Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Camden, city of ruins: Depressing images of once-thriving metropolis reduced to decaying, crime-ridden rubble

These depressing images show how far an American industrial powerhouse has fallen.
Once an east coast centre credited with creating some of the nation's largest warships, Camden in New Jersey is now a sad shadow of its former self.
The shipyards where 36,000 workers would ply their trade now lie empty, surrounded by thousands of decaying and abandoned homes.
Abandoned: These depressing images show how far an American industrial powerhouse has fallen
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Abandoned: These depressing images show how far an American industrial powerhouse has fallen

Abandoned houses, dilapidated buildings, urban decay and extreme poverty as seen in Camden, NJ
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Abandoned houses, dilapidated buildings, urban decay and extreme poverty as seen in Camden, NJ
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Dilapidated: Citizens are subjected to a brutal existence, strolling around the grubby roads and falling down houses

Run down: It was once an east coast centre credited with creating some of the nation's largest warships
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Run down: It was once an east coast centre credited with creating some of the nation's largest warships

Run down: It was once an east coast centre credited with creating some of the nation's largest warships
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Run down: It was once an east coast centre credited with creating some of the nation's largest warships
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Wonder: It's a surprise that some of the houses are still standing, seeing the appalling condition they are being left to descend into

Depressing: Camden in New Jersey is now a sad shadow of its former self
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Depressing: Camden in New Jersey is now a sad shadow of its former self
Deep seated urban decay: Citizens live in poverty across the run-down city
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Deep seated urban decay: Citizens live in poverty across the run-down city
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Neighbourhood: People are scarcely seen on the city's streets which have become the second most dangerous in the U.S.

Deep seated urban decay: Citizens live in poverty across the run-down city
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Drop: The population has plummeted by more than 40 per cent from its 1950 level of 120,000
The stench of sewage permeates the run-down streets, which have the second highest crime rates of anywhere across the country.
Of its 70,390 residents, a staggering 40 per cent are out of work, with many having been 'on the scrapheap' from the 'formal economy' for generations.
 

The population has plummeted by more than 40 per cent from its 1950 level of 120,000, but there is little hope for those who remain.
City budgets are being slashed, nearly half of the police force has been axed in recent years and the public library system is now almost non-existent.
Contrast: The Camden City Hall Building is one of the venue's not to have been left to rack and ruin
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Contrast: The Camden City Hall Building is one of the buildings not to have been left to rack and ruin
Devastated: Many houses have simply been left to rack and ruin
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Devastated: Many houses have simply been left to rack and ruin

Devastated: Many houses have simply been left to rack and ruin
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Devastated: Many houses have simply been left to rack and ruin
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Former glories: Echoes of a previous time are evident everywhere you go in Camden
Filthy: The stench of sewage permeates the run-down streets
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Filthy: The stench of sewage permeates the run-down streets

Filthy: The stench of sewage permeates the run-down streets
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Filthy: The stench of sewage permeates the run-down streets
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Hope: Despite the city's obvious problems, efforts are being made in the form of the Camden Community Housing Campaign to smarten it up

Jobless: Of its 70,390 residents, a staggering 40 per cent are out of work
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Jobless: Of its 70,390 residents, a staggering 40 per cent are out of work

Jobless: Of its 70,390 residents, a staggering 40 per cent are out of work
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Jobless: Of its 70,390 residents, a staggering 40 per cent are out of work
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Hazard: The homes are a health and safety risk, with many of them simply uninhabitable

Out of work: Many of the city's residents have been 'on the scrapheap' from the 'formal economy' for generations
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Out of work: Many of the city's residents have been 'on the scrapheap' from the 'formal economy' for generations

CITY OF CRIME: CAMDEN

Homicide:           34
Forcible rape:     60
Robbery:             766
Violent crime:     1,880
Burglary:             1,035
Larceny-theft:      2,251
Motor theft:         649
Arson:                   137
Property:              3,935
* in Camden (per 100,000 of population)
Deserted streets are now home to prostitutes and drug-pushers, who huddle under the noxious clouds spewed out by a huge rubbish-burning plant.
According to the AroundPhilly blog on Yahoo, one resident said: 'We don't have any real policing in Camden. They're just out here to pick up the bodies.'
It's a far cry from the city's heyday, when it was a destination for Italian, German, Polish and Italian immigrants.
Camden, located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, was originally incorporated as a city in February 1828.
But although once a hive for manufacturing and industry, it is perhaps best known for its struggles with crime.
Three Mayors have been jailed for corruption and two out of every five residents live well below the national poverty line.
Deserted: Camden has no movie theatres and the only supermarket is located outside of the city, away from the crime-ridden streets
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Deserted: Camden has no movie theatres and the only supermarket is located outside of the city, away from the crime-ridden streets

Deserted: Camden has no movie theatres and the only supermarket is located outside of the city, away from the crime-ridden streets
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Deserted: Camden has no movie theatres and the only supermarket is located outside of the city, away from the crime-ridden streets
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Harsh: Abandoned houses, dilapidated buildings, urban decay and extreme poverty as seen in Camden
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Harsh: Abandoned houses, dilapidated buildings, urban decay and extreme poverty as seen in Camden
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Harsh: Abandoned houses, dilapidated buildings, urban decay and extreme poverty as seen in Camden
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Deep seated urban decay: Citizens live in poverty across the run-down city
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Devastated: Many houses have simply been left to rack and ruin
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Devastated: Many houses have simply been left to rack and ruin
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Discarded: Empty bottles sit as a shrine on the location where a citizen was murdered
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Discarded: Empty bottles sit as a shrine on the location where a citizen was murdered

Back in the day: Camden, New Jersey
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Back in the day: Camden, New Jersey
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Back in the day: Camden, New Jersey, was a hub of manufacturing in industry for many decades

Style: Heavyweight champion of the world Joe Walcott and his wife are snapped strolling down Camden's Main Street during one of Joe's leisure days in 1951
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Style: Heavyweight champion of the world Joe Walcott and his wife are snapped strolling down Camden's Main Street during one of Joe's leisure days in 1951

Decay: Camden, located opposite Philadelphia, is a shadow of the city it used to be
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Decay: Camden, located opposite Philadelphia, is a shadow of the city it used to be

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2164849/Camden-New-Jersey-Images-thriving-metropolis-reduced-decaying-crime-ridden-rubble.html#ixzz2za9flWip
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