Demolition of the Crawford Street Methodist Church Annex, Vicksburg, Mississippi

Crawford Street United Methodist Church (former Vicksburg Sanitarium?) Annex from South Street (50mm Summicron lens)

Vicksburg's Crawford Street United Methodist Church* extends over a large portion of the block between Crawford and South Streets in Vicksburg. A 3-story tall annex faced South Street. I think this annex was built in the early 20th century and was part of the Vicksburg Sanitarium (Street's Sanitarium, and later, the Sydney Building**. According to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History Historic Resources Inventory, in 1957 the "old building became Sydney House, a nursing home and apartments for the elderly. Sydney House closed in 1993. The general form and some exterior details of the original house were still visible on the facade of the building. The building burned in 1995 and was subsequently demolished. The Crawford Street UMC bought the property and the two buildings to the south (in the photograph above).

For many years, the lower floor of the annex housed a food bank, while the upper two floors were empty, as far as I know, through the early-2000s. A friend who volunteered at the food bank mentioned something about a kindergarten being in the upper floors at one time.

Sometime in 2018, the back wall of the annex building collapsed. While bicycling by in December, I saw a large backhoe and dumpsters. It was obvious that the old buildings were about to be demolished.

The workers started with the collapsed wall to the rear (the north side). Notice the interesting bridge between the two buildings.

Demolition, February 8, 2019

Once the tractor started working, the building came down quickly. I do not know if any of the old joists and timbers could be reused. I thought only the building to the left would be removed, but soon the second unit came down, as well. Now a field of gravel and bits of broken brick marks the footprint of the two buildings. I do not know if the area will be paved to expand the parking lot.

Former Carnegie Library, 819 South Street, Vicksburg

From the Cooper Postcard Collection, Mississippi Department of Archives and History

The handsome Spanish Mission Revival building at 819 South Street, across the street from the annex parking lot, now houses the City of Vicksburg Planning Department. Built in 1916, this was the former Carnegie Library***. It is a handsome building that has been well-preserved by the City. Good job!

Notes

* The Crawford Street UMC has a distinguished history. According to the Millsaps College web page:

Organized in 1834, Crawford Street Methodist Church in Vicksburg, holds a unique position in the history of Methodism in Mississippi as well as the history of Vicksburg. On the church grounds is the burial site of Tobias Gibson (1776-1804) , first missionary circuit rider - The Father of Methodism in Mississippi - to the Mississippi Territory for the Methodist Church. Originally buried some few miles away, the monument and grave were moved to Crawford Street in 1935. Newitt Vick , on whose property Vicksburg was built, and his family were hosts to the First Methodist Conference in the Old Southwest in 1812. Openwood church where the Vicks worshipped, was to be the forerunner of the Methodist church in Vicksburg. In 1841 J. W. Vick sold the M.E.C. South the land where the present church stands. The building was dedicated in 1850, But a new structure was to be built in 1899. It burned on Palm Sunday, 1925. After temporary arrangements a new building was constructed in 1955.

Source: Jenkins, William L. Mississippi United Methodist Churches: Two Hundred Years of Heritage and Hope. Franklin, Tennessee: Providence House. 1998. This title is available in the J. B. Can Archives.

**  The Vicksburg Sanitarium, now gone, was built around 1910. From the National Register listing:

The Vicksburg Sanitarium. A four-story, stuccoed, flat-roofed building, facing north, which was built incorporating an 1830s residence. A modillioned metal cornice is between the thud and fourth floors, and a plain cornice is at the roof. There are five bays in the main part of the building: four, two-over-two double-hung sash with stone lintels and sills and a non-historic entry. There is a stuccoe done-story portico supported by square stuccoed columns with a heavy balustrade on its roof. The center bay on the second floor is slightly recessed and is a non-historic door with original sidelights and transom. The recess is flanked by Doric pilasters supporting a denticulated entablature. There are several additions to the building. Ca. 1830s, 1910.

*** The National Register of Historic Places Registration Form notes:

The Old Vicksburg Public Library is architecturally significant in the context of public/governmental architecture in Vicksburg, Mississippi. It exhibits an outstanding design that represents the highlight of development during Vicksburg!s boom period. It is significant as the only public/governmental building in Vicksburg constructed in the Mission Revival style. While many residential buildings in Vicksburg were influenced by this style, the library is the only non-residential Mission Revival and is the largest building constructed in the style. Please refer to the contextual statement for more information about the architecture of Vicksburg.

In 1910 the Vicksburg Library Association decided to contact Andrew Carnegie to ask if he would help the Association build a new library. A library of sorts had been established on the third floor of the new City Hall in 1903, but the Association needed a larger building.

The Carnegie Foundation agreed to build a library building if the community would provide the ground for the building and agree to support the library once .it was established. The Civic League raised $5,000, of which $4,000 was used to purchase the lot and the remainder was used to purchase books and supplies. The planswere designed by Edward L. Tilton, an architect commissioned by the Foundation in New York City. The Library was completed in February 1916 at a cost of $28,000, of which $25,000 was provided by the Carnegie Foundation.

The black and white photographs are from Leica cameras with Fuji Acros or Kodak BW400CN films.

Mid-state Mississippi Road Trip Part 3: Hazelhurst, Crystal Springs, Pattison

Dear Readers, this is the third installment of our mid-state Mississippi road trip. This time, we are approaching Interstate 55 from the east. I-55 approximately follows the much older US 51.

Beauregard

Shack or former store, Beauregard Rd., Beauregard (Kodak BW400CN film, Leica IIIC camera, Canon 50mm ƒ/1.4 lens)

Victorian cottage, Elmore Street, Beauregard (note the white circle, a pinhole in the rubberized Leica IIIC shutter curtain)

Beauregard is a small town of only 326 in Copiah County. It is on old US 51, and likely had much more commercial traffic in the era before I-55 was built. I looked around the historic Beauregard Cemetery but did not take any pictures there. This cottage on Elmore Street must have been quite handsome in its day, as were a number of other older homes in the vicinity. 

Hazelhurst

Hwy 51, south end of Hazelhurst (Panatomic-X film, Fuji GW690II camera, yellow filter, ¼ sec ƒ/8.0½)

207 Caldwell Drive, Hazelhurst (digital file)

Hazelhurst is the seat of Copiah Country and was first settled in 1819. The city is just off I-55 about 35 miles south of Jackson. I had never driven through town, just buzzed by on I-55. I assumed that it would be reasonably prosperous because of its proximity to the interstate, but what I saw on old Highway US 51 was pretty rough. The house in the photograph above was empty but clearly had been a nice home in the early-mid-20th century. The car title loan company occupying an old Pan American Petroleum & Transport Company station says a lot about the financial conditions in the town.

Pine Bluff Lodge 428, 11155 Dentville Rd., Hazelhurst (BW400CN film, Leica M2, 50mm ƒ/2.0 Summicron-DR lens)

Templeton Grocery, 1011 Jack Rd., Hazelhurst (BW400CN film, Leica M2)

Templeton Grocery, 1010 Jack Rd., Hazelhurst (expired Kodak Ektar 25 film, Rolleiflex 3.5E with 75mm Xenotar lens) 

Some of the side roads in the area are pretty out-of-the-way. Dentville Road runs west-northwest out of Hazelhurst. About 13 miles west of Hazelhurst, an old grocery store occupies the junction with Jack Road. The store was closed but boarded up and not abandoned. I experimented with some expired Kodak Ektar 25 film in my Rolleiflex, but the film was well past its prime.

Crystal Springs

Wilson's Meat House, Crystal Springs (Panatomic-X film, Fuji GW690II camera)

On my 2019 trip, I was heading home, a bit disappointed with the day's photographic opportunities. But wait, a big cow on Hwy 51 just south of Crystal Springs. Just waiting for a portrait. It was too good to resist. I love scenes like this. I should do a cross-country expedition looking for cows, chickens, catfish, and what-not - folk art at its best.

Pattison

Store, MS 547 near White Hall Rd., Pattison (Kodak TMax 100 film, Olympus Trip 35 camera)

Store, MS 547 near White Hall Rd., Pattison (Kodak TMax 100 film, Olympus Trip 35 camera)

House on Lopiah Rd., Pattison (Kodak TMax 100 film, Olympus Trip 35 camera) 

In 2017, my wife and I drove home through the center of the state via Hwy 547. We passed through Pattison, a quiet and rather sad little town. It was probably more prosperous 50 years ago.

This ends out mid-state road trip. I have written about other small towns further north, such as Utica, Edwards, Learned, and Bolton.

Most of the photographs above are from film cameras. The house in Hazelhurst and the cow portrait are from Kodak's long-discontinued Panatomic-X film taken with my Texas Leica (the Fuji GW690II camera with 90mm Fujinon lens). Many of the others are from BW400CN film taken with Leica M2 and IIIC cameras with various lenses.

Mid-state Mississippi Road Trip Part 2: Pinola, New Hebron, Silver Creek, Georgetown, and More

Dear Readers, we continue our meandering mid-Mississippi road trip (done over two years, 2018 and 2019).

Pinola

Farm house, 677 Old Westville Road, Pinola (Kodak BW400CN film, Leica M2, 35 mm f/2.0 Summicron lens

This little house was at the corner of Westville Road and Hwy 28. A small town called Westville (one of Mississippi's ghost towns) was once located a few miles south along Westville Road, but only the historic cemetery remains now.

Jail, Johnny Bush Drive, Pinola

Historic school, 104 Johnny Bush Drive, Pinola

Pinola is an unincorporated community in Simpson County. It has some historical buildings including the oldest jail in Mississippi(?). Maybe I misread the sign. Regardless, it is the little wood building in the middle picture.

Closed gasoline station, Hwy 28, Pinola

S&W Grocery & Deli in 2018, 2248 Hwy 28, Pinola (closed permanently?)

It was a Sunday in 2018 when I drove through Pinola and not much was open. Quite by chance, I saw cars at the S&W Grocery & Deli on Hwy 28. The church crowd was there for Sunday luncheon. I joined them and had an excellent lunch. The folks were very friendly and seemed surprised that a tourist was exploring and taking pictures. A little mouse scampered along the baseboard with minimal concern that humans were present. But when I intended to return in 2019, I learned that the S&W was permanently closed.

Georgetown

Historic house, Hwy 28, Georgetown (BW400CN film, Leica M2, 50mm f/2.0 Summicron-DR, yellow filter)

Cottage (occupied?), Hwy 28, Georgetown

Georgetown is a little town (pop. 286) in Copiah County. There was not much to see, but these little cottages caught my eye.

New Hebron

Franklin St., New Hebron (Panatomic-X film, Fuji GW690II camera, green filter, ¼ sec f/11)

South of Pinola is the nice little town of New Hebron. I have been here before many years ago. It was Sunday and the churches were busy in the morning. This old snack shop/stand was on Franklin Street. I need to return and explore again.

Silver Creek

Fortenberry's Service Center, 3240 Southern Ave., Silver Creek (digital file)

Shop, 1245 N A Sandifer Highway, Silver Creek (Panatomic-X film, green filter)

Mechanic shop, 1245 N A Sandifer Hwy, Silver Creek (Panatomic-X film, 1 min f/11)

Silver Creek is a small town just off the main east-west US 84, which passes through south Mississippi. I did not see much of interest in the main part of town other than a classic filling station. But just to the west, I stopped at an old mechanic shop on the oddly-named N A Sandifer Highway. The inside was a wonderful conglomeration of metal parts, cobwebs, bicycles, and soft filtered light. This exposure was 1 minute at f/11. I exposed at 4 times the incident light meter reading to allow for reciprocity failure (film becomes less and less sensitive at longer exposures, so you need to add time to the light meter's reading). (Click the picture to see detail.)

Sontag

Cottage, Sontag-Nola Road (Kodak BW400CN film, Leica IIIC, Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens)

Porch detail, Sontag-Nola Road

Cottage, Sontag-Nola Road

Sontag is an unincorporated community in Lawrence County. I came across a number of abandoned cottages and buildings. I expect that this area, like many other rural areas around the United States, has lost population as people moved to cities for more job opportunities. There is still farming in central Mississippi, but it needs much less labor than decades ago.

This ends the second installment of the mid-state tour. Most of the photographs are from Kodak BW400CN film exposed with Leica M2 and Leica IIIC cameras. The New Hebron and Silver Creek frames are from the fantastic Kodak Panatomic-X film, exposed with the "Texas Leica" (a Fuji GW690II medium format camera). 

Mid-state Mississippi Road Trip Part 1: Raleigh, Mize, Magee, Mendenhall, and Florence

Introduction

Central Mississippi is out of my usual exploration area. I suppose I do not get out enough. Therefore, in conjunction with driving my wife to the airport, I have made an effort in the last couple of years to explore south of Interstate 20 and south of Jackson. This is an area of gentle rolling hills, farmland, forest, and small towns. We will take a gentle swing heading south from Jackson, then west, and then back to Vicksburg. There is a wealth of photographic subject matter. I will break up this impromptu tour into three blog articles. Also, the tour is a conglomerate of two years exploring, so it is not exactly one big circle route.

Florence

3011 Hwy 49, Florence, (April 14, 2019, Panatomic-X film, Fuji GW690II camera, 90mm lens, ½ sec ƒ/11)

In 2019, I drove south on Hwy 49. Usually, I just rush through Florence in a hurry en route to Hattiesburg or somewhere else. Seen from 49, it consists of fast food shops and gas stations - totally dull and horrifying in an American strip-mall way. Ah ha, an interesting shop. A gent was cleaning and we chatted. He said it was once a mechanic shop, but it now sells antiques. (Click the photograph to see detail at 2400 pixels wide).

Brandon

Unused cottage, Brandon, Mississippi (Leica M2, 50mm Summicron-DR lens, green filter, Kodak BW400CN film)

On my 2018 trip, I drove south on Rte 18 from Brandon, which is now largely a suburb of Jackson. Heading south on Rte 18, I saw an abandoned cottage in the woods. Otherwise, not much caught my eye.

Raleigh

Gasoline pumps, Raleigh Food Center, Hwy 35, Raleigh

Raleigh is at the south end of the Bienville National Forest. I assume the town was once heavily involved with forest products. I did not see much that was photogenic.

Mize

Faithway MB Church, Maple Street, Mize (50mm ƒ/2.0 Summicron-DR, green filter)

Mize is a pretty little town with a couple of handsome churches. The railroad went right through town, as it did for almost all small towns in the early 1900s.

Magee

1st Ave. NE, Magee (50mm, polarizer)

Hotel site, Hwy 49 north of Magee (50mm ƒ/2.0 Summicron-DR, green filter)

Magee looked reasonably prosperous, and several blocks of turn of the century commercial buildings attest to its being an important commercial center decades (or a century) ago. Somewhere between Magee and D'Lo, I found an old drive-in theater almost engulfed by the woods. Unfortunately, there was no way to photograph the screen, and I think the projection booth hut was gone. A trucking company may have owned the land.

Mendenhall

Big Smitty's, Hwy 149, Mendenhall

Main Street, Mendenhall (Leica M2, 50mm Summicron-DR lens, polarizing filter to emphasize sky) 

Mendenhall tracks, view west from Main Street crossing (50mm ƒ/2.0 Summicron-DR, polarizer) 

Mendenhall Grocary & grain, Main Street, Mendenhall

Maain Street, Mendenhall (50mm ƒ/2.0 Summicron-DR, polarizer)

Mendenhall, about 25 miles south of Jackson, is the seat of Simpson County. The handsome courthouse dates from 1908 and occupies a prominent spot on a hill at the top of Main Street. It is a nice little town, but the stores on Main Street are now largely empty.

Many years ago, the Mendenhall Hotel was famous for its southern cuisine served via lazy Susan turntables. It was featured in the 1977 edition of Roadfood by Jane and Michael Stern. We had the book and meant to try out the Mendenhall Hotel but never passed through the area at the right time of day.

Star Theater, Main Street, Mendenhall in 1990 (no longer extant). (Kodachrome slide, 35mm ƒ/2.8 Olympus Zuiko Shift lens.)

I was lucky to photograph the Star Theater (opened in 1938) on Main Street in 1990. But when I looked for it on my 2019 trip, it was gone. According to Wikipdia:

"During the late 1960s, the Star Theatre had problems with vandalism and growing racial tensions among its young patrons who objected to maintaining segregation. Under Jim Crow customs, black customers were required to sit in the segregated balcony and wanted this changed after national legislation to end such practices.

In October 1979, a newly remodeled and fully integrated Star Theatre reopened under the ownership of Danny Collins, a young local entrepreneur. Its first movie was the Chuck Norris film A Force of One. The theatre enjoyed revived popularity until competition from video arcades and cable TV forced Collins to close some three years later. 

The theatre was repainted when used as a location for the film My Dog Skip. Heavy rains caused the roof to collapse in April 2008. The theatre burned down in 2016."

This ends Part 1 of our informal tour of mid-Mississippi. In the next installment, we will proceed west to Pinola and other small towns.

For the Florence photograph of the old store, I used Panatomic-X film in my Fuji GW690II, the "Texas Leica."  Some good news: I bought 6 more rolls of the 120-size film from the same eBay seller who sold me my present stock in 2003. In effect, I have paid him to store the film in his freezer for a decade and a half. Fortunately, slow speed black and white film, when kept cold, is usable decades after its official expiration date. But color films do not last as well, as my experience with expired Ektar 25 demonstrated.

The other photographs are from Kodak BW400CN film taken with my Leica M2 camera with 50mm and 35mm Summicron lenses.

1960s Excellence: the Canon 50mm ƒ/1.4 Leica Thread Mount (ltm) lens

Leica IIIC camera with 1960s-vintage Canon 50mm ƒ/1.4 ltm lens

Background

Long-term readers recall that I have used my dad's Leica IIIC rangefinder camera for decades. He bought it at the Post Exchange in Guam in 1949 and used it for family photos in Asia and Europe. It was equipped with a Leitz Summitar 5 cm ƒ/2.0 collapsible-barrel lens. The Summitar was a remarkable 7-element optic of pre-WWII design. My sample has noticeable field curvature and displays a lot of aberrations at ƒ/2.0 and ƒ/2.8. That can be used creatively for certain types of work. By ƒ/4.0 or smaller, the aberrations are barely noticeable.

But I often take pictures of architecture and wanted a lens that was more uniform over the entire field and maybe offered better resolution. But which lens to choose? Tens or hundreds of Leica thread-mount (ltm) lenses were made in the 20th century by German, Russian, and Japanese optical companies.

Alternate lenses

If money were no object (you know that fairy tale), Leica issued a limited production of their superb Type 5 50mm Summicron in 1999 with the 39mm thread mount rather than the bayonet M mount used in their current cameras. I checked eBay and saw copies being sold by Hong Kong companies for over $2000 (Hong Kong is the place to look for unusual collector items like this). The extra-rare Leica 50mm ƒ/1.4 Summilux Type V is $3400. OK, above my budget. (2024 Update: That $2000 now looks pretty reasonable.)

Leica also issued their Type 2 Summicron in thread mount from 1960-1963. But this is another rare collector (= expensive) item. I have a Type 2 Summicron-DR in M mount, but there is no way that an M-mount lens can be fitted to the older thread-mount camera bodies.

I wanted a vintage lens as opposed to one of the modern Voigtlander (= Cosina) or Konica ltm lenses, which meant a 1950s or 1960s optic. It surprised me that the 1950s and 1960s ltm lenses from Minolta (Rokkor), Fujinon, Topcor, Tanaka (Tanar), Yashica, and Konica Hexar sell for hundreds, I suppose because of their rarity.

Soviet ltm lenses physically fit the Leica bodies but often have focusing issues because of a difference in the standard used for the focal length. Many users claim no issues, but I decided to stick with a lens specifically made for the Leica standard. Also, Soviet lenses suffer from highly variable quality control and material selection.

The Canon Camera Company made excellent interchangeable lens rangefinder cameras from the mid-1940s through 1972. The V series were especially innovative, according to Cameraquest. By the late-1960s, the single lens reflex (SLR) camera was dominant in the marketplace and Canon ended production of their innovative Canon 7S rangefinder camera in 1972. Leica and some of the Eastern Block companies continued to make interchangeable lens rangefinder cameras after the late-1960s, but most used bayonet-mount lenses. I remember visiting a camera store in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1976 or 1977, and they still had some new Canon ltm lenses in stock.

Thankfully, Canon's 50mm lenses were designed for the exact same mount and focus design as the Leica thread cameras, so they would work correctly on my IIIC. Canon offered 50mm lenses in ƒ/3.5, 2.8, 2.2, 2.0, 1.9, 1.8, 1.5, 1.4, and 1.2 maximum apertures. A remarkable ƒ/0.95 version only fit on the Canon 7 bodies. The early post-war lenses were very heavy, with chrome-plated brass bodies. I wanted one of the later and lighter-weight versions, so that meant theType 2 ƒ/2.2, ƒ/1.8, or ƒ/1.4 models.

For more information about ltm lenses:

• Canonrangefinder.org
• Camerapedia
• Summary of ltm lenses from various companies on Cameraquest
• Summary of Canon ltm lenses on Cameraquest
• Summary of Canon's 50mm lenses from canonrangefinder.org

The ƒ/1.8 and ƒ/1.4 models were by far the most common, which directed my search. But I learned that a majority of the Type 2 ƒ/1.8 lenses suffer from haze on the glass element behind the aperture. No one has a solid answer why this develops, but the haze or scum etches the coating and even the glass. That left one choice: the gorgeous and well-regarded ƒ/1.4 lens. Japanese and Hong Kong eBay vendors offer these lenses in varying conditions.

After a bit of searching, I bought this beauty from a Japanese eBay seller. He claimed there were some scratches on the coating, but I cannot see them. The coating is single layer, not multi as in 1970s and newer lenses. Mine is a Type 2, but I do not know the exact date because I have been unable to find a chronology of older Canon lens serial numbers. The lens is a modified Gaussian design with six elements in four groups. The aperture ranges from ƒ/1.4 to f/22 with nice precise clicks. The filter size is 48mm. I ordered a vented hood from one of the Chinese eBay vendors (about $3) as well as some filters, and I was ready to take pictures.

Some other reviews of the Canon 50mm ƒ/1.4:

• A blogger, Jason Howe, wrote a detail description of this lens.
• Hamish Gill, the editor of the 35MMC blog, presented nice examples.
• A review by Kevin Shorter.
• Some portraits of Carlos Santana. 

It is difficult to tell what the 1.4 lens cost when it was current. A 1963 Modern Photography showed $210. But a 1968 Modern showed only $126.

Note: As of 2019, Leica is still making their superb M-A film rangefinder camera, and sales have increased with the revival of film. In 2023, Leica reintroduced their Leica M6 camera.  

Initial test film

Wow, new lens, so exciting. I loaded some Kodak BW400CN film in the IIIC and headed to the countryside south of Interstate 20 in central Mississippi.

Front porch, April 14, 2019, Sontag, Mississippi (hand-held, approx. ƒ/8)

Abandoned mid-century cottage, Sontag-Nola Road, Mississippi

Truck and farm yard, Sontag-Nola Road, Mississippi

Former filling station, Beauregard, Mississippi

Closed gasoline station on Hwy 27 near Utica (ƒ/11 or ƒ/16); note detail foreground and back

Apartment complex with unusual architecture between Clay Street and Baldwin Ferry Road, Vicksburg (medium yellow filter)

Detail (original size) of sign on left center of the previous photograph.

Holly Beach, Louisiana. I hope that truck has large enough tires to impress the ladies.

Old Country Store, Lorman, Mississippi (Fuji Acros 100 film, long exposure braced on ledge)

Historic cottage at 706 Harris Street, Vicksburg, Mississippi (with med. yellow filter)

Minister on Washington Street, Vicksburg (Fuji Acros film)

Summary

This is a beautiful optic with nice rendering, even on BW400CN film. This was a top-grade lens in the 1960s, an example of Japanese optical and mechanical excellence. I will test it with fine-grain film; if I can find some 135 size Panatomic-X, that would give a genuine old-school appearance to my negatives. This lens is large enough to block some of the viewfinder, and I need to compose carefully. One solution is to use a 50 mm auxiliary finder. I just bought a Canon version.  

Final conclusion: if you want a classic lens for a Leica ltm rangefinder camera, definitely consider the Canon thread-mount lenses.