The last time I explored Lewis Place on foot was back in January 2012, when I tagged along for a Rehabbers’ Club tour of the neighborhood after the infamous tornado (originally believed to be straight-line winds). Gracious homeowners welcomed us into several houses over the course of several hours. I was anxious to get back out on foot and see the neighborhood again, as the last couple of years I had only in passing photographed buildings such as the one below while in my car.

I quickly realized that the neighborhood, once a bastion of the African-American middle class, has fallen considerably in four years. In fact, I was deeply saddened by what I saw. Houses that look occupied while driving by quickly reveal, on closer, slower inspection on foot, to be abandoned in much greater numbers that I had preciously realized.

We stuck to streets on the less traveled parts of the neighborhood.

The building below is just south of Page Boulevard on Taylor. It’s a great example of a house that was probably converted into a boarding house with a store added on front.

Commercial structures still sit along Page, but they’re increasingly abandoned.

These sad houses, most likely built together, are now on a similar track towards collapse.