Update: All of the buildings in these photos have been demolished, except St. Augustine, which has a new owner that is renovating the church.

I realized I needed to check up on some of my favorite houses in St. Louis Place and see how they were doing. On my way there, I encountered these victims of brick theft.

The houses I have documented in the past couple of years still cling to life, if in the most extreme sense of the expression.

I really don’t think there’s any hope to save these weather ravaged buildings, stripped of their most important structural element: their exterior walls.

In the shadow of St. Augustine, the brick/junk yards are operating still, even if a couple have been shut down recently.