Showing posts with label Robinson Road. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robinson Road. Show all posts

Thursday, December 22, 2022

Exploring John R. Lynch Street and West Jackson, Mississippi

University Boulevard


University Boulevard is a major thoroughfare that takes you from I-20 to just east of Jackson State University and into older residential neighborhoods in West Jackson. 



This former restaurant at 1336 University with the log cabin look resembles road houses and restaurants I have seen in Michigan, Indiana, and other upper Midwest states. The stone facing on the lower part is another unusual decorative element.


John R. Lynch Street



The 900 block of John R. Lynch Street is on the 2021 list of 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in Mississippi. From 10 Most:

Named for the first African American elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives, John R. Lynch Street is the gateway to Jackson State University.  Significant historic sites along the corridor include the COFO Office, Mt. Olive Cemetery, Masonic Temple, Ayer Hall, and NAACP Headquarters.  To the east of campus, Lynch Street now consists mostly of vacant lots, with four buildings in yjr 900 block serving as a reminder of what was once a bustling African American commercial district.  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Chambliss Shoe Hospital was operated by Jesse R. Chambliss from 1936 until the 1970s.  A prominent leader in the African American community, Chambliss was a founding member of the Jackson Negro Chamber of Commerce and State Mutual Savings and Loan and organized the first African American Boy Scout Troup in Jackson.  The central building once housed the Ebony Theater, which was opened in 1947 by Dr. A.H. McCoy, who also owned the Ritz Theater on Farish Street.  Following the shooting deaths of Philip Gibbs and James Green by Jackson police in 1970, Lynch Street was closed off and the once-thriving African American business district entered a decline.  Today, the buildings of the 900 Block of John R. Lynch Street stand vacant, damaged by fire and the ravages of time.   



Unfortunately, little is left of the Ebony Theater and the adjoining shops.



The east end of the 900 block is anchored by a closed gas station. I assume there were once commercial buildings where you now see concrete and the former island for the gasoline pumps.


Rose Street


Corner store, 545 Rose Street
Convenience store, 602 Rose Street
Store and apartment, 546 Rose Street
No gas today, 1005 Robinson Road at Rose

Head north on Rose Street after turning off from John R. Lynch Street and the scene becomes seriously depressing. Most of the commercial establishments were closed. I was struck by how little traffic I saw. An occasional car came by with the driver looking at me curiously or totally engaged with her phone. Old-fashioned corner stores attest to once-busy neighborhoods. Where has everyone gone? Where do the current residents buy groceries?


Adjacent to 1005 Robinson Road at Rose

Razor wire on the roof? To keep thieves from repelling down the face of the shop? Very mysterious.


West Capitol and West Monument Streets


Art strip mall, 1204 West Capitol Street at Monument
Side of 1204 West Capitol Street
Plumbing supply company, 800 West Monument Street

Head east on West Monument Street and you soon cross under the railroad tracks and get into downtown Jackson. Monument must have once been a major arterial. Traffic still thumps by on the rutted pavement.

I took these photographs with my Fuji X-E1 digital camera and a Fujinon Super EBC 18mm ƒ/2 lens, all hand-held. This is a lens that "photographers" on digital reviewing sites claimed was not "sharp." OK.....

Monday, July 26, 2021

The Technicolor Car Wash of Robinson Road, Jackson

I have written about Robinson Road before. In the 1980s and early 1990s, it was busy and looked reasonably prosperous. Now it is a wasteland of closed restaurants and shops and semi-occupied strip malls. I did a bit of exploring in early July (2021), and then I saw it: a decorated car wash. Nice job! But it was closed? Surely a car wash could stay in business. There was plenty of traffic and no end of dude-mobiles thumping along Robinson Road.

I also took some 4×5" frames with Super-XX film, but this may be a site better suited for color. I will post the Supper-XX frames some time in the future.

This is the former Mississippi Music. I recall shopping here in the early 1990s, but I can't recall if we bought a piano here. Now it is forlorn and moldering away.

These are digital files from my Moto G5 mobile phone.