Mississippi Doors 02

Let's continue exploring Mississippi Doors. What lies behind? Anything interesting? Empty space? Snakes? Memories of long lost customers, children, and shop clerks? Will we ever know?

Rear of 325 Washington Avenue, Greenville

Rear of 323 Washington Avenue, Greenville

343 Washington Avenue, Greenville (Fuji X-E1 camera, 27mm Fuji lens)

Johl & Bergman Shoes once occupied this store. The handsome entrance featured dual doors and large plate glass windows to display their merchandise. Note the black marble panels.

Smith's Appliances, Vicksburg

Smith's Appliances on Magnolia Road in Vicksburg sells old machines, freezers, and odd treasures. It's fun to sniff around places like this. The owner has generously let me photograph inside.

Remnant of theater, 928 John R Lynch Street, Jackson (Fuji X-E1, 18mm ƒ/2 lens)

The theater is on a block of buildings that once were part of a thriving African-American commercial district. The Mississippi Heritage trust included the 900 block of John R. Lynch Street on its 2021 list of 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in Mississippi.

Former YMCA Club, Monroe Street, Vicksburg (Kodak Royal Gold 25 film, Leica M2, 35mm ƒ/2 Summicron lens). (Note: Royal Gold 25 was an astonishing film, but it gone forever)

The former YMCA on Clay Street in Vicksburg continues to deteriorate. Status: unknown. I photographed inside many times in the past.

Hallway in St. Francis Xavier Convent, Vicksburg (Kodachrome 25 film)

The St. Fancis Xavier Convent is now part of the Southern Cultural Heritage Center. This building was home to the nuns who ran the school and helped operate the hospital for over 100 years. Most of the convent building is unused now, but the roof has been repaired to prevent water damage. 

Demolition of 915 Clay Street, Vicksburg (Moto G5 phone)

This was a late 1800s wood building broken up into 5 or 6 apartments. In 2021, I saw that part of the roof had collapsed, which foretold the eventual condemning of the structure. It was demolished in 2022.

 

Deconstructed church, 1205 MLK Blvd., Vicksburg

Someone took apart this little church on Martin Luther King Blvd. I do not know if they recycled the wood or rebuilt the church in another location.

Warehouse, Railroad Avenue, Hazelhurst

Oops, I could not resist, a door from Fells Point, Baltimore Inner Harbor, Maryland.

Fells Point, Maryland

This ends out short tour of the mysteries of doors. Thank you all for reading.

Mississippi Railroad Towns: Crystal Springs and Hazelhurst

Crystal Springs

The City of Crystal Springs is about 20 minutes south of Jackson along Interstate 55. Most people rush by on the interstate, but it is a pleasant community and worth a stop. It looks more prosperous than many other Mississippi towns that I have visited. The city was formed in 1858 when the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad built facilities in the area. Copiah county was known as the "Tomato Capital of the World" because in the late 1930s, the county canned and shipped via rail car more tomatoes than any other county (anywhere in the USA?). You can even attend the Tomato Festival in June.

Former Wolf Hotel, 1854 West Railroad Ave., Hazelhurst (Kodak Royal Gold 25 film, Leica camera)

Crystal Springs in 1920 (from Mississippi Dep. of Archives and History)

Wolf Hotel (Kodak Panatomic-X film, Fuji GW690II, 90mm lens)

I am not sure exactly where the 1920 photograph was taken, but a traveler getting off the train in Crystal Springs may have stayed in the Wolf Hotel. Most towns had a businessman's hotel of this type convenient to the depot. Many (most?) European towns also have Bahnhof hotels, many of which are still in use. I have stayed in many of them over the years.

I talked to some old-timers at the Pawn Shop in the ground floor. They said the upstairs was a mess and they were slowly restoring it. I would have enjoyed exploring, but possibly the floors are not sound. Next trip...

Warehouse, 501 E. Railroad Ave. (Kodak Royal Gold 25 film, 50mm Summicron-DR, 1/8 ƒ/8)

Shop, 345 West Railroad Ave. (Royal Gold 25, 50mm Summicron-DR, 1/8 ƒ/5.6

I saw an old corrugated steel warehouse on East Railroad Avenue. Was it once for tomatoes or lumber? Most of it was not photogenic, but I liked the door and steps. An abandoned car repair shop on East Railroad Avenue was also had an interesting door.

Obviously, this has been a cursory look at Crystal Springs. I will revisit soon.

Hazelhurst

Continue south a few miles and you reach the small town of Hazelhurst. This is another Copiah County  town whose development was stimulated by construction of the railroad in the 1860s. Again, a bridge across the tracks provided a good viewpoint for a photograph. Some of the commercial buildings in town have been converted into apartments and stores. 

Gallatin Street overpass, Hazelhurst (Moto G5 photograph)

View south from Gallatin Street (4×5" Kodak Super-XX film)

Lumber warehouse from South Ragsdale Ave. (4×5" Super-XX film, 240mm G-Claron lens, 1/4 ƒ/64, yellow filter)

Hazelhurst is also a cheerful little town. The big lumber (or tomato?) warehouse next to the tracks was empty, but the commercial stores in town were mostly in use. 

A block of old stores on Georgetown Street faces the railroad tracks. These buildings ones have definitely seen better days. The stucco facade is unusual, possibly a renovation some decades ago?

A cow cornerstone! You see some interesting features in small towns.

We will explore some more Mississippi towns in future updates. Thank you for riding along.

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.

When Film goes Bad (expired Ektar 25 film)

Former Edwards High School gymnasium, Magnolia Street, Edwards, Mississippi

I finally used the last of my stock of long-frozen Kodak Ektar 25 color negative film. It was quirky and a bit hard to use, but had a unique color palette. As a test, I bought two rolls from a fellow on eBay who claimed they had been refrigerated. I tried one of the rolls and it was fine. Then I bought two more rolls from another seller who honestly said he did not know the storage conditions. Many of these expired films come from estate sales, where a buyer opens an old camera bag and finds film. This time, the film was clearly ruined. Of a roll of 12 exposures from my Rolleiflex 3.5E, most were grossly underexposed, and I could only extract 5 frames. I used an exposure index (EI) of 12, but possibly if I tried EI 4 or 6, I might have saved a couple more frames. Regardless, I discarded the other roll. Really, it does not make sense to buy expired color film stock unless the seller can guarantee it has been frozen.

Expired black and white film is more forgiving because, of course, you do not have a color shift. I am still using 3-decade-old Kodak Panatomic-X film, which has been frozen all this time.

Crossroads store, Old Port Gibson Road, Reganton, Mississippi

The venerable Crossroads Store in Reganton, on Old Port Gibson Road, has been in business for a century. It is an example of the type of country store that once served farmers and workers who did not have access to a car in an era before strip malls and supermarkets. The day I took this picture, the store was hosting a crawfish boil, and everyone was having a good time. They invited me to eat!

Unoccupied house on Old Port Gibson Road, Reganton, Mississippi

Templeton Grocery, Jack Road, Hazelhurst, Mississippi

Templeton Grocery, Jack Road, Hazelhurst, Mississippi

The old Templeton Grocery at the intersection of Jack and Dentville Roads, northwest of Hazelhurst, is another example of an old neighborhood country store. This one was sheathed with asphalt shingles. These were similar to roof tiles and were equally durable, and were often made to resemble bricks or stone. Asphalt sheathing was popular mid-20th century but now is typically associated with low-income neighborhoods or old industrial or mill towns in the northeast.

Shack-Up Inn, Clarksdale, Mississippi

Finally, we have a frame from the Shack-up Inn in Clarksdale. This is a Blues-oriented inn where the guests stay in old farm silos or shotgun shacks. I had tried a roll of Ektar 25 from an eBay vendor who claimed the film had been frozen. Most frames turned out all right, but some clearly showed that the film had aged. Too many years have gone by since Kodak discontinued Ektar 25. Sadly, it is time to move on to a contemporary medium format color negative film.

These photographs are from a medium format Rolleiflex 3.5E twin-lens reflex camera with a 75mm ƒ/3.5 Schneider Xenotar lens. All frames tripod-mounted. I scanned the film with a Minolta Scan Multi film scanner at 2820 dpi.

This is no. 02e of my irregular series on Abandoned Films.