The Modern Ruins

Here in the Southwest, we're accustomed to seeing ruins. Whether they're in national historical parks like the church at Pecos or Chaco Canyon, a crumbling homestead cottage off the highway, or the skeleton of a Route 66 service station, the entire history of Southwest settlement and culture can be traced in these architectural vestiges.

Folks in other areas of the country are waking up to the ruins in their midst. Photographers are having an especially interesting time chronicling the passage of decay and the reclamation of nature. This Slate gallery has an artist's statement from photographer Camilo Jose Vergara, with a thoughtful slideshow of the (mostly) Midwest's modern ruins.