Mementos beneath tree near Bayou Corne

When the Ground Gives Way

Photographs by Virginia Hanusik. Text by Katy Reckdahl.

Seven years ago, a Louisiana petrochemical operation overlooked warnings and a 6,000-foot-deep salt mine collapsed into a sinkhole. Now the residents of Bayou Corne have scattered, and the town stands empty. New photographs show the aftermath of disaster.

Seven years ago, a Louisiana petrochemical operation overlooked warnings and a 6,000-foot-deep cavern collapsed into a sinkhole at Bayou Corne. New photographs show the aftermath of disaster.

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Columnists

  • Belmont Freeman
  • Naomi Stead
  • Sandy Isenstadt

Belmont Freeman

Belmont Freeman is a columnist for Places. He is principal of Belmont Freeman Architects, an award-winning design firm in New York City.

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Gabrielle Esperdy

Gabrielle Esperdy is a columnist for Places. She is associate professor of architecture at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

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Naomi Stead

Naomi Stead is a columnist for Places. She is an architecture critic and Head of Architecture at Monash University.

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Sandy Isenstadt

Sandy Isenstadt is a professor of architectural history at the University of Delaware, and a columnist for Places.

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Series

New Landscape Photography

Curated by Aaron Rothman

Contemporary photographers explore the changing relationship between the human and the natural.

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