![timtracker](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/timtracker.jpg)
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…
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Ransom Gills Mansion (1993-2014)
![ransom1](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ransom1.jpg)
![ransom2](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ransom2.jpg)
![ransom3](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ransom3.jpg)
![ransom4](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ransom4.jpg)
![ransom5](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ransom5.jpg)
![ransom6](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ransom6.jpg)
![ransom8](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/ransom8.jpg)
![screen-shot-2016-10-26-at-19-26-30](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Screen-Shot-2016-10-26-at-19.26.30.jpg)
![screen-shot-2016-10-26-at-19-26-39](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Screen-Shot-2016-10-26-at-19.26.39.jpg)
65 East 125th St., Harlem (1977-2014)
![eastharlem2](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/eastharlem2.jpg)
![eastharlem1](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/eastharlem1.jpg)
![eastharlem3](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/eastharlem3.jpg)
![eastharlem4](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/eastharlem4.jpg)
![eastharlem6](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/eastharlem6.jpg)
![eastharlem8](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/eastharlem8.jpg)
![eastharlem9](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/eastharlem9.jpg)
![eastharlem10](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/eastharlem10.jpg)
Fern Street, Camden, New Jersey (1979-2014)
![fernst](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/fernst.jpg)
![fernst1](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/fernst1.jpg)
![fernst2](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/fernst2.jpg)
![fernst3](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/fernst3.jpg)
![fernst4](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/fernst4.jpg)
![fernst5](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/fernst5.jpg)
4344 West Madison Ave, Chicago (1981-2014)
![church1](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/church1.jpg)
![holychurch2](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/holychurch2.jpg)
![holychurch3](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/holychurch3.jpg)
![holychurch4](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/holychurch4.jpg)
![holychurch5](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/holychurch5.jpg)
Vyse Avenue, South Bronx, NY (1980-2013)
![vyse](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/vyse.jpg)
![vyse1](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/vyse1.jpg)
![vyse2](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/vyse2.jpg)
![vyse3](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/vyse3.jpg)
![vyse4](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/vyse4.jpg)
![vyse5](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/vyse5.jpg)
![vyse6](https://www.messynessychic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/vyse6.jpg)
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.
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