[BrandoElFollito]

Sorry for the expression but "holy shit!".

I worked in Motorola for 10 years from the late 90's. I was based in Europe but travelled to Schaumburg every two months or so (or to Phoenix).

It is really a shock to see this place abandoned - last time I was there (15 years ago) it was very much alive.

It has been a long time since I had such a nostalgic squeeze of heart.

[davidf560]

The whole story as presented in the article and comments here is a bit misleading. None of these buildings were "abandoned", at least not in any practical sense. The buildings documented here were old (from the 70s I believe) and full of asbestos and things like that and had really outlived their usefulness, and the very large piece of land they occupied had become extremely valuable. The buildings were still fully occupied when the company decided to sell the campus and relocate to new headquarters in downtown Chicago and move manufacturing to a new facility in Elgin.

Once sold, the company moved out. Shortly after, demolition began, and that's when these pictures were taken. The damage is from demolition, not from the normal "abandoned for 10 years deterioration" you see on those Urban Explorer Youtube videos. People worked in these buildings just a few years ago, and a lot of them had been remodeled somewhat recently and were actually pretty nice inside. The 6-story building with the large atrium was newer than the other parts and is still there and the new owner/developer is hoping to continue to use it as an office building (last I heard anyway).

Motorola also still occupies the 14-story building that used to be the world headquarters as well as another large building on the property. The real story here is much more mundane: a big company sold off some valuable real estate as part of a move to chase a younger workforce in downtown Chicago (jury's still out on that decision, especially with a more WFH-focused future).

[arbuge]

Similar reaction here. I was an intern there for a couple summers in the late 90s. At the time it was full of life and activity - all the hallmarks of a successful corporation. Never imagined seeing it in this state.

[BrandoElFollito]

As a French, the company was vastly different to what I was used to. But not only that: when travelling to Schaumburg I was staying in the Embassy Suites on the other side of the road and I remember, jetlagged, waiting for 6 am for the breakfast to be served.

There was also a big mall a bit south (I forgot the name) , very much different from the ones we had at home (staring with the fact that you drove around the mall, and not walked inside.

Good memories.

[thewebcount]

> There was also a big mall a bit south (I forgot the name) , very much different from the ones we had at home (staring with the fact that you drove around the mall, and not walked inside.

I'm not sure what you mean. While Woodfield has a rather large parking lot, it was definitely the case that the vast majority of people parked and went inside. You couldn't get to the Apple Store, for example, without going inside. You could get to the anchor stores on the ends from the outside, but you'd often shop there, then go into the mall to get other things. (Or at least my spouse and I did that frequently.)

[astronautjones]

> "On September 20, 2019, at around 2:30 PM CDT, a man drove a black first generation (2001-2008) Chevrolet TrailBlazer LT through an entrance door of Sears and began driving through the store and into the main concourse of the mall, crashing into kiosks, Clarks, International Diamond Company, and multiple other stores, seemingly targeting Forever 21 and other adjacent stores.[40][41] The driver was taken into custody by responding police near the center of the mall's first level without further incident. The identity of the suspect was not immediately released. No injuries were reported, but the mall was temporarily on lockdown due to the incident as well as concurrent, but unfounded, reports of an active shooter.[42][43] The mall was evacuated about one hour after the incident.[44]

The man, later identified as Javier Garcia of Palatine, Illinois, was charged with terrorism as a result of the incident; he appeared in court on September 29, 2019, and was denied bond. He appeared in court again on October 1, 2019, and was due back in court on January 27, 2020.[45][46][47][48][49] Garcia's family spoke out arguing that Javier is not a terrorist and that he has schizophrenia, though a police investigation shows evidence that Garcia's attack was premeditated, with investigators releasing – in part – that Garcia "searched 'Woodfield mall,' the aerial view of the mall and mall premises 124 times between 9/19/19 at 14:38 and 9/20/19 at 12:55."[50] Garcia has since also been charged with an unrelated arson case from September 8, 2019, in his hometown of Palatine.[51]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodfield_Mall#Car_incident

[pfdietz]

Woodfield Mall

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodfield_Mall