East St Louis

Perhaps no other city exemplifies the modern ghost town more than East St Louis, Illinois.

Just across the river from St Louis, the shattered remains of this city are a testament to the effect white flight, racial tension, disinvestment and rampant crime have had on rust-belt cities of the American Midwest.

From a peak population of 82,000, the remaining 27,000 residents are faced with a city unable to sustain itself. Lacking a tax base, ESL is unable to support an effective police force, leading to some of the highest (if not the highest) per-capita murder rate in the country, almost 20x the national average.

The historic commercial strip is scary derelict, mostly boarded up and abandoned.

Google Earth images:

The urban prairie effect is evident here, with large, empty blocks flanked by the vast St Louis freeway network. The commercial strip appears blackened and abandoned, even from the air.

Ornate architectural details can be seen here

Boarded up storefronts create a sense of lack of safety at street level.

The Spivey Building, the tallest in ESL. Abandoned.

The urban prairie.