Longtime readers might recognize these Second Empire houses on the west side of N. Florissant Avenue in the Hyde Park neighborhood; I’ve photographed them before. As the summer of 2018 has continued, the undergrowth has engulfed the two abandoned ones, which in of themselves are rare wood frame examples. They are not beyond salvation, as one impeccably restored example in the southern half of the neighborhood demonstrates.

While the brick one continues to be maintained proudly by its owner. There are so many people working hard to keep their communities going, but then there are abandoned houses, many with potential, sitting just a few hundred feet, or right next door, away from them.