a destructive trail in small suburbs across America behind.

[@PeterGazis-iz9fe]

There are some nice suburbs down there mostly on the Southwest side (eg. Palos Heights; Orland Park, Olympia fields, Homewood/ Flosmore/County Club hills)

[@aps125]

@@PeterGazis-iz9feplaces like Orland Park and Palos Hill do not belong to the traditional definition of south suburban Chicagoland. I consider I57 being the dividing line. Towns lie west of the highway are mostly decent

[@thomasclark3348]

@@PeterGazis-iz9fe Obviously, you have never been to Country Club Hills. And it's Flossmoor

[@davidparsons4625]

Very nice video. You really gave me a feel for the place.

[@belindamohar]

My daughter was born in Harvey Illinois in 1980 at Ingall’s Memorial hospital .

[@beaniemac]

And these south suburbs have the nerve to charge triple the property taxes as Chicago for subpar schools😤

[@ChrisHarden]

I know right? Lol

[@Decoy0527]

Property values go down, property tax rates go up. And once that cycle begins it takes really good governance to reverse it. Unfortunately, the problem likely began precisely due to bad governance.

[@UtoniumJock]

I once lived in an apartment in Harvey I was about 4. It was on Halsted, not sure exactly where but I do remember a hospital just south across the street. I think it was Ingall's. My brother was born at Ingall's in 1966 and my grandma died in 1997 there. I kept looking for that in your videos but did not see it. 😊

[@xxxhyundai]

Calumet was a good video. Now I’ll watch this one. Side note, I grew up not too far from either of these places in Tinley Park. Very nice peaceful quiet there and it’s rundown and ragged like some of these burbs are getting

[@MichaelQuirk-e2m]

My great grandparents moved into Harvey in the 1880s, there house is still standing on Morgan.

[@cward1954]

Driving down those streets of Harvey almost looks like driving in Huntington, WV., except the roads are in a hell of a lot better shape in Harvey. No potholes anywhere.

[@peterdee2761]

Good show as always. Gutted that your competitor HoodTime has disappeared. Enjoyed them too

[@SteveandSusiesHomestead]

Great history lesson .

[@EluciveArtist]

I hate that that is the popular trend for Chicago factories. Factory is doing great and enhancing the neighborhood around it. Then when some of the people the already work at the factory want to move into the neighborhood and experience that economy they suddenly need to shut it down?

[@EluciveArtist]

maybe I need to do a deep dive into how close together and related those things are

[@ibuprofenPill]

In my early childhood (1974-75), we lived in Harvey at 157th & Woodbridge Ave. I attended Holmes Elementary for kindergarten and 1st grade. We left for Homewood and a couple other places until we moved back to Texas in 1982. Been here ever since. My mother said we lived in Harvey at the tail-end of the time you would want to be there. As I remember it was still mostly white but not completely. Anyway, I fondly remember my early childhood in Harvey. So sad to see its decline.

[@stuartbluefield769]

I remember going to Dixie Square Mall as a very young child with my mom and sisters, one of whom appeared as an extra in various scenes in The Blues Brothers. Dixie Square was used for the mall scenes in that movie.

[@bryanbrozy4477]

Having political figures leading in this area who give a damn would really help this area improve. Nearby Dolton is fighting against major corruption to stop that area becoming like so many other communities on the South Side. I feel generally safe whenever i work in Harvey and the people i deal with care for their community. Alot of areas near Chicago are much worse.

[@RadioLaPrincess]

Both of my parents were born and raised in Harvey. I was born in Harvey like both of my parents and three out of my four grandparents (only my paternal grandmother was born in England). Even though it's a crap town, Ingalls hospital is one of the best hospitals so at least there's that. My paternal grandparents lived on Ashland and recently my aunt posted what the house looks like and all worn down. There's still a section of Harvey with low crime, mostly older people.

[@heatherhopfinger3942]

watching Numb3rs what is it Judd Hirsh's character Alan Epps says bad urban planning look up that episode

[@andrewplantagenet5811]

You didn’t mention that the Mall Chase Scene in the Blues Brothers movie was the Dixie Square Mall!

[@Paramount531]

That's where I first learned about Harvey.

[@michelleferguson9104]

Glad my family left back in the early 70’s.

[@chicosworld]

Born and raised in Harvey....remember Dixie Square mall rip(used in Blues Brothers movie) and the old movie theater that was used in the movie Cooley High but that was before my time, also birthplace of the dells .....Harvey is to Chicago what Compton is to Los Angeles...708 joe💯

[@Stephenbailey129]

I live about 45 minutes north of Chicago right on the border of Wisconsin. Had to go to Harvey today for a funeral so I went on KZbin to figure out why Harvey was so crappy.

[@beevirgil7901]

Our state attorney in cook county will not charge them unless it is over 1,000 dollars. There is also the safe t act, arrest and let go only never for them to come to court.

[@ray2895]

There's Ford Heights also, another wonderful place.

[@juanitabroaddrick4282]

BLACK EXCELLENCE!

[@ardonnarichardson5631]

Dixie Square was used in the filming of the Blue Brothers. The scene totally destroyed the mall, and it was never repaired/rebuilt.

[@johng5710]

I believe the mall had already been abandoned/closed by the time they filmed the scene, that's why they were allowed to totally destroy it

[@ajax7ox729]

Too many black people. Doesn't happen to white towns change my mind

[@MsDurant12]

Dixie Square was already closed before filming began. My uncle was an extra. After filming, it was reclosed. Now torn down with new senior housing development

[@diamondhumphrey9383]

The mall closed one year prior to the filming of The Blues Brothers but Universal Studios and director John Landis agreed to repair the damage done in the mall during filming. He didn't repair the damages and Harvey actually sued Universal Studios for damages ​@johng5710

[@a-trainbeastmode5300]

I was born on the south side and raised in Harvey. I’m considering buying property in Harvey to give back to my old stomping grounds

[@lawrenceraibon88]

I did enjoyed this video and learned a lot of things from the video.

[@MrJoshuaValentinebaby]

So what I gathered from all this is Chicago is headed right in the same direction as Harvey and for the exact same reasons

[@michaelwoods9381]

Thank you for this video❤

[@Murmuringbirds]

There was a huge thrift store on 159th St where I shopped at in the 80s. I had an awesome collection of bowling shirts from that place and the Amvets in Chicago Heights

[@taiwanarnold5927]

Can you do Markham IL

[@ciamon1]

I grew up in Homewood. While I’m not discounting racism, Walmart did to Homewood, the same as the did to Glenwood. When the tax break money ran out, so did they.

[@skatee99]

Yea, another lifelong resident of the area (South suburbs, both inner and then, outer). As I got older, I learned of the concentric ring theory of suburban growth and learned that, it's true. Cal city, Dolton, Chicago Heights, Hazelcrest, ect. O.k. back in the day. Then, the southwest suburbs grew out to towns like Oak Forrest, then Tinley Park, then to Orland Park & Frankfort and then, to Homer township. Follows the theory to a tee. Notice the commuter train routes: (I.C. & R.I). They catered to the yuppie, two income to pay for big box houses. They were willing to: Get up at 5:00 a.m. to get ready for the drive to park at their local Metra station parking lot, to catch the train for the long commute to a downtown job. Then, waste ANOTHER hour of their life to repete the process to finally get back to the sanctuary of their 'safe' home, WAY out in the burbs. All the time, having no quality of life or, time with their kids. It's a shame really but, it's where we are at. I've since moved to Arizona and, have never looked back. IMHO - do whatever you need to, to simply get out, it will not get better. There is so much better than this, all over the country. You just need to make the effort to look.

[@thehappyhermit01]

Pat, I'd like to solve the puzzle.

[@juanitabroaddrick4282]

N

[@agca2411]

I remember some of us boys from Aurora somehow ended up in Harvey one winter night in the mid 80's. Even we thought that place was a scary $hit hole.

[@annetteboyd8940]

You drove past where my old house use to be several times .

[@fr7nkyph7llyj7ne5]

Harvey Twisters 🌪️ One of Illinois’ best youth wrestling teams EVEEEER!

[@henriettavanderfloof8104]

Harvey was once a great middle class town. Dixie Square mall was pretty upscale. My great grandparents came from Europe and rode the train into Chicago to work. No education, just hard working folks. It is now a terrifying place to live because of violent crime. Even the Walmart closed down due to theft. Why? You do the research. You look at the numbers and the facts. You make your own conclusions.

[@Faltor895]

Blacks. All the crappy towns have that in common. Majority black.