Semi-Demolished 1800s House on Clay Street, Vicksburg, Mississippi

Kodak Super-XX film, 135mm ƒ/5.6 Caltar-S II lens

Kodak Super-xx film, 90mm ƒ/6.8 Angulon lens, 1/2 at ƒ/22.5

Two tall wood houses formerly stood on the north side of Clay Street in downtown Vicksburg just west of the former Clay & LaHatte Appliance store. The west-most house (the grassy lot in the foreground of the photograph above) formerly housed Ocean and Coastal Technologies, a marine engineering company. That building suffered a fire and was demolished about 15 years ago. The second house at 915 was a rental unit with five or six apartments. The roof was collapsing as of 2021 and possibly earlier. That sealed its fate. One day in early summer of 2022, I saw a work crew at the house and I knew the house's demise was ongoing.

I like the old-fashioned front door with the lights to either side and a transom above. I hope the demolition company saved it for reuse. 

View west from Cherry Street.

Time to cook dinner

The original demolition crew stopped work part way through their project. The partly-deconstructed remnants of the house lingered for about 6 months. Then, in early September, heavy equipment crushed the rest. As of October 1, 2022, the house was entirely gone. 

The next building uphill (to the east) was the former home of Wells & LaHatte appliances. They have moved across the street to a larger building. This handsome sign is a classic.

We have lost many other Victorian-era houses. One example that I photographed in 2017 was on Finney Street. Smaller cottages (e.g., on Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd.) are also being demolished as they decay. 

This is how Vicksburg loses its architectural heritage. 

I took the color frames with my Fuji X-E1 digital camera. The Fuji lenses all have excellent resolution. The two black and white photographs are from 4×5" Kodak Super-XX film that I took with my Tachihara wood field camera.

Treasures! The Adolph Rose Antiques, Vicksburg, Mississippi (Abandoned Films 05c)

Adolph Rose Building in the center the block (Cooper Post Card Collection, from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History) 

Clay Street view east with Adolph Rose Building to the left (Fuji X-E1 digital file)

Adolph Rose Antiques occupied the first two floors of the historic Adolph Rose Building at 717 Clay Street in Vicksburg. This handsome brick structure is one of the finest remaining examples of a multi-floor commercial building of the type that demonstrated Vicksburg's commercial ascendancy and prosperity in the late-1800s. 

In 2006, the adjoining building at 515 partly collapsed when some workmen were starting some form of renovation. I wrote about the mess in 2011. No one was hurt, and the damage to the Adolph Rose building was repaired. Now the lot is empty (see the photograph above).

Sadly, Malcolm and Karen sold the Adolph Rose in 2021 and closed their long-running antique store. Before their going-out-of-business sale, they generously let me explore inside with my camera. (Click any picture to expand it and see details.)

Ground floor of Adolph Rose Antiques (Fuji X-E1 digital file)

Rear (north side) of ground floor (Panatomic-X film, Leica M2 camera)

The street-level (ground) floor occupied half of the structure. On the other side of the long wall is the Strand Theatre. The Strand is active and is a venue for independent films and live productions from the Westside Theatre Foundation. The building was remodeled to include the Strand in 1934, and the cinema was active for decades.

Scales, cookware, a wringer-clothes washer, James Dean's toilet - it was all available here. I did not check if the old tube radios worked. 

Old-fashioned shoe lasts to prevent leather shoes from curling when stored in the closet. How many of you readers have used shoe lasts? They really do prolong the life of shoes, cowboy boots, and hiking boots.

The glassware was backlit near the back wall. Nice display.

Sturdy stairs lead up to the second floor. Up here, the antiques occupy the entire width of the building. This was a nice, airy space.

Books and LP records were on the second floor. None of the LPs interested me as they were rather romantic or schmaltzy 1960s offerings, but there likely is a market.

This ends our brief exploration of the Adolph Rose Antiques.

Several apartments are on the floors above, but they had tenants and were off limits. I do not know if the new owners of the Adolph Rose will continue to rent the apartments.

I wrote about a similar treasure/antique store on Halls Ferry Road in 2013. Sadly, that store closed in 2014 and all the neat items disappeared somewhere.

I took most of these 2020 photographs on 35mm size Kodak Panatomic-X film using my Leica M2 camera with 35mm or 50mm ƒ/2 Summicron lenses. Panatomic-X is a slow film, but that is what was loaded in my camera. This was one of my three last rolls and was in perfect condition. The light was a mixture of side-lighting from the tall windows along with tungsten and halogen bulbs overhead. I bounced flash off the ceiling, but it was so far above the furniture, I suspect there was minimal extra fill. Most were 1 sec. exposures, tripod-mounted. The traditional Panatomic worked well for this type of subject matter with just the right graininess (please click any frame to see more details). All comments welcome. Please see earlier articles dealing with other abandoned (discontinued) films.

Wandering around Lower Clay Street, Vicksburg, Mississippi

Clay Street descending from Cherry Street (Tri-X film (suffering from reticulation) taken from balcony of motel)

Clay Street comes into the core of old Vicksburg from the east. 

When the Methodist minister, Newitt (or Newit) Vick, platted the town, he intended Jackson Street to be the main east-west commercial street and laid it out as two-lane. But commerce did not develop that way and Clay Street became the main road with hotels, shops, and commercial buildings. The National Registry of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form, written by Nancy Bell of the Vicksburg Foundation for Historic Preservation, includes a readable and detailed summary of the city's growth and architectural changes over the decades. The "urban renewal" fad of the 1970s (i.e., free money from the Federal government) led to the demolition of numerous historic buildings and construction of some revolting and largely-unused concrete parking garages. Someone should follow the money and see who really benefitted from these "renewals."

In this short article, I will show you some photographs from lower Clay Street, the area from around Cherry Street and further west, heading towards the Yazoo Diversionary Canal.  

Former Wells & LaHatte appliance company (919 Clay Street), now moved 1 block west (Kodak 4×5" Super-XX film)

Interior of 919 Clay Street (Moto G5 photograph taken through a window)

The Wells and LaHatte company has sold household appliances in Vicksburg since 1935. It is nice to deal with a locally-owned company. They moved from their old building are now one block west at 1301 Monroe Street. 

Former apartments at 915 Clay Street (Super-XX film, 90mm ƒ/6.8 Angulon lens)

915 Clay Street is settling and collapsing (90mm ƒ/6.8 Angulon lens)

Side of 915 Clay Street from Cherry Street

915 Clay Street is an example of the type of multi-floor wood houses that once were more common around town. This one is pretty rough and had been converted into apartments. As of this writing (December 2021), the roof is collapsing into the interior and the house is settling. The photograph of the front door does not have barrel distortion; the house is settling (squashing?) unevenly into the cellar. 

Years ago, an identical wood house occupied the lot to the west, address 911 Clay. In the 1980s and 1990s, Offshore & Coastal Technologies, Inc., had its offices there, but the company closed and the building burned about 10 years ago.

Former Junius Ward YMCA, 821 Clay Street at corner of Monroe (Panatomic-X film, Fuji GW690II camera, 90mm lens)

The Junius Ward YMCA (originally the Young Men's Christian Association) was a center of social and sports activities for decades. The upper two floors contained residence halls for single men. I wrote about the 'Y in 2010 and have posted more interior photographs at other times. The building closed in 2002 when the 'Y moved to a modern facility east of town. No one has been able to reuse the old building, and it sits empty and forlorn. Someone did repair the roof about 10 years ago, but that was the last renovation that I have seen. I read that the building would need modern electrical service, fireproof stairs, and many other serious renovations to make it usable as apartments.

The Old Courthouse Museum sits on a hill in the upper right of the scene.  

Hotel Vicksburg, undated (from the Cooper Postcard Collection, courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History)

The Hotel Vicksburg at 801 Clay Street opened in 1929 and was the city's sophisticated hotel during the mid-20th century. It was the tallest building in town and even had a radio studio on the roof. Today, it is is the home of the Vicksburg Apartments. I know several people who rented units there and really liked their accommodations. Today, most inns and hotels are generic chain accommodations near the interstate.

Walnut Street view north on a foggy day (Tri-X film, Hasselblad 50mm Distagon lens)

721 Clay Street (4×5" Tri-X negative, 75mm ƒ/8 Super-Angulon lens)

Across the street from The Vicksburg is the elegant 1916 B'nai B'rith Literary Society building, now known as the B.B. Club. In the 1980s and 1990s, this building housed the Vicksburg Police Department. After the police moved to their new building on Veto street, the former mayor, Mr. Lawrence Lyons, bought the BB building and restored it with great care. The police had covered the plaster walls with panelling, but the underlying decorations and plaster work were largely intact. 

Note the sign for The Vanishing Glory. This was a multi-projector slide show held at the Strand Theater. Glory closed in the early 2000s and the Westside Theater Foundation restored and modernized the Strand. I photographed in the Strand in 2011 at the beginning of its restoration. 

The Strand Theater is in the Adolph Rose Building, circa 1890 (717 Clay Street). This is one of the best of the remaining late-1800s commercial buildings in Vicksburg, demonstrating the City's commercial and cultural prosperity in that era. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. I photographed in the Alolph Rose Antiques gallery and will post some pictures soon (stand-by for artsy photographs).

Clay Street view west to Yazoo Diversionary Canal and flood walls

Go west a block to Washington Street, and Clay Street becomes much steeper as it descends to the flood walls and the Yazoo Diversionary Canal. In the 1800, this was the main channel of the Mississippi River. Steamboats tied up along this waterfront, but now the view is marred by the concrete walls. 

A passageway, paralleling Gordon Lane (or alley), runs north through a tunnel in one of the old brick buildings. The tunnel is sort-of picturesque. No, it's just plain ugly. The rear facades of the buildings are sort-of picturesque. No, they are just plain ugly.

All right, the dead boat in one of the lots behind some Washington Street buildings is picturesque.

This ends out short tour of lower Clay Street and vicinity. Standby for more of Vicksburg in the future.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you readers. Thanks for riding along.

UPDATE:  I found a digital color photograph of the old warehouses on the north side of Clay Street. What would one find in one of these boarded-up buildings?

Lower Clay Street (Fuji X-E1 digital file, 1962 Jupiter-8 lens, ƒ/5.6) 

Wandering around Upper Clay Street, Vicksburg, Mississippi

Clay Street view west (Panatomic-X film, Hasselblad 250mm Sonnar lens, 1/15 ƒ/8.0½)

Clay Street is the major east-west road through Vicksburg. Before Interstate 20 (I-20) was completed in the early 1970s, US 80 came into town on Clay Street. A driver heading west would drive on Clay to downtown, turn left on Washington Street, and drive south to the old Mississippi River bridge.

I label the part of Clay Street just west of the Vicksburg National Military Park as upper Clay, while the area downtown near the Yazoo Canal is lower Clay. Here we will look at some scenes in upper Clay. Decades ago, private homes lined the street, but now it is strip America of the ugliest sort. You car, tire, and muffler repair shops, check-cashing and title-loan places, a few real estate offices, abandoned buildings, a dead A&P super market, derelict historic homes, and fast food emporiums. Empty lots show where houses once stood. A former resident labeled this "the ugliest street in America." Well, maybe not the ugliest, but certainly a contender. 

The Eastview Apartments, situated between Clay Street and Baldwin Ferry Road, are low income housing subsidized by the federal government via HUD (Housing and Urban Development). They are unusual construction, being suspended between telephone poles that were driven into the ground on the steep hillside. It was a practical solution compared to grading flat terraces and pouring concrete slabs. 

Eastview Apartments with Stouts Bayou in foreground (Panatomic-X film, Hasselblad, 50mm ƒ/4 Distagon lens, green filter)

Stouts Bayou flows under Clay Street through some form of culvert or tunnel because it emerges out of the hillside below the Eastview Apartments. This is kudzu jungle. It needs a cleanup by goats.

Warfield's ServiceCenter, at 2910½ Clay Street, has served customers for over 30 years. Good people.

 

One of the nondescript street running into Clay Street from the north is Hope Street. The proprietor at A & V Discount Tobacco & Beer generously let me take a photograph.

The long-unused Parkview Regional Medical Center building looms over the area north of Clay Street. It has been vacant since 2002, except for homeless who occasionally find ways to enter.

Mercy Hospital, Grove St. (Kodak Super-XX film, Tachihara 4×5" camera, 90mm ƒ/6.8 Angulon lens)

The Sisters of Mercy, who have a long history of care in this town, originally built Mercy Hospital in 1957. The present owners have tried to sell it but with no results. Who wants an obsolete hospital building considering the cost to renovate and upgrade electricity, exits, stairwells, and utilities? Externally, it looks intact, but I do not have information on the roof or the interior. 

When I took photographs in the parking lot in the rear, the neighbors came by and said they watch for vagrants. The police come, clear away the homeless, and then they return later.

Further west is a short segment of Crawford Street. This is not the main Crawford Street downtown but a short detached section running directly next to Stouts Bayou. The houses are on the south side of the road and have access via wood bridges. I photographed more of the Crawford Street region during my tour of neglected Vicksburg houses (Nov. 16, 2020 article).

1517 Main Street (Panatomic-X film, Hasselblad 501CM camera, 80mm lens, 1/8 sec. ƒ/8.0½)

Main Street is one of Vicksburg's historic streets. It is still lined with old houses, but one by one, they have been condemned and demolished. This house at 1517 looks pretty good, and I do not know its issues.

This ends our short tour of upper Clay Street. Standby for more Vicksburg photographs soon. Thank you all for riding along.