5 things you may not know about Des Plaines Oasis
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The Des Plaines Oasis was featured in a scene from the 1980 film, "The Blues Brothers." Universal Pictures
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The Des Plaines Oasis opened in 1959 with a Fred Harvey sit-down restaurant. Harveyhouses.net
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McDonald's took over operation of the oasis restaurant in 1984. Daily Herald file
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The Des Plaines Oasis will shut down Sunday after 55 years.
The demolition, which will cost $9.3 million, is necessary to make way for the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway extension and related bypass around O'Hare. The 7-Eleven gas station and convenience store will remain.
Here are five interesting facts you may not have known about the oasis:
1) The oasis opened in 1959 with a Fred Harvey sit-down restaurant. It was a destination point for suburbanites.
2) The oasis was built in 1959 by Standard Oil (Amoco). The land was leased by the Tollway Authority.
3) In 1975, Howard Johnson took over the restaurant. The oasis was renovated in 1984 into a series of fast-food chains. McDonald's took over restaurant operations; Mobil took over gas station operations.
4) The oasis made a cameo in the 1980 film, "The Blues Brothers" when Carrie Fisher attacked
Jake and Elwood.
5) The oasis came under corruption allegations in 2005 when federal prosecutors starting investigating ties between Gov. Rod Blagojevich's top fundraisers and fast-food leases.
