Last Sunday I started the day off with going to a car show with the Good Fellas Car Club at Crabby’s Pub in suburban Stickney, Il.
The Good Fellas Car Club is a great group of guys that get together to show off their variety of cars at various venues throughout the Chicagoland area. Their main mission is to support the Advocate Hope Children’s hospital, as they are a non-profit organization with all proceeds going to the kids at the hospital.
Learn more information about their car club at https://www.thegoodfellascarclub.net/
Crabby’s Pub went all out for us, cooking up some great grub and pouring some stiff drinks!
After the show I had a couple of hours of free time, so I decided to do an impromptu search for Blues Brothers shooting locations. I focused on ones that were relatively close to each other, enjoy!
St. Helen’s of the Blessed Shroud Orphanage
The entrance to the fictional St. Helen’s of the Blessed Shroud Orphanage. If there was an actual building back there, it is long gone and the entrance is actually fenced off. These buildings are Chicago Landmarks, original built for the Schoenhofen Brewery that was known for its once-popular Edelweiss Beer. Their claim to fame during Prohibition was creating a Chicago favorite Green River pop.
Located at 18th Street and Canal, Chicago.
Maxwell Street
The Maxwell Street depicted in the movie was a real thing for many Chicagoan’s. Unfortunately that changed in the mid-90’s as redevelopment took over the area. Nothing remains from that time other than some building fronts that were kept.
Lower Wacker Drive
Surprisingly until today, I haven’t taken the Bluesmobile onto/into Lower Wacker Drive. It’s a lot brighter and cleaner than it was in 1980 after undergoing an extensive rebuilding in the early 2000’s. Unfortunately as part of the rebuild, most of the ramps that brought The Blues Brothers up to Upper Wacker Drive for some air are now gone.
Van Buren Street El Tracks
Illinois Nazi Bridge
Despite many people thinking that the park depicted in the movie is Marquette Park, it is not. The bridge where The Blues Brothers famously drove towards the Illinois Nazis forcing them to jump into a lagoon was in shot in Jackson Park.
The bridge itself is located just south of the Museum of Science & Industry and is still accessible to cars (Although they don’t make it easy for you to find).
Ray’s Music Exchange
Although the business that was the real Ray’s (Shelley’s) is no longer open and not in Calumet City as portrayed in the movie, the building and famous mural still exist. This was by far the coolest picture to take, and by far in one of the sketchier sides of the city. Although I have to say the response to The Bluesmobile by the community was awesome!
Hope you enjoyed seeing the cars and movie locations. I will be adding more as I either stumbling across them, or if I go on a mission to find.
