Photographer documents the decline of Detroit. Photographer Kevin Bauman started the 100 Abandoned Houses project roughly a decade ago. He began photographing abandonment in Detroit in the mid-90s. He said he always found it to be amazing, depressing and perplexing that a once-great city could find itself in such great distress, all the while surrounded by such affluence. Kevin Bauman

Photographer documents the decline of Detroit. Brush Park, on the outskirts of Detroit's entertainment district, was always an area of interest to Bauman. For as long as he can remember the area, an array of large houses and mansions, sat largely abandoned just a stone's throw away from iconic Detroit landmarks, such as Fox Theater. Kevin Bauman

Photographer documents the decline of Detroit. Bauman questions how an area that was obvioiusly once a wealthy enclave in the city could become an example of the downfall of American cities. Kevin Bauman

Photographer documents the decline of Detroit. For years the area had signs advertising the redevelopment that was about to take place. Kevin Bauman

Photographer documents the decline of Detroit. The redevelopment of Detroit finally began to happen with the construction of the new ballpark for the Tigers and Ford Field for the Lions. New condos and town homes began to appear amidst the rubble of burned out mansions that were turned into apartments. Kevin Bauman

Photographer documents the decline of Detroit. As Brush Park in Detroit began to transform, Bauman realized the other approximately 135 square miles of Detroit was left largely ignored. Kevin Bauman

Photographer documents the decline of Detroit. The excitement about Detroit's "rebirth" took center stage, while much of the rest of the city was becoming largely abandoned. Kevin Bauman

Photographer documents the decline of Detroit. Even Brush Park itself was still largely abandoned, but with the remaining tenants of Brush Park buildings being pushed out, and many of the old houses torn down, Bauman moved on to other areas, where residents of Detroit were attempting to make a life among abandoned and burned out houses. Kevin Bauman

Photographer documents the decline of Detroit. Often times, the neighborhoods were almost completely abandoned. Kevin Bauman

Photographer documents the decline of Detroit. In these abandoned neighborhoods, Bauman encountered concerned citizens, packs of wild dogs, 20-foot-high piles of toilets and houses with the facades torn off, filled with garbage. Kevin Bauman

Photographer documents the decline of Detroit. As the number of images in his project grew, and a documentary style emerged, Bauman switched from mostly black and white, to color and decided to name the series 100 Abandoned Houses. Kevin Bauman

Photographer documents the decline of Detroit. 100 seemed like a lot, although the number of abandoned houses in Detroit is more like 12,000. Kevin Bauman

Photographer documents the decline of Detroit. Encompassing an area of over 138 square miles, Detroit has enough room to hold the land mass of San Francisco, Boston and Manhattan. Kevin Bauman

Photographer documents the decline of Detroit. In spite of Detroit's large size, the population has fallen from close to 2 million citizens to most likely less than 800,000. With such a dramatic decline, the abandoned house problem is not likely to go away any time soon. Kevin Bauman

Photographer documents the decline of Detroit. To see more of Kevin Bouman's extensive photo series on the decline of Detroit, visit <a href="http://www.100abandonedhouses.com/">100abandonedhouses.com</a>. Keep up with the rest of Bouman's photography at <a href="http://www.kevinbauman.com/">kevinbauman.com</a>. Kevin Bauman

100 Abandoned Houses 100 Abandoned Houses is a project by Photographer Kevin Bauman that explores the decline of Detroit. Kevin Bauman

100 Abandoned Houses 100 Abandoned Houses is a project by Photographer Kevin Bauman that explores the decline of Detroit. Kevin Bauman

100 Abandoned Houses 100 Abandoned Houses is a project by Photographer Kevin Bauman that explores the decline of Detroit. Kevin Bauman

100 Abandoned Houses 100 Abandoned Houses is a project by Photographer Kevin Bauman that explores the decline of Detroit. Kevin Bauman

100 Abandoned Houses 100 Abandoned Houses is a project by Photographer Kevin Bauman that explores the decline of Detroit. Kevin Bauman

100 Abandoned Houses 100 Abandoned Houses is a project by Photographer Kevin Bauman that explores the decline of Detroit. Kevin Bauman

100 Abandoned Houses 100 Abandoned Houses is a project by Photographer Kevin Bauman that explores the decline of Detroit. Kevin Bauman

100 Abandoned Houses 100 Abandoned Houses is a project by Photographer Kevin Bauman that explores the decline of Detroit. Kevin Bauman

100 Abandoned Houses 100 Abandoned Houses is a project by Photographer Kevin Bauman that explores the decline of Detroit. Kevin Bauman