A city once home to Michael Jackson has become so deserted that houses sell for just $1 (82p).
The pop great performed with his siblings in local bars and clubs around Gary, Indiana from the age of six.
But the 'Magic City' where his talents were sculpted saw its population plunge, turning it into 'Murder Capital USA'.
A total of 178,000 people lived in the city in 1960 - nearly treble of the 69,000 residents currently there.
Once home to the largest steel plant in the country with more than 16,000 workers, Gary became largely abandoned as the industry declined over the next half a century.
In 1994, the city was nicknamed 'Murder Capital USA' by the Chicago Tribune, but even the crime rate fell as people left.
One resident said in 2017: “We used to be the murder capital of the US, but there is hardly anybody left to kill.
"We used to be the drug capital of the US, but for that you need money, and there aren’t jobs or things to steal here.”
In 2019 it was named the most miserable city in the US, with Business Insider finding it had lost 6% of its residents between 2010 and 2018.
It was also found that only half of its occupants were in the workforce, while 36% lived in poverty.
An estimated 20% of Gary's buildings now lie completely abandoned, including the City Methodist Church.
Once a place of worship, it is now known as 'God's Forsaken House' after being covered in graffiti and weeds.
Garnett Elementary School, where Jackson once studied, has also been left deserted.
Videographer Robb Atch, 40, previously explored the building where it is believed the then six-year-old took to the stage for the very first time.
Robb said: "Once inside we found everything you would find in any school, just left behind to be damaged, stolen or rot."
In an attempt to breathe some life back into the city's economy in 2013, officials introduced the Dollar House Program.
The initiative saw houses being sold for $1, the equivalent of 82p, with potential homeowners selected through a lottery system and being required to do up the property within a year.
Applicants were also required to live in the home for five years and have a minimum annual salary of $35,000 (£28,700).
Referring to the programme, historian S. Paul O'Hara previously told the New York Times: "It's not flashy. It doesn't come with promises, but it does come with possibilities."
And in 2019, Gary's 21st mayor expressed his hopes about restoring the city to its former glory.
According to ABC7 Chicago, Jerome Prince said: "We have an opportunity because we have a mayor who is ready to do some things, and we have citizens who are ready to apply themselves too."
He added: "In many ways they have been convinced that they can't succeed, it is our responsibility to turn that narrative, and to show them that we support them and that by trying and with a little effort and commitment and dedication they too can succeed."
