While parts of Detroit have seen rebirth, much of it has been deserted; those are the areas Kevin Bauman has explored and photographed.

Photos from the 100 Abandoned Houses project

Courtesy of Kevin Bauman

Photos from the 100 Abandoned Houses project

Courtesy of Kevin Bauman

Photos from the 100 Abandoned Houses project

Courtesy of Kevin Bauman

Photos from the 100 Abandoned Houses project

Courtesy of Kevin Bauman

Photos from the 100 Abandoned Houses project

Courtesy of Kevin Bauman

Photos from the 100 Abandoned Houses project

Courtesy of Kevin Bauman

Photos from the 100 Abandoned Houses project

Courtesy of Kevin Bauman

Photos from the 100 Abandoned Houses project

Courtesy of Kevin Bauman

Photos from the 100 Abandoned Houses project

Courtesy of Kevin Bauman

Photos from the 100 Abandoned Houses project

Courtesy of Kevin Bauman

Kevin Bauman began photographing abandonment in Detroit in the 1990s, he writes on his website, 100 Abandoned Houses. While parts of the city have seen rebirth, much of it has remained deserted; those are the places Bauman has explored.

"I never really thought of them as haunted looking," he writes in our correspondence. "But I do think about the past when I look at them. I think about all of the things that have happened in the houses over the years. Families raised their kids in them. People moved in and out. Hopes were raised, and dashed. Lots of good and bad stories could be written about them, and probably more bad — or at least sad — over the last few decades."

These beautiful architectural portraits are the ghosts of Detroit's past. And although the project has been making apparitions — I mean appearances — around the Web for some time now, it seems particularly haunting this week. In an obvious sense, it suits the mood of Halloween festivities; but it's also a poignant reminder that we can build our fortresses, but nature will always run its course.

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Filed in:

• Photography
• Home Page Top Stories