An anonymous photographer behind the Detroiturbex.com website has created a compelling series of photographs titled ‘Now and Then’ that chronicles the rapid rate of deterioration that abandoned buildings in Detroit have undergone.
The composite images combine ‘before and after’ photos, showing how the buildings fall victim to looters, vandals and disrepair over a span of months or years.
The most striking photos document the decay of the abandoned Cass Tech High School. In those images, the photographer cleverly superimposed old yearbook photos onto photos of the exact same location as they are now, showing a stark contrast between the past and present.
According to Detroiturbex.com, no other major city in America has experienced such rapid growth and decline as Detroit. The city, designed for two million people, now contains less than a third of that population.
Detroiturbex.com documents the changes in the city in order to “raise awareness of the social and economic challenges the city of Detroit faces”.
Visit Detroiturbex.com to see the rest of the series.
[via Fast Co. Exist, images via Detroiturbex.com]