For over 40 Years, This Guy Photographed the Same Buildings as he Watched them Decline

We all see familiar buildings in our neighbourhoods change over the years, but what if you photographed them from the exact same spot, documenting them over a time span of over four decades? That’s exactly what Chilean-born photographer Camilo José Vergara did. Focusing on the poorest and most segregated communities in urban America, Camilo returned year after year to re-photograph the same places, becoming “an archivist of decline”. Here is a brief look at the space and time he has tracked…

Ransom Gills Mansion (1993-2014)

65 East 125th St., Harlem (1977-2014)

Fern Street, Camden, New Jersey (1979-2014)

4344 West Madison Ave, Chicago (1981-2014)

Vyse Avenue, South Bronx, NY (1980-2013)

And now I cannot recommend more highly that you discover the life’s work of Camilo José Vergara on his website. Flicking through his slides is like time-travelling through forgotten America.

Images via the Library of Congress.