From the Archives: Washington Avenue, Houston, 1981 (TX 09)

In the long-ago earlier life, my wife and I moved to Houston, Texas, in 1980. The big city! There was so much to see and explore! 

Having a real job and some income, I bought a used Rolleiflex 3.5E camera at Southside Camera Center (long gone). What do you do with your first medium format camera? Well, start looking for interesting urban decay topics. Back then, Houston was full of grunge and decay. (Some critics say Houston is still full of grunge, but we better not go there this time.) As you long-term readers can see, I have been doing this decay topic for a long time. 

My 1956 Rolleiflex 3.5E camera with its superb 75mm ƒ/3.5 Xenotar lens - why did I stupidly sell it when I though digital might be the next great thing?

Washington Avenue runs approximately east-west out of downtown Houston, Texas, through the former Sixth Ward. Washington Avenues in US cities are typically older streets that run through well-established and often run-down neighborhoods. This one fit the pattern in 1981. Here are some samples. Please click any frame to see it enlarged.

Turney Motor Company occupied a 1920s gas station building. You could drive a Chevrolet Nova for $35/week - it says so!

The building is gone, and the lot provides parking for the trendy Ivy House cocktail bar next door. Washington Avenue was not very trendy in 1981....

Houston Junk, now possibly Rose Recycling on Center Street

Time for a 50¢ beer, corner of Center and National Streets

Historic 1872 Glenwood Cemetery, an oasis of green and peace in the city

June 1980 view of Houston from Glenwood Cemetery (Kodak Panatomic-X film, Nikkormat FTn camera, 28mm ƒ/3.5 lens)

Early 20th century brick commercial building, 1722 Washington Avenue 

In the mid-20th century, all American cities had commercial buildings of this type. The families who ran the shops or small businesses often lived in apartments on the second floor. White flight to the suburbs after World War II destroyed many traditional and mixed inner city communities that would have depended on local shops in such buildings. 

This building is gone and a modern town house/condominium is in its place. At least in Houston, the cycle is turning and professionals are returning to live within the city. 

Early 20th century wood cottage Washington Avenue. 

This was one of my early examples of photographing dilapidated houses. This building is gone, probably demolished years ago. A large framed print of this scene has hung in my house for four decades, but the print has changed colors and faded.  

This handsome old fire station is still extant

Gent with his laundry, 1712 Washington Avenue

This is another example of an early-20th century commercial building. Note the formerly handsome tall arched windows. The lower floor had ventilation transoms. 

I took these photographs on 120-size Kodak Vericolor II Film with my Rolleiflex on September 5, 1981. The colors are a bit muted, but all in all, the film survived the decades quite well. In those days, you could buy 120 film in many camera stores, but professional emulsions, like Vericolor II, came from larger stores with a film refrigerator. This roll probably came from Southside Camera Center on Bellaire Blvd.

Thank you for joining me for this look back to 1981. I also wrote about Main Street in 1982 (click the link).

Faded commercial glory: Washington Avenue, Greenville, Mississippi

Washington Avenue, Greenville, view east from the Lake Ferguson levee.

Background

In the early 20th century, Greenville was the big, boisterous, rich, and booming commercial town of the west central Mississippi Delta.

At that time, Greenville thrived from cotton, timber, river traffic, and light manufacturing. These early-20th century post cards from the Cooper Post Card Collection at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History attest to the elegance and substantial commercial architecture of Washington Avenue. Washington Avenue was the sophisticated shopping street.

Here are two post cards showing flooding during the great 1927 flood, which caused immense damage throughout the Mississippi Delta (Barry 1998).

Washington Avenue, Greenville, mid-1950s (courtesy Preservation in Mississippi blog) 

Major American retail companies operated stores in Greenville. These included Sears Roebuck, Woolworth's, J.C. Penny, Montgomery Ward, and local vendors. The downtown was thriving at least through the 1960s, and many of these stores were located in sturdy early 20th century commercial buildings on Washington Avenue.

The Avenue Today

West end of 300 block of Washington Avenue, Greenville. 

309 Washington Avenue, Greenville.

311 Washington Avenue, Greenville.

325 Washington Avenue, Greenville.

Cast iron pillar, unknown vintage, 325 Washington Avenue, Greenville.

Washington Avenue today is a sad place. From what I could see, the shops along the west are closed. They look reasonably intact from the front, but I have no information on the condition of the roofs or the interiors.

Rear of 325 Washington Avenue.

Rear or 323 or 325 Washington Avenue.

Rear or 155 S. Poplar Avenue, Greenville.

A tunnel through the building at 323 or 325 Washington lets you walk to the parking area behind the buildings. I assume this area was reserved for delivery trucks in the old days, but possibly African American patrons had to enter the buildings this way.

Former J & B shoe store, 343 Washington Avenue, Greenville.

343 Washington Avenue, Greenville.

343 (?) Washington Avenue.

Johl & Bergman Shoes once occupied 343 Washington Avenue. They had a handsome entrance with dual doors and large plate glass windows to display their merchandise. The interior still looks remarkably mid-20th century. Does the plywood mean someone is trying to restore something? A walk up to the second floor is ominous. Daylight streams through holes in the roof. The flooring is wet in places and smells musty. As I have written before, in this wet climate, roof decay invariably means rotting joists and timbers and imminent collapse or condemnation by the city safety inspector.

What a shame. How do we let this happen in America? Our corrupt politicians in Washington (and Jackson!) claim they can spend $ billions on a boondoggle wall along the Mexican border or provide a tax windfall to the billionaire class, but it is perfectly all right to let hometown cities collapse due to poor education, infrastructure decay, insufficient medical facilities, and general neglect, especially when the residents are brown or black. A pox on you slimy politicians.

References

Barry, J.M., Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America.  Simon & Schuster; 1st Touchstone Ed edition (April 2, 1998).

Images

The 2018 frames are from my Fuji X-E1 digital camera, most with the Fujinon 27mm ƒ/2.8 compact lens. This is a handy and compact camera and lens package that you can take with you conveniently. Think of it as the digital equivalent of a Barnack Leica (meaning one of the compact screw-mount rangefinder cameras like my Leica IIIC).