More Wide View in West Jackson/Hwy 80 (Xpan 10)

Dear Readers, I have inflicted photographs from west Jackson on you before. Highway US80 was once a major commercial artery with factories, restaurants, hotels, and motels. Today it is rough. Traffic buzzes past empty warehouses and factories. Motels look like dives.

Not much discounting any more (30mm ƒ/5.6 lens)

The former Gipson Discount Foods is an example of the type of abandoned warehouses that you see along 80. It has some elements of post-war moderne decoration, possibly not too bad when new. And the yellow paint was cheerful.

Former employee entry to Coca-Cola bottling plant (30mm ƒ/5.6 lens)

The "Plant" is, I think, the former Coca-Cola bottling factory, originally built in 1949. The complex appears to be unused, but I recently saw a new fence. Possibly it is an attempt to exclude homeless people. According to a 2010 article in West Jackson:

The plant was a mainstay on Highway 80 for 58 years. Then, in 2007, the company vacated the aging facility and moved into a newer building in the Northwest Jackson Industrial Park near Interstate 220. The bright spot in this story: at least they didn’t leave the city. However they did leave 143,000 square feet of building space to rest vacant and lonely on the west side.

Kodak Super-XX film, 180mm Caltar II-N lens, yellow filter

The 1949 architecture was considered modern in the post-war era. A Tulsa real estate brokerage company auctioned the site in 2016, but I did not see on their web page who (if anyone) bought it.  

Jackson Southwest Hotel, 2649 Hwy 80 West, Jackson

The Jackson Southwest Hotel, possibly a Holiday Inn at one time, sits empty and vandalized on a hilltop just west of Ellis Avenue. According to WLBT News in October of 2020, a grant will help revitalize it into a residence for seniors. I previously wrote about the hotel in 2020.

Hotel O, Ellis Avenue, Jackson

The Hotel O is on Ellis Avenue just north of the westbound ramp to Interstate 20. Despite its modern appearance, vagrants have lived in it for several years and have set fires. You can see fire damage on the right side of the building in the photograph above. It is likely that the building will be razed soon, just like the former Best Western Metro Inn, which was once right across the street. The Metro Inn was crunched up in April of 2021, and nothing is left. 

Is this really what happens in American cities? Build, maximize the tax benefits, let the property decline as it moves down the food chain, abandon it, and then demolish it at taxpayer expense? What a ghastly waste of resources, earth materials, and energy.

The panoramic photographs are from Kodak Portra 160 film via the amazing Hasselblad XPan camera and its 30mm and 45mm lenses. Click any frame to see details at 2400 pixels wide.

Panoramas on the Dixie Overland Highway - Mound, Tallulah, and Delhi (XPan 04)

As I wrote in the previous article, a generous friend loaned me his fabulous Hasselblad XPan panoramic camera. You may recall that I wrote about using an XPan in western Washington and Seattle during 2004, when I worked there for a few months. 

This offer was much too kind to resist. Loading a roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 film, I crossed the Mississippi River bridge to Louisiana and drove west on historic US 80, once known as the Dixie Overland Highway. I have photographed in Mound and Tallulah before with regular cameras, but the area offers topics for a wide view. Please click any picture to enlarge it. Unenlarged, they look like skinny sideways pictures, especially on a mobile phone.  (An aside: one day I plan to follow the former route of the Dixie Overland all the way to San Diego.)

Delta

Mount Zion BC Church, near Delta, Louisiana (45mm lens, med. yellow filter)

Tallulah

Tallulah is a bit beat-up. I have photographed there over the years and sometimes bicycle through town if I bike the loop on LA 602 and US 80. 

No shopping here, West Green Street (US 80), Tallulah (45mm, med. yellow filter)

No shopping here, either, West Green Street

Waiting for a load, West Green at Fourth Street (45mm at ƒ/8, yellow filter)

Fixer-upper house west of Tallulah, US 80

Willow Bayou Rice & Grain, west of Tallulah, US 80

Delhi

Delhi (Del'-high) is an agricultural town west of Tallulah on US 80 (no, not the Delhi in India - I have been there, too). It looks a bit more prosperous than Tallulah, and the downtown strip has some stores and restaurants.

Mooney's Auto Sales & Repairs, First Street (US 80) at Rundell Street, Delhi

No more pumping, Delhi Water Works

The Air Man of Delhi, First Street (US 80)

I took these photographs on Kodak Tri-X 400 film exposed at EI=320. Northeast Photographic in Bath, Maine, developed the film. Because the frames are 68mm wide, I scanned them in two pieces of 36mm with my Plustek 7600i film scanner and merged them with the Photomerge function in Photoshop CS5. The Tri-X is a bit grainy and does not let these lenses show their true potential.

Thanks, Bill, for letting me use your XPan!

Standby for more Xpan photographs in the future, including examples in color.

Vinny the Voigtländer Vito BL does Jackson (Abandoned Films 08a)

Introduction

Mr. Vinny, my little Voigtländer Vito BL camera, shares shelf space with a bunch of other cameras. He does not get out nearly often enough. Although well over 60, Vinnie is still a sturdy, well-built little fellow (I wish I could say the same for me). He has a rigid body and a 50mm ƒ/3.5 Color-Skopar lens. This is a unit-focus 4-element lens, Voigtländer’s masterful 1949 revision of the classic Tessar formula. This may be one of the best of these post-war 4-element lenses, and, of course, it was was fully-coated. The refined lens and the precision of the entire system contributes to Vinnie’s excellent optical output.

Last October (2021), I heard Vinny say, "Come on, take me to the big city." I loaded a roll of Kodak BW400CN film and took Vinnie to Jackson. 

BW400CN Film

BW400CN was a C-41 monochrome film. It was intended to be used by photographers who wanted convenient black and white prints from any store or photo shop with a C-41 processing machine. Kodak discontinued it in 2014.

I have mixed feelings about the BW. Sometimes, the tonality was very pleasing and the results looked good; other times, the dark areas were muddy and nasty. Even though Kodak claimed that it was extra fine grain, I found it to be surprisingly grainy and it often looked gritty. But that sometimes worked for me because I frequent gritty places. Regardless, I had three rolls left to use. I exposed them at EI=320 but probably should have given more exposure. This group of Jackson pictures is from the first roll, which may have degraded with time. It was X-rayed at least once during a trip to Asia, which may account for some loss of sensitivity and fog.

If you want a current film that can be processed in C-41 chemicals, Ilford still sells its XP-2 in 135 and 120 sizes.

East Jackson

Junior Achievement of Mississippi, High Street, Jackson

This is the abandoned Junior Achievement building at the very east end of High Street, just below the Pearl River levee. The organization educated young people in business and economic issues, taught them financial literacy, and prepared them for work and careers. However, Junior Achievement of Mississippi failed in the 2009 recession and left its building behind.

Bayou at High Street, Jackson (1/300 ƒ/11, green filter)

This is a typical bayou, or stream. This one separates Junior Achievement beyond the thicket to the left from the BMW automobile dealer off to the right. This bayou may be too small to support any alligators, but I avoid wandering down in the brush and muck.

Morris Ice Company, 652 S. Commerce Street, Jackson (yellow filter)

Morris Ice Company, 652 S. Commerce Street, Jackson

The former Morris Ice Company is an interesting time capsule of early 20th century industry. Ice was critical in the hot southern summers for hospitals, food preservation, brewing, food shipment, and keeping your martini chilled. Mr. Pickering, who was planning to redevelop the old factory, let me photograph inside in 2019. The Covid must have disrupted his plans because I have not seen any changes there since 2019. But a company that builds wood canoes still rents part of the space.

South State Street, view north (1/300 ƒ/11, yellow filter)

Dot Com Motors, 1011 S. State Street, Jackson (1/300 ƒ/11, yellow filter)

State Street is a major north-south street running through the heart of Jackson, The southern part of State is pretty grungy, with closed car dealers, tire shops, and warehouses. The Corvette in the first photograph has been perched on its post for at least three decades. A former fast food restaurant once hosted Dot Com Motors. I supposed it wanted to be modern.

West Jackson

Tarrymore Motel, Hwy 80 west, Jackson

Former Coca Cola bottling plant, 1421 Hwy 80 west, Jackson (1/125 ƒ/16-22)

During the post World War II era, Highway US 80 west was a thriving industrial and commercial area. Old-timers recall sophisticated restaurants and motels, and major companies established factories there. 

Today, Hwy 80 is a wasteland of closed hotels, empty factories (like the Coca Cola bottling plant in the photograph above), low-end fast food restaurants, payday loan shops, used car dealers, and abandoned warehouses. Homeless people have occupied old hotels and stripped the fittings. I am baffled and have no explanation for the decay. But this is not unique to Jackson; many other American cities have experienced the same hollowing out and decay of their infrastructure. 

Long-term readers may remember that I have photographed on Hwy 80 before. It gets worse as the years pass. 

4986 Hwy 80 (west of Metrocenter Mall)

Summary

Vinny enjoyed his outing to the big city of Jackson. His Prontor shutter is accurate, and his little 4-element Color-Skopar lens is highly capable, sharp, and free from obvious flare. He demonstrates top quality German precision manufacturing and has aged well (better than I have!). Thank you for sharing his excursion.

The Kodak BW400CN film worked out well for these frames. It is grainy, but that is fine for some topics. The film has been discontinued, and I recommend you readers not bother trying to find any. Use Kodak Tri-X or Fuji Acros instead. I will post more photographs from this last group of BW400CN rolls in the future.

 

Appendix A, Filters

Voigtländer filters are confusing to buy because the company used a numerical code to describe their various types. The table below summarizes the filters available in the 1950s and 1960s. A label such as 301/32 meant type 301 filter (light yellow) in the 32mm size. Some of their lenses used filters that pushed on, but others were threaded in various sizes. For the smaller lenses on Vito cameras, an alternative is to buy a 32mm Series VI adapter and mount Series VI filters. These are inexpensive but somewhat inconvenient in the field. The genuine Voigtländer filters are elegant, coated, and compact. Focar filters were for magnification, i.e., diopters.

 

Voigtländer Filters
Name	Type	Factor	Code
G1	Light yellow	1.5	301/32
G2	Med. Yellow	2	302/32
Gr	Light green	4	306/32
Or	Orange	5	308/32
Uv	Haze		317/32
85C or A	Color correction		318/32
SF	Skylight		325/32
Focar 1			303/32
Focar 2			304/32
Focar 0	f = 2m		342
Focar A	f = 1m		343
Focar B	f = 0.5m		344
Focar C	f = 0.5m		345
Focar D	f = 0.15m		348
Hood			310/32
Note: /xx means lens diameter. 32 is push-on.

On the Dixie Overland Highway, Historic US 80 - Dunn and Rayville, Louisiana (LA-05)

US 80 west of Delhi, Louisiana (Fuji X-E1 digital file)

We continue our trip west on The Dixie Overland Highway, now called US 80. Coming out of Delhi, 80 continues through a mixture of farm fields and an occasional forest patch.

Former service station, 1580 US 80, Dunn, LA (GAF Versapan film, 90mm ƒ/6.8 Schneider Angulon lens)

I came across some remnants of the old 80 that may have served travelers during the pre-interstate era.

These two abandoned stores were at the corner of Weems Road and US 80 in Dunn. As in so many rural areas, old country stores have been abandoned and left to the weather and vines.

On the road to Rayville, US 80 (Fuji X-E1 digital file)

As in these other small towns along US 80, the Kansas City Southern trains thunder through several times a day. There was no depot that I could see.

The main road through town is Harrison Street, which is also US 80. A restaurant at the corner was pretty busy, but I was concerned about the virus and did not go in to get lunch. I was pleased to see that most people were rigorous about wearing masks, more so than in Mississippi.

Joy Theater, Harrison Street, Rayville (Fuji X-E1 digital file)

The old Joy Theater on Harrison Street was a classic 1930s theater of the type you would have seen in many towns. The facade was interesting, but unfortunately, the building is a wreck. In the first picture, you can see a tree growing out of the interior.

One last picture, and this one stays in color: Robinson's Meat Market at 402 Madeline Street. What a great folk art advertisement, with lobsters, steaks, and sausages. The proprietor said a fellow from New Orleans painted it. 

Most of these images are from a Fuji X-E1 digital camera on which I mounted an Olympus OM 35mm ƒ/2.8 Zuiko Shift lens. The shift function let me correct for converging lines optically at the time of taking the picture (as opposed to using software after the fact to correct convergence). Most pictures of buildings that you see on the web show converging vertical lines, such as the edges of the building. But when you look at the scene with your eyes, your brain accommodates the convergence and the lines appear straight. Nikon and Canon make modern shift lenses, but very few contemporary users buy these rather technical lenses. I expect that most never used a large format camera, where you can shift the front standard upwards to correct the convergence.

If you want background information on US 80 and the Dixie Overland Highway, the Federal Highway Administration has a detailed history. 

In the next article, we will continue west on US 80. Thank you for riding along!

On the Dixie Overland Highway, Historic US 80 - Vicksburg area (MS-04)

R.H. Henry Bridge, Big Black River, Bovina, Mississippi (Fomapan 100 Classic film, Hasselblad 501CM camera, 50mm Distagon lens) 

In the previous article, I explored US 80 (formerly the Dixie Overland Highway) in west Jackson. Proceeding west, US 80 went through the town of Clinton and eventually to Vicksburg. It then crossed the Mississippi on the old Mississippi River bridge (now closed to traffic). Once Interstate 20 was built in the 1970s, part of 80 disappeared, and the route is no longer continuous west of Clinton. But from Edwards west, you can still drive on 80 as it crosses the Big Black River and cuts straight through the loess bluffs. Here are some photographs from US 80 east of Vicksburg.

Colored Motel, US 80 east of Mount Albans Road (expired Kodak Ektar 25 film, Hasselblad 501 CM camera, 50mm Distagon lens)

This is the former Colored Motel on US 80. In the 1980s, a sign above the building still showed the name, and somewhere I may have a Kodachrome slide. Regardless, the motel has been unused for 4 decades and the jungle is slowly engulfing the buildings. The pink paint on the stucco walls was rather cheerful and warranted some color frames.

Aluminum Fiberglass lady, somewhere on US 80, Vicksburg (4×5" Tri-X film, 180 ƒ/5.6 Caltar IIN lens) 

The aluminum fiberglass lady was so sweet. She was always impeccably dressed. She never objected to having her portrait taken. She was quiet. And then she went away without a word. I did not record the address in 1989 and do not know exactly where she stood, but I hope she proudly graces another home now. If any of you readers recognize her, please let me know.

UPDATE: This may be the former Miss Uniroyal, also known as the Uniroyal Gal. Amazing, she once lived in Vicksburg! Please see the last comment from a reader below. 

Oops, minor problem, US 80 (Kodak Panatomic-X film, Hasselblad 501CM camera, 50mm ƒ/4 Distagon lens, yellow filter)

Just west of Mount Albans Road, the soil under part of the roadbed washed out during the January 2020 rains (rain fell for a solid month). As of May 2020, the MSDOT highway department is in the process of purchasing land and settling contracts for the repair.

Pinewood Motel, US 80, Vicksburg (Tri-X film, 180mm ƒ/5.6 Caltar IIN lens)

A short distance west, closer to Vicksburg, was the former Pinewood Motor Court. I took pictures there over the years and wrote an article about the Pinewood in 2019. Preservation Mississippi covered the Pinewood in a 2014 article. I included a 2006 photograph to remind you what the old motel looked like. As of early 2020, all the buildings have been demolished because the site may be used for a new Warren County jail.

No more pecans here, Hwy 80, Vicksburg (Panatomic-X film, Hasselblad 501CM, 50mm ƒ/4 Distagon lens)

A long-unused steel warehouse sat on the south side of the road adjacent to the Pinewood. At one time, it may have been a car repair shop as well as a pecan shed.

The junk pile was pretty trashy. A few friends like the pickup truck perched on top of a Honda.

Some abandoned houses/trailers are in the woods south of the road. Once the foliage comes out in spring, they are hard to see.

A driveway drops down into a gully and leads off to a house somewhere. I liked the old real pickup truck.

Shed off US 80 near Anderson Road, Vicksburg (Kodak Panatomic-X film, Hasselblad 501 CM camera, 80mm ƒ/2.8 Planar-CB lens, green filter)

Once you reach the junction of 80 and MS 27, the scene becomes totally boring strip America, with gas stations and cheesy strip malls. It is un-photogenic. From here, Clay Street leads downtown, but there is no real US 80 connection to the old Mississippi River Bridge any more.

We will close with a photograph of the old Mississippi River Bridge in 1993 during construction of the Ameristar Casino. The company had to install a serious amount of geotechnical protection to reinforce the bluff and stabilize the road leading down to the casino. By 1993, the old bridge was already closed to car traffic. It may, one day, become a walk and bike trail. I wrote about 80 in east Louisiana in an earlier article (please click the link).

This ends our survey of US 80, the former Dixie Overland Highway, in Mississippi. Thank you all for riding along. Standby for more coverage of 80 in Louisiana.