was completely shuttered. Abandonment After the mall's abandonment, it experienced extensive neglect and damage from vandalism, the full-time caretaker hired by Harvey to maintain the property was physically unable to repair it. Following the movie shoot and the departure of the school district, the mall sat completely empty while new uses for the property were sought. The city of Harvey did not have the funds to maintain it, and in 1984, vandals broke in for the first time, damaging and looting the mall, and leaving a number of entrances open in the process. Every accessible pane of glass in the mall was soon broken. Within a year, any piece of metal worth salvaging had been stolen. Also, around this time, the large triangular "Dixie" sign, added in the 1975 renovation and seen in the Blues Brothers film, was removed. The canvas covering the JCPenney court area was removed as well, allowing rain and snow to enter into the building. Over time, this, coupled with lack of maintenance, took its toll on the building. In 1985, the Wards Auto Service garage in the southwest corner of the mall property was razed, in preparation for construction of a new police station for Harvey. Work was temporarily halted on July 9, 1987 (at about 35% completion) while concerns about the building's foundation were addressed; work on the police station resumed a week later. Despite the new Harvey Police station occupying land immediately adjacent, the shuttered mall gained a reputation as a notorious crime magnet during the early 1990s. Gang and drug activities frequently took place inside the building. In the early 1990s, a juvenile court was constructed on the far west end of the parking lot. Despite numerous attempts to board up and secure the mall, it was forced open repeatedly. Vandalism and theft were the primary causes, but many homeless people also turned the former mall site into makeshift living quarters. In 1993, a woman was raped and fatally strangled inside the former JCPenney store. By the end of the 1990s, trees had grown throughout the former parking lot. In the mid 2000s, a massive fire broke out inside the Woolworth store and nearly destroyed the building. The fire caused the roof to cave in, and due to that and other structural collapses, saplings started growing inside the former mall. Another fire broke out in the former City Life lounge, causing minor