 |
Pearl Street view north during rare snowfall. Note that no houses stand on the west (left) side of the tracks. Kodak Verichrome Pan film, Hasselblad 501CM camera, 80mm lens. |
We will continue our review of historic Pearl Street in Vicksburg, Mississippi. This covers houses north of Fairground Street. This is not a comprehensive inventory because I did not photograph every house. Please see the previous article for the area south of Fairground Street. The color photographs are scans of Kodachrome 25 film. Click any frame to see a larger view. We will proceed from south to north, with house numbers decreasing.
I previously wrote about Pearl Street in
2010 and
2014. Below I have repeated a few of the photographs from the earlier articles, but I reprocessed the scans to improve the color or exposure.
Fairground Street to Speed Street east side (odd number houses)
 |
2529 Pearl Street |
 |
2529 and 2531 Pearl Street (Leica IIIC, 5cm ƒ/3.5 Elmar lens) |
 |
2529 and 2531 Pearl Street at sunset |
 |
2531 Pearl Street (note the sealed doorway) |
 |
2521 Pearl Street |
 |
2521 Pearl Street
|
This venerable duplex has been perched on this hill forever. The brick front steps are impressive. The house has been in poor condition for decades, but I think it is occupied.
 |
2515 Pearl Street |
 |
2509 Pearl Street |
 |
2423 Pearl Street (no longer extant) |
 |
2421 Pearl Street (Leitz 50mm ƒ/2.8 Elmar lens) |
 |
2421 Pearl Street
|
A wide grassy lot is just north of 2421. I do not know how many houses once occupied that strip.
 |
Undated post card from Tuminello's Restaurant |
The building in which Tuminello's restaurant was located is still standing at the corner of Pearl and Speed Streets, but the restaurant has been closed since the late-1980s or early-1990s. It was highly regarded in its day. I ate there two or three times in total.
 |
Pearl Street view south (Rolleiflex camera) |
The brick-faced building on the left (north) side of the street is the former Tuminello's Kitchen.
Some handsome tour houses, including
Annabelle Bed and Breakfast, occupy the east side of the block between Speed and Klein Streets. They are obscured by thick hedges and I do not have photographs of them.
Fairground to Speed Street west side (even number houses)
 |
2508 Pearl Street (no longer extant) |
 |
2430 Pearl Street (no longer extant) |
 |
2304 Klein Street (no longer extant) |
 |
2302 Klein Street (no longer extant) |
North of the store, no houses are standing as of 2021. The level crossings at Speed and Klein Streets have been closed and blocked. This way, the trains do not need to sound their deafening horns.
 |
Railroad Avenue view downhill to the west (digital image) |
Railroad Avenue must have once had many houses, but most are now gone. I am sure at one time, men from these houses worked at the railroad yard at the base of the hill. My friend said soot in the air from steam locomotives soiled laundry.
This ends our brief review of the central section of Pearl Street. The next article will cover the zone north of Klein Street.
2 comments:
Interesting how the light changes the way the houses look. I also like the details on some of the porch posts--unusual, especially the two houses on Klein.
On the one hand, I feel like there's little loss in the houses that aren't there anymore. On the other, they do represent a common form of housing there and when the last one is gone who will remember? Well, hopefully many will thanks to your documentation.
Post a Comment