Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Trashed apartment, Raymond Road, Jackson, Mississippi

Raymond Road is south of Interstate 20 in Jackson and connects Terry Road with MS 18 a few miles to the west. I rarely drive on Raymond Road, but in early 2021, I came across the abandoned Nova Park apartment complex at 1115 and could not resist stopping. It yelled "Dump" and "Come photograph me."

From a distance, the buildings look reasonably modern and intact, just architecturally boring. The roofs are fine. What happened?


Pass through the gate on one side and the trouble starts immediately. Like other apartments that I have photographed before, it looks like the tenants left in a hurry. Their possessions, televisions, toys, and junk are strewn about. The sheetrock has been trashed as vandals stole metal.

The worst thing about any abandoned property in Jackson is that it becomes a dumping ground for old tires, personal trash, and construction debris. Is there no municipal mechanism for disposing of materials? The perpetrators have no civic pride or regard for how they hurt nearby residents? Tires mean pockets of standing water, which means mosquitoes in summer. Trash demonstrates how a neighborhood is degrading.

I drove by about a year later, and, from the street, the site looked about the same. The hollowing out of America....

These photographs are from Fuji Acros film taken with my little 1949 Leica IIIC camera and its 5cm ƒ/2 Summitar lens. For most frames, I used a medium yellow filter and measured light with a Gossen Luna Pro Digital meter. I scanned the frames with a Plustek 7600i film scanner.  Click any frame to expand it and see more details.

Thank you for reading and standby for more Jackson adventures. For older articles, type "Jackson" in the search bar.

3 comments:

Suzassippi said...

Per the news, neglect of the property by the owners, failure to do repairs, dangerous conditions (exposed meters, mold, failing supports, and criminal activity. The units were built in 1974 as one bedroom/1 bath. The issues seemed to begin between 2006-2010.

Kodachromeguy said...

Thank you for the information about the units. Construction in 1974 means they are approaching 50 years old. I expect plumbing and HVAC fittings would need major overhaul. No one will pay for it. It is pretty sad and grim.

Suzassippi said...

It is grim, especially when so much of it will eventually go into a landfill and benefit no one.