Vicksburg with a Hasselblad 100mm ƒ/3.5 CSi Lens and Fuji Pro 160 NS Film (Abandoned Films 10)

After successfully completing some medical treatments, I was overcome with a serious bout of GAS. That is Gear Acquisition Syndrome, although the other gas was also present. 

Hasselblad 501CM with 100mm ƒ/3.5 Planar CSi lens and correct hood

For over five years, I used an 80mm Planar lens on my Hasselblad. But sometimes, I wanted just a bit more reach. With 35mm cameras, I liked the 55mm ƒ/1.8 Super-Takumar lens on the Pentax Spotmatic. This was just marginally longer than the more common 50mm. Hasselblad's 100mm Planar lens would provide a diagonal coverage on 6×6 approximately equal to 55mm on 35mm, so I started looking at online vendors in USA. Soon, this gorgeous 100mm ƒ/3.5 Planar CSi lens came in a big padded box from Camera West. This is a 6-element Planar design and is reputed to be the highest resolution Hasselblad lens for distant subjects.

On a foggy and drizzly January day (my favorite light), I loaded a roll of Fuji Pro 160 NS film in the holder and headed out. This is a neutral color balanced film designed for wedding, fashion, and commercial product photography. Fuji did not distribute 160NS in the USA and discontinued it in the Japan market in October 2021.  

I posted these frames at 2400 pixels wide, so click any picture to see the details. Most were tripod-mounted.

Polk Street view east, January 7, 2023, 1/15 ƒ/11

Monroe Street looking south from China Street. The former Junius Ward YMCA is to the right.

Pearl Street near Fairground Street, 1/15 ƒ/16

2521 Pearl Street, still occupied (taken from railroad tracks)

501-509 Fairground Street (taken from railroad bridge), 1/15 ƒ/16

Floodwall and Bunge Corporation, Levee Street, view south (hand-held)

1109 Mulberry Street, view east, 1/30 ƒ/11

LD's Restaurant is in a building that formerly housed a club/bar (closed several times because of shootings) and a liquor store.

Railroad yard from Levee Street - 250mm ƒ/5.6 Sonnar lens, 1/4 ƒ/22

2427 Washington Street - 80mm ƒ/2.8 Planar-CB lens

I added two frames that I took with my 80mm and 250mm lenses. Hasselblad's 100mm lens is considered to be their "sharpest" (whatever that means in internet fantasy-land), but all the Zeiss lenses are superb performers. My Planar-CB is a 6-element design, in contrast to the more common 7-element models. My 250mm Sonnar is a 1960s silver barrel model with single coating, but it is just fine.

I found a very handy padded bag to hold my camera on the car seat next to me or on the floor. The rest of the kit stays in a larger camera bag. This is a Ruggard Onyx 35, only $17.95 from B&H. $17.95? That is the cost of a roll of film now. The original idea came from a WalMart lunch box that my wife suggested, but this Onyx is well-sewn and protective. Highly recommended.

Thank you all for joining me on this semi-random tour of Vicksburg.

Pearl Street Houses, Vicksburg, Mississippi (North of Klein Street)

North portion of Pearl Street photographed from the newly-built rail embankment and track relocation. The embankment occupies the site of the former Mississippi Lumber Company (K25 film, Nikon F3, 105mm ƒ/2.8 macro-Nikkor lens) . 

This grade crossing at Klein Street is now permanently blocked.

This is the last article in my survey of Vicksburg's Pearl Street houses, covering the stretch north of Klein Street. The previous articles covered:

• South of Fairground Street
• Fairground to Klein Streets

Pearl Street east side

501 Klein Street (digital image)

501 Klein Street 

No. 501 Klein Street, at the corner of Pearl, was on the city demolition list, as shown by the spray-pained "DEMO" sign. But as of early 2021, a work crew has been painting and repairing the house.

Around 1989 or 1990, the owner of this house imported some pieces of the Berlin Wall. They were so heavy, they came in by truck. My friend at Annabelle told me that the Berlin Wall guy planned to sell pieces as souvenirs. However, the pieces looked like nasty grey chunks of concrete, and there was nothing to uniquely identify them with the Wall. They languished on the side yard for a decade or more and finally disappeared. I suspect Vicksburg is not quite the right market in which to sell Cold War nostalgia or GDR souvenirs.

2123 Pearl Street in 2003 (Kodachrome slide, 50mm ƒ/2 Summicron-DR lens)

2123 Pearl Street (Panatomic-X film, Pentax Spotmatic, 55mm ƒ/1.8 Super-Takumar lens)

2123 Pearl Street was in good condition in 2003, but then deteriorated to the stage where the city inspector placed it on the demolition list. But as of 2021, it has been painted and repaired.

Pearl Street West Side

Railroad Avenue (below Klein), view west (Panatomic-X film).

The view west down Railroad Avenue is rather bleak, especially on a rainy day. I do not remember when houses lined the street.

2014 Pearl Street (no longer extant; Kodachrome 25 slide)

2004, 2006, and 2008 Pearl Street (Kodak Ektar 25 film, Rolleiflex 3.5F Planar)

2008 Pearl Street

2006 Pearl Street

2004 Pearl Street (no longer extant)

These little cottages had their front porches at street level, while the rest of the structures were perched over the hillside, supported by wood piles. This was a common construction practice early in the 20th century in this hilly city. But today, the buildings cannot be rebuilt on these lots once they have been condemned. These steep hillside lots becomes uninhabitable. 

1804 Pearl Street (no longer extant; Kodak BW400-2 film, 5cm ƒ/3.5 Elmar lens)

The City demolished a large number of these houses in the early 2000s. I do not have more photographs. These were approximately across the street from the warehouses that were part of the Mississippi Lumber Company (1900 Mulberry Street). 

Pearl Street Heading Downtown

Pearl Street view south past Mississippi Lumber Company sheds

Pearl Street view north

Pearl Street view north towards the Harrah's Casino hotel

The hotel in this photograph, originally built by Harrah's Casino, has been closed for at least a decade. As usual around here, there appears to be no status. 

This photograph shows the new section of track built by the Kansas City Southern railroad to reduce the radius of the curve where the rails turn east and pass under Washington Street. The older track, on the right, was such a tight turn, rail cars regularly derailed.

Dear readers, this ends our short series on Pearl Street. I hope these photographs will remind former residents of what the neighborhood looked like decades ago.

Pearl Street Houses, Vicksburg, Mississippi (Fairground to Klein Street)

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 the 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 (Leica 90mm ƒ/2.8 Tele-Elmarit lens)

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 Kitchen 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 as one of Vicksburg's best restaurants. I ate there several times.

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)

2430 Pearl Street (no longer extant; 50mm ƒ/2.8 Leitz Elmar-M lens)

2428 Pearl Street (no longer extant)

2426 Pearl Street (no longer extant)

2426 Pearl Street

2420 Pearl Street

2418 Pearl Street (Leitz 50mm ƒ/2.8 Elmar lens)

2414 Pearl Street

2410 Pearl Street (house and store?)

Speed Street to Klein Street west side (even number addresses)

The old-fashioned store at 2328 Pearl Street was decorated with some nicely-done portraits of civil rights icons in the 2002-2005 era. The building now is a dingy uniform tan color and is closed. It is made of cinderblock, which suggests it was built post-WWII.

2304 Klein Street (no longer extant; Ektar 25 film, Rolleiflex camera)

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 (Fuji X-E1 digital image)

Railroad Avenue must have once been lined 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 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.