Detroit was once the symbol of prosperity and economic development, but with the decline of the American auto industry, the Motor City has fallen into a great state of dilapidation.

The city has lost about a million of its residents (60% of its population) since the 1950s, and numerous factories, businesses and service buildings have been abandoned.

Two photography exhibitions at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. this fall explore the residential, commercial and industrial ruin of Detroit, Michigan.

Both "Detroit Is No Dry Bones" by sociologist and photographer Camilo José Vergara, who has been documenting the precipitous decline of Detroit for 25 years, and "Detroit Disassembled" by Andrew Moore, who is renowed fro his large-format photography, will be on display through February 18, 2013.